We are back with another horror movie review. Today we are taking a look at another bad horror – Come Play. Directed by Jacob Chase. Come Play follows the story of a young autistic boy dependent on mobile devices. The only problem is that, upon reading a children’s book on the phone, a horrifying creature named Larry enters the world determined to cause havoc.
This is basically The Babadook with Augmented Reality monsters, bad acting and a complete lack of scares. This movie started life off as a short and, in my opinion, it probably should have stayed that way. As I always say, though. That shouldn’t stop you from checking this movie out. The horror genre needs support and it pains me to review movies poorly. This is the type of film that will really appeal to certain people. Maybe you are one of those people?
Yet Another Babadook Lite
I’ve always watched movies in a, somewhat, critical manner. Especially those of the horror genre. My partner and I have watched thousands, In fact, we almost never watch movies from any other genre. It’s only natural that you become a bit cynical. Since starting Knockout Horror and upping my output in the past 6 months, that is even more true. To create an honest review, you really have to have a baseline starting opinion. The film is unremarkable until it proves you wrong. You owe the movie nothing until it gives you a reason to praise it. What I find really difficult to praise is movies that ruthlessly rip off other, more popular, movies. That is the case with Come Play.
If you took everything that people loved about The Babadook. The complex parent child relationship, the monster, the overall tone. Put it through a copy machine and then put the results in a blender. The mush that came out would be Come Play. It is wildly familiar and completely unoriginal. Hell, it even has dark, Henry Selick-esque, illustrations just like Babadook. Calling it a facsimile of the aforementioned horror hit would be too nice of a compliment. It actually borders on plagiarism. Just replace the dead parent with impending divorce and take away the kid’s ability to speak. You have seen this movie before, only much better.
Very Lacking in Scares
Oliver is non-verbal autistic and engages in stimming for self comfort. As far as social issues go, he desires friendship and can communicate via alternative means. Autism is a spectrum, people with the condition can present different complications from each other. Needless to say, this is a very Hollywood presentation of the condition. Almost a little bit condescending.
Come Play is very light on scares. Larry is a concept that loses its impact very quickly. Aside from how ridiculous it is to call a scary monster Larry. The presentation of the monster, for much of the movie, is ridiculous. We have visual cues for the creature; lightbulbs explode or simply go off, screens light up etc etc. Certain parts end up looking like a game of Lights Out as Larry pursues the characters. The over-announcing of the creature’s arrival really takes away form the tension.
Larry does not appear visually to the characters but he is sometimes revealed in a couple of different ways. Again, ways that you will have seen before in movies like Hollow Man and the like. The main method of seeing the character is through the tablet’s camera. This leads to a ton of repetition. Each appearance is accompanied by a musical fan-fare as if it is the very first time we have seen him. It doesn’t help that the tablet format affords Larry a sort of Augmented Reality feeling. As if he is a basic app that lets you see crazy looking creatures in your house through your phone camera.
An Overly Familiar, Dull, Backstory
That isn’t the only issue with Come Play. The background story is overly familiar and poorly executed. There is a strong focus on family drama here. As mentioned above, viewers of The Babadook will have a serious sense of Deja-vu. Oliver’s mum is struggling to connect with him. He has a strong bond with his dad but his bond with Sarah is more complex. She is somewhat resentful of this and takes it out on both Oliver and his dad. The parent’s relationship is frayed which leads to further complications.
Added to all of this is the fact that Oliver is being bullied by former friends which only adds to the drama. The characters here feel very disconnected from each other. They are not particularly believable as a family. Whereas Oliver and his dad display chemistry. The bulk of the film follows Oliver and his mum. Two characters that completely lack a connection. The writing is so poor that Sarah’s issues with Oliver seem a little farcical. He has autism which makes parenting far more complicated. But he is a good kid that finds ways to adapt to his situation. He is incredibly well behaved given his lot in life. Sarah seems melodramatic and completely disconnected. This makes the family’s troubles hard to buy into. It also brings me onto my next point.
A Terrible Performance
Gillian Jacobs, as Oliver’s mum Sarah, seems completely out of her depth. I hate to say this because it sounds like I am just taking pot shots. But it is what it is. I rarely feel quite so strongly that a character has been miscast as I did here. She took me out of literally every single scene she was in. Whereas Essie Davis’ performance in The Babadook was painful for it’s authenticity. Jacobs plays almost every scene here as if the movie is supposed to be a comedy.
She has no ability to convincingly emote. Her line delivery is reminiscent of high school stage acting. Her facial expressions are wide and exaggerated. And she seems to struggle with character motivation. She really reminded me of Anna Faris’s pitch perfect, ironic, delivery in Scary Movie. Over the top and designed to incite laughs. Don’t get me wrong, she did incite a few laughs. But not for the right reasons. Considering she is supposed to represent the relatable, emotional, backbone of the movie. Her performance damages things drastically. I think she would be a great comedy actor. For serious roles like this, however, she just doesn’t fit.
The rest of the cast, however, are fine. The child actors here deserve special mention. Azhy Robertson, as Oliver, does an excellent job. His portrayal of an autistic child is both believable and sympathetic. Winslow Fegley, as Byron, felt like the best actor in the entire film. He is way beyond his years. Jayden Marine, as Mateo, was great and has excellent comedic delivery. And Gavin MacIver-Wright, as Zach, does fine too
Should You Watch Come Play?
Come Play is barely worth a watch, in my opinion. It is another Babadook wannabe horror featuring a split personality. Part boring family drama, part seen-it-all-before creature feature. The use of an autistic protagonist is welcome but feels like pandering. Used more to add flavouring to the story than to actually present a sympathetic, nuanced, autistic character.
Cinematography is okay, pacing is an issue and the movie begins repeating itself pretty early on. Plodding along with a total lack of gravity and little reason to care. The introduction of the monster, Larry, offers a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, Larry spends more time on set than the tea boy. It gets old very quickly and any promise of effective horror evaporates. Some will enjoy it but this feels like a typically lacking generic Hollywood horror.
