A long in development adaptation of The Quiet Child, by the writer behind the lamentably canceled Channel Zero, the results are somewhat mixed. Like most short story adaptations to feature length, this movie suffers some issues of pacing and bloat in its setup. This movie expands the story into a wider mythology that works for the setting, but a concept rather exhausted in popular media. This film is dark and cold, daylight is cast in perpetual blue-gray, surrounding forests are dark and foreboding, and the human element weary and unwelcoming. There is a sense of decay that permeates the community here, buildings are weather worn and machines rust poxed, and the toil seems apparent upon faces of the townspeople, down to the children. Speaking of which, the child actor Jeremey Thomas is a marvel, a child wearing burdens and torment behind wide eyes and downcast posture. Keri Russel is always phenomenal, and with reliable Jesse Plemons in the mix, the acting is one of this film’s high points. So are numerous moments of horror and monstrous reveal, with some chilling designs and effects. There is a heavy emphasis upon body horror, but there is no shortage of gore and horrific sights once the last act’s rollercoaster begins. Unfortunately, scenes filmed indoors or at night are dark enough to approach vantablack and reduce effectiveness in scenes, including the finale. The film’s ending is fairly bleak, hinting at bleakness to come, but it feels almost like simply another burden the long beleaguered characters must endure. The filmmakers are not subtle about their allegories for generational trauma, the opioid crisis and blue-collar suffering, and perhaps the only message they can leave us with is one of vigilance for patterns of the next cycle.
Antlers (2021)