Come Play is a horror thriller film directed by Jacob Chase. The plot sees a lonely little boy become the target of a malevolent entity that resides on the otherside of the screen (electronic device screen that is). His parents have to battle the evil and save their son from its cold, clammy embrace.
This was an unexpected treat. I found the premise to be very good, it is similar to Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook as the monster isn’t really a monster so much as it is an emotion, in this case the monster is loneliness manifest. I found this idea to be quite intriguing as it gives the antagonist a layer of sympathy, which makes them far more complex then just your standard demon or ghoul.
I also thought this film had a lot of interesting comments to make about autism and raising a child with it. We can see the plight that Oliver (Azhy Robertson), goes through and honestly It is heart-breaking. Furthermore, I thought Gillian Jacobs did a good job as the mum who loves her son, but struggles to cope with him, the relationship feels real and believable.
Finally, and no spoilers here, I enjoyed the ending. It felt very earnt and satisfying, what’s more it leaves the door open for more to come.
Overall, this is a very strong horror debut for Chase full of promise, it has a lot of interesting sub-text and is also quite scary.
Pros.
The parent child dynamic
Emotion made manifest
Jacobs
The scares
The ending
Cons.
None
5/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 