Antlers is an ambitious creature feature whose spiraling sense of dread and doom-filled atmosphere secretes a slow-burning mist of suspense at its grotesquely gruesome core. Even if, at times, its multi-pronged approach to allegorical storytelling sometimes subtracts from the hellish horror it so ominously portrays.
All in all, I would recommend Antlers for fans of evocatively atmospheric, slow-burning horror, despite its occasionally muddled meaning and disjointed premise.
Let's start by highlighting Antler's strengths. Directed by film creator Scott Cooper and produced by fantasy film aficionado Guillermo Del Toro, there is plenty to admire here from a visual perspective. For instance, the film's sufficiently spooky woodland setting benefits from clever cinematography and creepy world-building aesthetics.
Antlers uses suggestive silhouettes and sinister shadows to convey an eerily unsettling scene when operating at its suspensefully potent best. These sequences, often framed through tight claustrophobic corridors, do an excellent job of instilling distressing layers of fear, as if symbolic of some demonic divide between this world and the next.
The antlered beast, when horrifically revealed, should be satisfying grotesque enough in nature for fans of eldritch horror and gratuitous gore seekers. So much so, I certainly felt a cold shudder or two shoot down my spine during at least one encounter, and that's a testament to the creature's chilling fear factor.
As a distinguished drama director testing out the murky waters of horror for the first time, Cooper, alongside co-screenwriters Nick Antosca and Henry Chaisson, appear to have delivered a multi-dimensional story, throughout which there's a lot to digest. Unfortunately, for me, despite many compelling elements that give credence to the character's backgrounds & motivations, Antler's carries one too many allegories in its composition.
But that's just a personal preference, and some will enjoy the social commentary and allegories attached, which seemingly range from environmental neglect to domestic violence, perhaps even touching on the opioid epidemic.
Despite a talented cast in Keri Russell & Jesse Plemons, the two characters are never given genuine license to entirely flesh out their respective roles. However, the sense of atmosphere is so intensely palpable that it almost plays the role of a supporting cast.
Fans of simmering suspense over outright scares will find plenty to feast on, however. So, on the whole, I would encourage true horror fanatics to check out Antlers, even for all its frustrations.
In the end, Antler's dreaded air of suspense and all-consuming atmosphere succeeds in conjuring a sufficiently disturbing slice of horror, even if some of its narrative cues sometimes complicate the experience.
At its core is a chilling, eldritch-inspired Del Toro-style tale worth watching for true horror fans. Overall, I'm issuing this one a sufficiently scary seal of approval!
For more Hellish horror film reviews, stay tuned for future videos. Thanks for watching.
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