ANTLERS 2021 | dir. Scott Cooper

I recently watched the 2021 film Antlers. For research. I thought it was just an average horror movie. The monster is worth watching - probably thanks to at least some involvement with producer Guillermo del Toro. The misty, moody ambiance of the Pacific Northwest is a character all its own. The acting is quality - everyone looks and acts appropriately haunted and haggard - even the children. But the story itself is weighted down by too much explanation for something that doesn’t need explaining.

I found out that the script was based off a short story by Nick Antosca called The Quiet Boy, which you can read in full at Guernica. I recommend it. It’s a strong short story and I think that’s why it didn’t translate well to a feature-length film. The changes made between the original story and the script serve only to fill time. In The Quiet Boy, the teacher is a Teach for America transplant to a small West Virginia town. That’s a strong premise for a horror story because it subverts all the idealism and good intentions found in a program like that. The naïve outsider thinks she can help - poor thing! The film makes the teacher a prodigal daughter, returning to her hometown with all the baggage of memory and family. This doesn’t strengthen the premise in any way, it just gives the characters something to talk about in between the horror scenes. 

The film also brings in an indigenous character to explain what’s going on. It is this character’s only purpose and is completely unnecessary to the plot. Both the short story and film are set in post-industrial towns with raging drug problems. In the short story, there is a sense that the monster is a manifestation of poverty, hunger, drug abuse, societal decay. But in the film, we are given an explanation based in indigenous culture, even though the film isn’t about indigenous people. My issue with this is, if they wanted to make a Wendigo film, then make a Wendigo film. Let there be Native characters. Let them do more than just explain their stories to the white people. Horror doesn’t always need explanation. The Quiet Boy is a stronger story because it never tries to explain why the monster is. It just is. And that’s terrifying enough. 

Another issue with both the original story and the film is that the teacher’s actions are not believable. No, no. I don’t mean when she drives up to a clearly fucked up house all by herself. I mean, when she invites a clearly emaciated student out for ice cream, just the two of them. First, get that child a real meal, he’s literally starving. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in the U.S. Teachers are not allowed to do things alone with students. Teachers are taught to keep the door open when speaking to a child in private on school grounds. And a teacher would never be allowed to take a student home for the night even if they had “no where else to go”. If the town is big enough for a hospital, it will have social workers. There will be a protocol. Now, I get that it’s important to the last act of the story (both the short story and the film) that the boy goes home with the teacher. This is something that would have actually benefitted from a little explanation. Just a line or two about how the town is so poor and fucked up that, even though it’s against all rules, they will let the teacher take the boy home, just this once. Because that error took me completely out of the story. I will believe in an antlered man before I believe that a teacher would act this way. 

A concept doodle i did yesterday to help back-up a photoshop movie poster design, characters in the doodle are my OCs,,,

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OCs' story (except Iseksen he is a writer from another story) sets in 19th century, noblewoman is travelling to New England but got her ship wrecked on a demon island, got her jaw Homelandered & fixed by a survivor, and after the noblewoman wakes up with mild memory-loss, she searches for the survivor's whereabouts via journal while surviving against monsters,,,

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For the poster design, the woman and man are Isabelle Laurent and John McBride from the 2021 film The Cursed. And for the red monster, it's a wendigo concept art from the 2021 film Antlers,,,

Favorite First Watches - February 2022

Eyes of Fire (1983)

Antlers (2021)

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Vicious Fun (2020)

I think Moder and the monster from Antlers would vibe together in a spooky forest.

Was Antlers Worth The Wait?

I was one of those who was anxious for “Antlers” (it seemed an eternity between the trailer and the movie) and you know, I wasn’t the only one.

Was it worth it?

31 Days of Halloween 2022

Day Two: Antlers (2021)

A very fine captain, and a finer friend.

Antlers by Guy Davis

Ummm..... HELLO??? What's this??

Jim Denomie, Totem, Animal Spirits, 2021, Wood, oil paint, deer antlers, horse hair, found objects, 8/19/23 #artsmia by Sharon Mollerus

Antlers/ Оленьи рога. 2021

Dir. Scott Cooper

W A T C H I N G

Antlers (2021)

Directed by Scott Cooper

Cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister

"Antlers" (2021) Directed by Scott Cooper (Drama/Horror/Mystery)