It has been over a decade since writer-director Jacob Chase served up a movie for viewing audiences, and I don’t think you will find many people who were waiting with bated breath after watching The Four-Faced Liar back in 2010 (no comment on the movie, which I haven’t seen, simply a comment on the fact that it didn’t seem to make any impact). Regardless, Chase has built up a fairly decent selection of short films, and Come Play is adapted from one of those, a 2017 short titled Larry.
The plot is very simple, and also very predictable. Gillian Jacobs plays Sarah, a mother who struggles with her autistic child, Oliver (Azhy Robertson). She has to battle through many difficult episodes while Oliver’s father (Marty, played by John Gallagher Jr.) does that typically annoying thing of just being the fun parent. As Oliver becomes more lonely, with his main company being a phone or tablet, he is approached by an entity named Larry. Larry can be seen through various screens, but he wants to break into our world. And he wants to be good friends with Oliver.
Very slick and familiar, Come Play is also, thankfully, very well-crafted when it comes to the scares. Although some imagery appears suddenly in the frame, it doesn’t feel like a film reliant on jump scares. This is a horror movie that at least tries to be creepy, and there is excellent use of technology to show Larry appearing to people (either directly or, for example, being shown up by an app/filter). Chase doesn’t bring anything truly new to the genre, nor does he mess things up. This is enjoyable, entertaining, stuff.
Young Robertson is the lead here, basically, and does good in a role that is mostly communicating in a non-verbal way. He has the big eyes and the nerves, but also has an interesting obliviousness to certain moments that have other characters more afraid of things around them. Jacobs and Gallagher Jr. are both good enough in their roles, although the former is playing someone who has to be set up as a bit selfish and misguided, even compared to the less responsible male parent.
I am sure that many people will dismiss this, it certainly doesn’t need to be high on any prioritised viewing list, but there’s a lot to appreciate. From the performances to the creature design, and the audio work throughout is also excellent, this maintains a standard of quality that you don’t always get in mainstream horror (certainly not from anything that doesn’t feature those pesky Warrens). For the kind of film this is, you could do a lot worse.
7/10
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