The myth of the dreaded “wendigo” comes to shocking life in this terrifying horror thriller. When a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, seek to help a troubled young boy who possesses a strange secret, the consequences are more dreadful than they could have possibly imagined.
Scott Cooper started out as an actor in Hollywood and then turned to directing with 2009’s “Crazy Heart,” which won Jeff Bridges his Best Actor Academy Award. Since then, Cooper has proved himself as a solid filmmaker with “For Sale by Owner,” “Out of the Furnace,” “Black Mass,” “Hostiles,” and now the horror-thriller “Antlers.” The problem I had with “Antlers,” is that while it takes place in the fictional town of Cispus Falls in central Oregon, everything about the movie is dark and dreary. Cispus Falls’ population appears to be slowly dwindling as more and more abandoned mines litter its geographical area, and it is constantly overcast and/or raining. The central characters are all in possession of unpleasant and abhorrent background stories, including all forms of sexual, physical, and mental abuse, and as the story progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that the overall narrative has no intention of easing up with its bleak and ominous overtones.
Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) has just returned to her childhood hometown of Cispus Falls, where she has moved in with her brother Paul (Jesse Plemons), the town’s sheriff. Their relationship is strained as they both grew up in a sexually and physically abusive home, thanks to their mentally ill and alcoholic father. Julia left when she was old enough and has felt bad all these years for not taking him with her and while he insists that he is doing fine, Julia just can’t seem to forgive herself for abandoning him. Now working as a teacher at the local school, she notices a young boy, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas), and is shocked by his strange behavior and disturbing drawings. She tries to check up on him at his house but is greeted by a seemingly empty residence. Preparing to leave, she hears strange and horrifying noises coming from within and quickly departs.
The next day she informs the school principal, Ellen Booth (Amy Madigan), of her bizarre encounter at Lucas’ house and Ellen takes it upon herself to do a welfare check. Once inside the house, she hears the same noises Julia mentioned and makes her way to the attic where she is attacked and killed. Coming home from school the next day, Lucas is terrorized by the school bully but the tormenter is quickly assaulted and torn to pieces. Julia and Paul pay a visit to former sheriff Warren Stokes’ (Graham Greene) house and show him some of Lucas’ drawings, where he informs them that the creature in the illustrations resembles the Wendigo, a mythological evil creature that materializes as a ferocious, cannibalistic spirit and has the ability to transfer from person to person. Naturally, Paul is reluctant to believe that a diabolical creature is responsible for all the deaths but as more and more bodies begin to pile up, mangled, mutilated, and pulverized, and with no straightforward explanation, Julia and Paul make their way back to Lucas’ house, where they finally come face-to-face with the entity responsible for all the death and carnage.
Director Scott Cooper keeps the suspense flowing at unwavering momentum but his payoffs aren’t always rewarding. Some scenes build and build with bloodcurdling tension but then conclude in an anticlimactic fashion before starting all over again. It’s almost as if Cooper is teasing us with a huge payoff that is never realized. The constant harsh surroundings, dismal weather, and characters’ heavy-hearted backgrounds make this a very uneasy and precarious film to sit through. There isn’t one glimmer of hope, from beginning to end, but maybe that is what Cooper intended. I preferred the original release of “Blade Runner,” the one with the happy ending, where Deckard and Rachel leave Los Angeles and head for a sunnier and more radiant destination having been constantly doused in miserable rain and darkness, as opposed to Ridley Scott’s Final Cut that ended with undeniable ambiguity, and I feel like Cooper followed suit here. For a movie that is so desolate and pessimistic, I want some expectation of hope, even just a sliver, that some of the characters are going to move on to better places in their lives, physically and emotionally but that never transpires. Overall, “Antlers” is a gorgeous-looking film, brimming with first-rate performances, but it will undoubtedly leave a sour taste in your mouth.
Now available on Digital HD, and on Blu-ray™ and DVD January 4th
