9+ Come Play Reviews – But We’d Rather Stay Inside

Come Play ⭐️⭐️

I thought every studio had at least one lousy horror movie stashed away for just such an emergency. Somehow “Come Play” is the only movie from that stash, across however many studios, to make its way to theaters. This in spite of the opinion that it’s an uninteresting movie and the fact that its message is ill-timed for 2020.

‘Come Play’ won’t benefit from word of mouth | Lake Mills Leader | hngnews.com

… you’ve been warned, SPOILERS ahead …

More E.T than The Thing

Wanted that creature to be more menacing than it was. For the scares to work, it had to be. The setup was good, but to have it just shambling around mostly in the shadows, never really doing that much wasn’t as scary as having it show some teeth, rip someone through the screen Freddy Kruger style.

Hated the name. I mean, really, come up with something better to call the monster than Larry. I kept thinking of Larry The Cable Guy and that isn’t a horrifying image. It’s like waiting for the monster to open and chug a beer.

The Autistic Angle

One of the things I liked was how the story dealt with autism.

Reviews by Others

What do others think of Come Play?

Recommended

  1. Beyond Bollywood (3/5): “Though far from perfect, director Jacob Chase’s horror drama is a fine allegory that throws light on the lonely existence in the virtual world.”
  2. Deepest Dream: “The scares that I received from Come Play were generated from Chase letting a scene breathe and evolve (the parking lot sequences with Gallagher Jr. are terrifying).”
  3. Haunt Jaunts (3/5): “Because Come Play ends up more of a sweet, sad story about the power of a mother’s love, I found it less a horror movie and more one about the sacrifices some parents make to protect their kids and ensure the best for them.”
  4. Horrify / Michael P. Cleworth: “…seems to be just another cookie-cutter bogeyman film. However, after peeling back the many layers, you will be met by a surprisingly emotional element.”
  5. Ms. Cinema Gal (8/10): “I was surprised by how moved I was especially through the theme of being overprotective which can be misunderstood and could break relationships.”
  6. Techmepro: “I am a horror fan and I have watched a bunch of horror movies and shows in the past few months. So, I am a bit too familiar with the tropes and tricks of the genre and that’s why a lot of the scares or chills might’ve missed me. And yet here I am saying that Come Play is scary.”
  7. Zach’s Zany Movie Reviews: “…really works because it isn’t just a cheap jump scare horror movie. It is one of the rare ones that has a deeper emotional core at its center than others in the genre and the jump scares aren’t cheap at all, they are well shot, well choreographed, and well earned.”

Not Recommended

  1. David A. Lynch: “…could’ve used bit more imagination and a lot more self-awareness”
  2. The Chanticeleer (4/10): “I would not recommend this movie if you’re the type who lives for a heart-stopping jump scare. You won’t find it in this movie. It’s a predictable, and overdone piece of work and you wouldn’t be missing much.”
  3. To Watch Next (4/10): “…it feels like a half baked idea that was thrown on a studio table with the hopes of coming off as a horror flick, and it’s pretty disappointing considering the fact that it had potential.”

Linked above and wondering what would be cool to do next? Commenting once in awhile is always good (I like reader and other blogger interaction). If you have the trackback/pingback come to your site then just approve it because after people read your review then they can come here and follow links and read someone else’s review. What comes around goes around and sharing is the ultimate “thank you!” on the internet.

Did I miss your review? Use the comments to tell me about your movie-related/review blog and I’ll follow. I like following movie-related blogs and pull quoting from my reading list as well as other new blogs shared, liked and discovered.

Happy movie watching!

Opening 11-5-2020 in Theaters: Let Him Go

Theaters: 11/5/2020

Wednesday, week #45 of 2020 (11/5 – 11/8/2020)

The week following Halloween greets us with another new movie from Focus Features. They seem to be one of few studios taking advantage of all this cinematic spotlight. Hopefully soon others will join instead of going exclusively to streaming.

Let Him Go
[FIRST LOOK]

Don’t test the depths of a grandparent’s love for a grandchild. That seems to be the major conflict in this film starring two experienced, respected actors.

I’m ready to see what Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are up to in this film.

Anticipation: 6/10

Are you looking forward to seeing? Wherever you are watching movies, happy watching to you!

