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(Antlers • 2021 ‧ Horror/Thriller ‧ 1h 39m • London • Fri 29 Oct • Sat 30 Oct • Sun 31 Oct • Mon 1 Nov • Tue 2 Nov • Wed 3 Nov • Thu 4 Nov • Nova Cinema , Peacocks Centre, WOKING GU21 6GQ, United Kingdom • 20:45)
https://www.novacinema.com/movie/antlers
"Antlers"
In an isolated Oregon town, Julia Meadows (Keri Russell), a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother Paul (Jesse Plemons) become embroiled with her enigmatic student Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them. Based on the short story 'The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca'.
Julia Meadows returns after 15 years away to the small, economically depressed 'Northwest' town 'Cispus Falls, Oregon', in which she grew up, in large part to help repair her relationship with her brother. There's a dark family history between them, hinting at the abuse that Julia and her brother Paul both suffered as children. The character of Julia has much private, lingering pain. Maybe as a distraction from all of this, she becomes intrigued, then obsessed, with a troubled student of hers. There are a lot of small towns in America that have been affected by the opioid crisis like this one. The monster in "Antlers" is an analogy for the distraction of families, whether from drug use, alcoholism or the loss of jobs. The character of Julia sees quite a bit of herself in Lucas Weaver, who's quite a special young boy. They both have younger siblings, difficult relationships with their father and their mothers both died when they were young. She connects with this child as kindred spirits over the trying obstacles they’ve both had to overcome. The character of Lucas is dirty and scruffy because of his home life, but also because he probably gets cuts, scrapes and bruises all the time. You wouldn’t necessarily know if he got hurt riding his bike or if something else was going on. So, this plays a lot with that backstory throughout the film. He mostly keeps to himself and is bullied by a character named Clint (Cody Davis). So, the movie starts with him being hurt, mentally and physically. After Clint faces a brutal demise, the real-life parts of this movie, like bullying and his not having a mother give the character his perspective of the world. At first Aiden (Sawyer Jones), Lucas younger brother, is a normal, kind of happy kid. But later he becomes sadder and turns into a monster. We find Frank Weaver (Scott Haze), Lucas father, in a situation in which many find themselves in today’s society; people caught up in the world of drugs. Whether they’re making or selling drugs, people like Frank are just trying to survive. He’s also raising two boys on his own.
'The Wendigo' (also spelled ‘Windigo’ and ‘Wetiko’) is generally known as a mythological deer-like creature and/or evil spirit in the mythology of the 'Native American Algonquian' tribes, based in the northern forests of 'Nova Scotia', 'The East Coast Of Canada', and 'Great Lakes Region Of Canada'. 'The Wendigo' is widely accepted as a destructive, cannibalistic creature associated with winter, coldness and starvation, and is present in the traditional belief system of many 'Algonquin' speaking peoples, including 'The Ojibwe', 'The Saulteaux', 'The Cree', 'The Naspapi' and 'The Innu'. The creature at the heart of "Antlers" draws accurately and respectfully from 'The Native' lore from which it came. And much like the legendary 'Sasquatch' creature of 'The Pacific Northwest' (a.k.a 'Bigfoot'), 'The Wendigo' is as much rooted in regional storytelling as it's ensuing place in the imaginations of folklore fans. They live together as villages and are constantly sharing, so any form of excessiveness is seen as a heinous thing. 'Wendigo' can also be the fierce winds that come off of Lake Superior and damage the common pot of the community. '
The Wendigo' can enter into any kind of consciousness, manifesting as animals or humans. 'The Wendigo' legend feels like a natural fit for this place because it's a monster that reflects our own demons and feeds off of our worst potential. It's the spirit of lonely places. In a town like 'Cispus Falls' 'The Wendigo' comes to be a stand-in for the issues people would rather not confront. 'The Wendigo' is a particularly poignant metaphor for the fractious relationship humans now have with the land. 'The Wendigo' brings a message that you’ve encroached upon territory you’re not allowed to encroach upon, and 'The Wendigo' will set it right. The larger message is that the earth has been here for millions of years. But we can never destroy the earth; she will destroy us. She doesn’t need us to go on. It literally comes out of us. It can manifest in many ways, but it's first and foremost always a spirit..'The Wendigo' is the pain and misery that lives in all of us, and it comes out eventually. It lives everywhere, and you can’t get away from it.
What's happening in America today and somehow draw those themes into horror? If you’re skinny, but still have some muscular tones and can avoid feeling claustrophobic, you can do creature work. The best of those films shares elements of social commentary, while also delving into the fears and weaknesses that haunt so many of us. "Antlers" is an artful exploration of the human condition. It's a story about examining cultures within a host of genres. From the underside of addiction in the country music world, to the intense familial drama, to the journey of 'Native Americans', the film redefines the expectations of classic genre norms. The film explores the underlying social issues in filmmaking, eye-catching cinematography and intricate sound design. "Antlers" tackles the genre of classic horror. It's not horror-for-horror’s sake. The film tackles a narrative that allows to employ the classic horror genre as a vehicle for telling a terrifying story of one family’s journey into darkness, steeped in the intimacy of a small northwestern seaside town.
The result is an emotionally-charged horror feature that blended 'Native American' lore with family drama, and plenty of requisite scary moments. A mythical creature who embodies the fears and weaknesses of a small town decimated by the.societal issues that so many towns encounter. But the mythology didn’t just come from the story. It's a movie about rage, hatred and what happens when we destroy the earth. Whether the rage happens in a family, in a country or to the environment, it’s all an invocation for this creature. The rage is what summons him. Yes, "Antlers" is a horror movie, but it’s also a really dark, poignant and emotional social drama. "Antlers" offered a narrative framework within which urgent socio-cultural commentary could thrive. 'The Wendigo' represents the enduring historical trauma faced by 'Native' people; cultural cannibalism, if you will, in the form of capitalism that has unfortunately taken place ever since the English, French and others arrived on the shores of 'North America'. This is why it’s such crucial part of their mythology. In a way, "Antlers" is essentially about the ultimate vindication of nature.
