Moving from his hyper violent Hostiles and the Whitey Bulger biography Black Mass, Cooper throws his hat in the ring for a bit of Halloween horror with his latest flick. Covered in a haze of blackness, this bit of mythological Native American terror is a muddled mess that can't figure out its message or its really simplistic narrative. When mysterious deaths beginning happening in a small Oregon town, humans abandon all intelligence and repeatedly head directly into harm's way, consistently finding themselves devoured, mangled, or just straight up dead. It's obvious that Cooper and crew are going for a commentary on mourning, familial loss, and depression but their final product is nothing to write home about. Their handling of the material doesn't really hit home considering the script is bland and a retread of numerous other genre entries over the years.
There is one major saving grace though. The creature design is absolutely phenomenal. Mixing CGI and practical monster effects, the highlights here lie not with most of the actors, but more so with the actual Wendigo. With Guillermo Del Toro on board in a producer role, his mark can be felt any time the horned being appears on screen. If there's one perfected bit about the film, it is absolutely how much work they put into designing this dweller of the dark. And unlike so many other movies, the creature isn't over saturated or over used. We're given just enough back story about its existence with First Nations actor Graham Greene taking point as the resident Navajo keeper of the myth.
The main issues with Antlers is really in the writing department. Most of the plot points feel too samey or repetitious. If they had added a bit more meat to the overarching feeling of desperation in this small American town and the people that live there, the terror may have been more fierce. Instead, all the characters in the movie seem so morose and defeated by life that they just don't feel realistic or worthy of the fight they're putting up against the monster. Russell just walks through scenes as a hero with no real sense of a journey. And Plemons does his usual everyday guy that is in a bad situation. The best term for the film would be bland.
Great child actors are hard to find. The two younger finds, Jeremy T. Thomas and Sawyer Jones walk away with Antlers. Set against the backdrop of an absolutely horrible situation, the two carry a realistic presentation of brothers that want to protect and save each other. So, if you're going to see this movie, just know that all is not terrible. Between the Wendigo and the kids, there's at least something good about the movie.
Del Toro himself would have been a much better director for this feature. Cooper has done great work in the past, but this project just didn't seem to suit his talents. Based on Nick Antosca's short story The Quiet Boy, Antlers may not live up to its original source material.
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