Meth labs, feral woodsfolk, a gruesome monster, and Felicity. Thatâs what make up the 2021 horror film âAntlersâ and thatâs also the problem. Save for Felicity. Thereâs too much going on. Too many storylines to be cohesive. Itâs a bit of a mess.
At 99 minutes the pacing is good. And I enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing Keri Russell in the lead role. The setting; a gloomy rural town in Oregon is perfect. It lends itself to excellent cinematography. âAntlersâ isnât terrible. Itâs just easily forgettable.
Felicity is great
Keri Russellâs performance proves sheâs got a wide range of emotions and has the talent to carry a film like this. Felicity is an elementary school teacher who has a knack for caring too much for her students. We know she is suffering from her own personal demons of the past. Itâs a poor rural town thatâs losing jobs. And thereâs a monster in the woods. And a lot of other things.
Felicity lives with her brother. Not only is he the town sheriff, heâs played by Jesse Plemons of âFriday Night Lightsâ fame. I also noticed CSI Miamiâs Rory Cochrane as an unlucky cop. And the school principal was played by Amy Madigan â Costnerâs wife in âField of Dreams.â
Nostalgia aside, the story goes all over the place. Thereâs nothing really scary, but the deaths are quite gory. The monster in the woods turns out to be one of Native lore. âThis is a myth youâre talking about.â The sheriff scoffs at an old local when he explains that the killings are the result of the wendigo. âFor you yeah.â The old local grins. Scary stuff.
Covid made me miss out on âAntlersâ in the theater. Iâm glad I saved the money. Itâs fine. Watch it for Felicity. Or Landry. Or Speedle. Donât expect to be wowed.
âAntlersâ is currently only available to watch on Hulu.
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