Antlers is the kind of horror movie that shows you the terror you must fear, but it does so in a manner that is highly psychological. Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace, Black Mass) ventures into the horror milieu for the first time, yet his filmmaking fingerprints are all over Antlers.
There’s the greyish tone to the look as if the sun never comes out—something you felt absolutely in Out of the Furnace. The film also has a cast that committed to this project solely to work with him (he’s such an actor’s director, just look at the talent that populates his films). This is rural Oregon and Keri Russell’s Julia Meadows, and her sheriff brother Paul (Jesse Plemons) are drawn into the life of one of her seventh-grade students, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas). At the same time, the sheriff has been unusually busy as decimated bodies start to pile up in this former mining town. It’s as if an animal attacked the victims, only the teeth marks are uniquely human.
The previous sheriff, Warren Stokes (Graham Greene), sees the signs and seems to immediately know what is going on. As a Native American and local, he knows about the legends surrounding a forest creature that feeds on humans and does so through taking over a body that serves as its host.
Frank Weaver (Scott Haze), Lucas’ dad, hasn’t been the same since the fateful day that starts our story. He has locked himself and Lucas’ younger brother Aiden (Sawyer Jones)—who was with him that movie commencing day—in the attic of their house to keep him from hurting Lucas, or anyone else as he is rapidly changing. It’s not something human.
Julia is a fantastic educator, and that can be gleaned from the fact that she notices the little things said and unsaid by her students. She sees promise in Lucas, particularly when he shares a story he wrote as the class is discussing myths and storytelling. Her training (and innate maternal nature) kick in because she keenly knows when something is going on at Lucas’ home. When she mentions this to her brother and to her principal (played by Amy Madigan), both respond congruently. Basically, they tell her to stay away from the Weaver household. Of course, she doesn’t listen and when she drops by one afternoon, she hears something coming from inside the home that does not remotely sound like it is human.
We learn that Julia has been away from Paul and her childhood home (where he and her live currently) for many years. Their upbringing was less than ideal. Their father was abusive physically, verbally, and mentally to all. It was only after his death that Julia felt comfortable coming home to Oregon from California. Her brother plays it cool, but as Plemons’ gifts tend to show off over the course of his filmography, there is much simmering below the surface. There’s some resentment there, but he is overwhelmingly happy to be reunited with his sister.
There’s a bevy of toxic masculinity in this town that has been largely ignored or contained at best. Cooper, and his co-screenwriters Henry Chaisson and Nick Antosca, have interwoven that element throughout their story and is the fuel for the antagonists that populate this small town. What’s fascinating is how the scriptwriting trio also paints with a brush of Native American lore and with its fury front and center. Cooper is no stranger to exploring their culture. His 2017 film Hostiles entire crux of its story was how Christian Bale’s character—who is a Civil War veteran and lifelong military man, who has been trained to kill the natives, is tasked with protecting and ensuring the safety of a Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family as they are (forcibly) moved from one area to another.
With Antlers, the filmmaker takes the Native American experience and spotlights a different element. As Greene says to anyone who will listen, he believes this creature can be explained by his people’s history with it. His tales go unbelieved by the current sheriff, but Paul begins to see the light when one of Lucas’ drawings that Julia has catches Stokes’ eye. There is no doubt in his mind that this creature is from Native American mythology. Now, what does one do about that?
Cooper manages it all with grace and power that simultaneously makes his film feel intimate and psychologically epic with its tackling of trauma and how its presence can foster evil as well. Julia, Paul, Lucas, and Aiden are all victims of trauma. Kudos to Cooper, Antosca, and Chaisson for centering a horror film (one with a prime Halloween release date no less) around the landscape of mental health and the terrors and psychological peril of illness of the head. It has certainly become much more of a topic of collective discussion than ever before, but society still has a long way to go.
The manner with which Native American mythology is interspersed with the exponentially explosive effects of experiencing and living through trauma makes Antlers a unique vision in this genre of film. The viewer feels what our characters feel and how that mentally distorted view of the world can result in terror and even just the threat of the presence of fear is enough to make matters worse.
Thomas is a find. He’s central to this film and his casting may have been one of Cooper’s biggest decisions he made on this project. The young actor delivers on so many fronts, it’s hard to know where to start and where to stop. This entire review could explore the gifts of this young man!
Plemons, as always, is fantastic. His awe-shucks sheriff is in way over his head with this case. Given what is going on in this small Oregon town, even the greatest cop in the world would be out of their league! As the Game Night scene-stealer (actually come to think of it, is there a film he’s in where he doesn’t steal scenes?!) works this case, he himself is mentally processing a ton. The actor nails the part on a myriad of levels and once again illustrates why he is one of the most gifted thespians of his generation.
Now, Russell is no wallflower here either. There is a lot ricocheting through her head at any given moment. As she plays Julia, there is something that is indelible to her performance and that is how much she cares about her students. It’s one thing to teach them and to take pride in that aspect of the job. It is a whole different ballgame when you find an educator who takes an interest in their students beyond what goes in the grade book. The Americans veteran is sublime in every scene she’s in, but there is something that has to be said about her quiet moments in solitude. A gifted actor or actress tends to reveal more of their talent with what they don’t say, versus what is scripted to utter. It’s a side of Russell that hasn’t been brought to the public like the way Cooper gets it out of her in Antlers.
The director has a way with his ensembles. That is why someone like Bale makes it work with his busy schedule to ensure he can collaborate with Cooper repeatedly (on Hostiles and Out of the Furnace). Combine his gifts with actors with his storytelling prowess and you have a filmmaker that is going to produce cinematic achievements that run the gamut of the emotive spectrum. Here’s hoping he returns to horror sooner than later because it is clearly a genre that can utilize his skillset in such a way that it appears effortless when it is anything but.
Grade: B+