Antlers

Adapted from screenwriter Nick Antosca’s short story, The Quiet Boy, Antlers tells the story of Julia (Keri Russell), a teacher in an isolated Oregon town, who notices unusual and concerning behaviour in Lucas (Jeremy T Thomas), one of her students. A victim of abuse in her childhood, Julia sees her own trauma reflected in Lucas and attempts to reach out to him, but soon discovers that his problems at home are far from textbook.

Antlers is an interesting horror flick in the way it is shot and paced: while it’s not averse to the occasional jump scare, it generally eschews them in favour of building up a low but constant sense of dread and unease through its slow and foreboding camerawork. Even the most ordinary scenes of life are rendered unnatural and unsafe through the cinematography and sound design, which work together to represent a world seen through traumatised eyes.

It’s ostensibly a monster movie, and there is a lot of body horror and gore in this regard, but the true beast at the heart of the piece is the continuing cycle of violence and abuse that Julia struggles against throughout the film. Guillermo del Toro lends his considerable skills to the production of this feature, giving the scant appearances of the creature the gravitas and weight they need to land the important emotional beats.

The script does a fairly good job at conveying this creative reinterpretation of monster movies as a genre, delivering a serviceable if, at times, uninspiring story that is bolstered by the strong production work and talented cast. Russell is great as Julia, representing the character’s emotional strength and vulnerability very well and facilitating an engaging character arc, while Thomas provides an effective narrative counterpart as Lucas, conveying world-weariness beyond his years.

Antlers is, in a way, a horror film for people who don’t like horror films – it’s not a particularly scary piece in the conventional sense, but compensates for that by creating a consistent air of unpleasantness and tension to go with its slower, more cerebral story. While this approach might be frustrating to more seasoned horror buffs, and it doesn’t quite stick the landing on every narrative beat, Antlers is nevertheless a very interesting and gripping watch for anyone looking for a different type of scary.

Umar Ali

Antlers is released nationwide on 29^th October 2021.

Watch the trailer for Antlers here: