Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Antlers' (2021)

This movie was such a huge disappointment for me. I mean, it looked sooooo fucking good in the trailers. I'd even been really looking forward to reviewing it for some time, but... man what a waste.

SPOILERS!!!

I am going to completely pan this movie but that's not why I started with the spoilers. I'd just like to get it out of the way that this movie is about a wendigo. I mean, that's not technically a spoilers, as it was pretty obvious from the trailer, but they never came out and said it, there's a huge reveal at the end, and not everyone would have necessarily guessed it. So we're going to treat it as a spoiler.

But it was the reason I wanted to see this movie so damn badly. There are so few horror movies about wendigo and it's such an awesome mythos about a really nasty creature. That, and the premise was just so fucking cool. Basically, the wendigo is this child's dad, and the kid is trying to keep him contained and fed until he gets 'better.' Which you know is just heartbreak waiting to happen... right after a whole lot of people die. There was so much about this movie that sounded so damn good, and should have been so damn good, so where did it go wrong?

Let me get this out of the way first. This movie had great atmosphere. Everything feels dirty and grimy and the lighting is always very dark and the soundtrack is always just right. SO, you would think the damn movie should be tense as hell, right? Like serious tension, like Hereditary (2018), which this movie matches in atmosphere. You can even see them trying like hell to really build that tension, but they just never pull it off. It always somehow manages to just be boring.

It's really all about the pacing. The pacing is just off. Every scene, every movement, just takes too long. The plot meanders, and a whole lot of nothing is always happening. Like, four people have to show up at the kid's house before anyone figures out something is wrong. I mean, I get that there are real procedures in the real world that prevent people from easily intervening. And they did hang a lantern on it, constantly explaining that people wanted to help this little kid, but there was too much red tape in the way. But c'mon. Kill the extras and move the fucking plot along. We get that you have to address the real-world issues in the writing, but you don't have to keep bringing it up again and again. One scene to cover the red tape, then let all hell break loose.

I mean, this movie had a lot of faith that a little kid could keep this shit up for as long as he did. I get that the kid already had to be resilient to even have to take on such a task, but this is partly about what was taking so long. We all know the wendigo is gonna get loose and wreak havoc, just fucking get there.

The acting was good but... kinda bland? I mean everyone did a fine job for the most part, but the overall presentation is like one of Edward Norton's outtakes; almost monotone.

I think the creature reveal was the final nail in the coffin for me. I kept going because it was never exactly terrible and I was really intrigued by the plot, but it was the biggest letdown. It leaned too heavily on CGI and not practical effects. The wendigo looks a little cartoony, to be honest. And the way it finally gets killed is just so damn silly. This fucking thing easily wastes two cops and you're telling me a fucking school teacher could just bring it down with a makeshift spear? And I mean, she impales it a couple of times without any fucking issue, and then the kid sneaks up behind it and finishes it off. That's just fucking lame.

But yeah, the whole fucking movie is just slow, boring, and lame. You can skip this one.