Thursday, October 20, 2022

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 20: Antlers (2021)

Antlers is not the first horror movie to take on the Native American myth of the Wendigo, a humanoid creature with a hunger for human flesh, but it may be the most depressing, as childhood abuse and lingering trauma are at the center of the story.

The cast, at least, is excellent, with Keri Russell as Julia, a school teacher who has returned to her hometown after the suicide death of her alcoholic father. She lives with her brother, Paul, played by Jesse Plemons, who is also the town's sheriff. As she deals with the memories of her own childhood abuse, she begins to suspect one of her students may also be the victim of an abusive father, but she doesn't know the half of it.

Guillermo del Toro was one of the film's producers, and there's a bit of his touch in the creature design for sure, but I can't say I entirely enjoyed watching Antlers, as at times it's just terribly bleak, and watching terrified little kids living in squalor isn't exactly fun. If you want to watch less depressing takes on the "Wendigo" legend, you might want to try Wendigo, or The Last Winter instead.

I watched Antlers on HBO Max.

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