Come Play ⭐️⭐️

Come Play – R – 1 hr 36 min
NO SPOILERS Movie Review
Watched in theater Thursday October 29, 2020
AMC Lakewood 12 – Lakewood, Washington
#41 new movie seen in theater in 2020

Oliver is a young autistic boy that has trouble making friends. He uses a phone app to select words to be read aloud by the app, since he doesn’t speak. An app on his phone keeps recurring showing a story about an unusual monster named Larry. The creature wants to use his phone or other screens as a portal to Oliver’s world.

This story somewhat reminded me of Dweller by Jeff Strand. That’s a much better story and covers the whole pet monster idea from a position of truly scary horror. The main difference here is Oliver doesn’t want this pet monster to be his friend, so Larry is setup as an antagonist early on in the story.

Let’s talk about the name. As far as monster names go, Larry doesn’t cut it — at all. I mean, what’s scary about “Larry”? A monster name needs to sound scary. The Unusual Monster book that tells Larry’s story is kind of intriguing. It explains that Larry just wants to find a friend, but its idea of friendship is take his hand and he will pull you into his world.

Larry’s method of moving around between Oliver’s world and wherever it comes from is through screens and something to do with electricity. The film spends way too much time on the whole electrical disturbance part every time Larry is near. I mean, how many lightbulbs smashing and going dark do we need to see to have that point drilled home? It’s not like Larry is a poltergeist. The effect could have been a lot more effective if barely used instead of overused. That’s the signature of amateurish horror filmmaking: overdoing jumpscares, too many sudden, loud noises, the antagonist hiding too many times in the dark and so on. A little of this can set a good atmosphere.

Another knock: the trailer spoiled most of Larry’s appearance. One of the most gripping part of the movie is Larry moving around the house and we’ve already seen it. Don’t you hate it when trailers take the best parts of movies? That’s definitely the case here.

This movie is missing a good scary soundtrack. It needs something like John Carpenter would do to take this out of the amazing world of Steven Spielberg. I’m a Spielberg fan, but his movies — some (very) notable exceptions like Jaws aside — tend to be more fanciful, adventurous and fun than scary.

Bottom line: this movie is plagued with a genre identity problem. If it was trying to be scary, it mostly isn’t. It is better telling a dramatic story about a boy with autism and how he interacts with other children, his parents and the evolution of his social skills with the introduction of an ugly otherworldly character.

This isn’t a terrible movie, just mediocre. Kara couldn’t stand it, but she’s not very into horror, so her commentary above should keep that in mind. I’m a lifelong horror fan, but this missed the mark. It tried, and I could see where it was focusing — on the spookiness of Larry being able to come in and out of our world, but while the framework has potential, the execution is off.

Instead of recommending to see this, again, if you are a horror fan, and enjoy reading go check out Jeff Strand’s book mentioned above. It’s a fast, furious read. Sorry Larry, not recommending anybody play with you — and it’s not for the reasons the filmmakers intended.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐️⭐️ (Todd) ⭐️ (Kara)

Opening 10-29-2020 in Theaters: Come Play

Theaters: 10/29/2020

Wednesday, week #44 of 2020 (10/29-11/1/2020)

Halloween weekend is upon us and the theaters will see a LIMITED release of one movie. Maybe there will be others we don’t know about dropping but we have tickets already reserved the the movie below, so confident at least one is coming out this weekend.

Come Play
[FIRST LOOK]

Kara isn’t looking as forward to this as me. Then again she’s rarely that excited about horror films. I like creature films. No idea how this creature will turn out — good, bad or something in between, but we do know his name: Larry. No, not the cable guy.

Anticipation: 7/10

Are you looking forward to seeing? Wherever you are watching movies, happy watching to you!

FIRST LOOK: Come Play

The trailer (further below) sure makes this creature that the boy befriends look like E.T. It appears to be a twisted E.T, which is the right idea just before Halloween.

“Come Play stars Azhy Robertson as a lonely young boy who feels different from everyone else. Desperate for a friend, he seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy’s devices against him to break into our world, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.”

Fresh ‘Come Play’ Poster and Stills Find a Friend in Larry – Bloody Disgusting

Official trailer:

The E.T-looking character is called Larry, based on a 2017 short with that name. The concept has been expanded, something that worries me. Too many times shorter works that are expanded for a full length movie screw up the pacing. Hopefully the padding won’t show in this effort. We’ll know in a few days.

Come Play will be released on a LIMITED number of theaters starting Thursday October 30, 2020.