Mr. Movie: ‘Come Play’ is all padding with no thriller

Originally, the movie was called “Larry.” I don’t care enough to find out the why of why the name got changed. Larry is a monster. He comes out of an online book and terrorizes a young autistic boy and his family. Reflecting back on the movie’s title, using Larry’s name makes more sense than Come Play because nothing in the movie has Larry asking the boy to come and play.

Oliver is autistic and can’t speak. He can, however, hear and understand. Oliver uses odd looking graphics on a phone application that lets his phone talk for him. One day a story about Larry shows up on his phone. It says the boy is lonely and needs a friend and so does Larry. When Larry holds the boy’s hand good things happen for Larry and no so many good things happen to Oliver.

Needless to say all of this freaks Oliver out to no end.

Larry’s threat then moves from Oliver to his mom and then boys who bully him and later become his friends. Last on Larry’s list is Oliver’s father. It freaks him out to no end, too.

The concept is so silly and so badly done that the freaking out to no end doesn’t end soon enough. Worse, Larry is the fakiest monster I’ve seen in movies in years. In places Larry is obviously a piece of painted plastic, or he’s a three-dimensional doll of some kind.

Other scenes have Larry’s head looking like a ghostly skull. Predictable and boring.

Oliver is played by Azhy Robertson. Donning a Danny Torrence (“The Shining”) haircut and with eyes and expressions to match, Robertson (“Marriage Story”) manages to look terrorized through most of the movie.

This is surprisingly good, and even award-worthy, acting. “Come Play” is a premise so contrived that it will glaze the eyes over of any kid over the age of 12. At the time the film was shot, Robertson looked under that age. Maybe that’s how he managed to stay focused.

Robertson is joined by TV’s “Star Trek: Lower Decks” star, Gillian Jacobs who plays his drop-dead gorgeous but totally helpless mom and “10 Cloverfield Lane’s” John Gallagher Jr. does the boy’s derelict dad.

All of the actors do the best they can wading through writer/director Jason Chase’s horrifyingly horrible screenplay. Chase — who hasn’t done anything you’ve likely ever seen — bases his movie on his own short film which brings us back to Larry.

That is the name of his 2017 short. Maybe a short version of this horror flick works but a long one does not. “Larry” ran five-minutes. The full-length feature, “Come Play” is 1:46.

As we know, ghost and monster horror movies are usually padded for length ad nauseam. But even for a padded fright flick, 1:41 is a heck of a lot of padding.

▪ Rated PG-13 for mature themes and some violence. It’s playing at the Fairchild Cinemas Queensgate 12 and Southgate 10 and at the AMC Classic Kennewick 12.

▪ Rating: 1 out of 5

Halloween Family Movies

Fairchild Cinemas is offering Halloween flicks for the family. “Monster House” is showing at the Southgate 10 and “Goosebumps” at the Queensgate 12. Admission to those movies is free.

The AMC Classic Kennewick 12 has 2019’s animated flick “The Addams Family,” and 1982’s terrific horror flick, “Poltergeist.” Those are $5 per person admission.

Other horror treats

It is Halloween weekend and no Halloween weekend is complete without taking a peek at some horror treats. Every couple of years I’ll dip into my list of favorite horror films and share them with you. A new one has been added to my list of favorites.

The new kid on the block is “A Quiet Place.”

You can find it on any number of streaming sites and — of course — a DVD can be picked up at stores that still deal in physical versions of movies.

I get a lot of complaints from friends about noisy movies. It is true that at times films are so loud it is uncomfortable. Some films overdo sound to the point that the background music and sound effects drown out the dialogue.

Once in a while, someone does one that is quiet. Really quiet. Or to be a bit more specific, it’s when the sound of the popcorn you’re chewing is louder than what’s happening on the screen. That style of film making leads to a different kind of discomfort.

With that we arrive at the silence of “A Quiet Place.” It is that silence that is the biggest reason why this movie is so terrifying. Sound can kill you in the dystopian world of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s Lee and Evelyn.

A bloody, horrific death is just a small sound away. Drop an object or step on a twig, and lightning fast monsters appear. The creatures can’t see but their sense of hearing rivals a dog’s sense of smell. It’s thousands of times better than ours.

That makes the life of Lee and Evelyn, and of their kids, one of total silence. All conversation is done in whispers or sign language. Paths in and out of their safe-haven farm are lined with sand. Lee, Evelyn and their two children walk everywhere barefoot.

“A Quiet Place” has one of those great scripts that gives actors a chance to show off their non-verbal skills. There is very little dialogue, and what dialogue there is comes in whispers. While it sounds like a walk in the park, most actors struggle with a skill most of us assume is easy.

It is not.

Krasinski and Blunt — who are uncommonly good actors — pull it off. Terror, anger, pain and all discussion is done with facial expression and the use of hands, arms and other forms of body language.

Blunt is a Golden Globe winner for “Gideon’s Daughter” and nominee for “The Girl on the Train” and “The Young Victoria,” so we already know she can do drama. She’s on pitch here and her best scene is a terrifying few minutes in a bathtub.

It’s also the most intense scene in a movie full of them.

Krasinski is best known for comedy, light dramatic parts and his role in TV’s “The Office.” He’s also shined in the Prime Video TV series “Jack Ryan” The guy has serious dramatic acting chops and “A Quiet Place” shows them off perfectly.

Acting is always important to any movie but the real star of this movie is Krasinski the director. “A Quiet Place” is hold-your-breath intense. Krasinski and co-writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck put together a movie that rivals Ridley Scott’s original Alien for pure, unadulterated terror.

How good is Krasinski? You’ll find yourself holding your breath and gripping the arm rest of the chair you’re sitting in so hard your hands hurt. Nail-biting will follow and as the credits roll at the end of “A Quiet Place,” you’re drained, done in, and in desperate need of your own quiet place.

Horror doesn’t get any better than that.

Here are some other horror treats you might want to check out this Halloween. Though many of you hate reading a movie, when it comes to original, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is as original as they come. Nor can you beat Scott’s “Alien” or flicks like the terrifying “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Most of you have seen these and the always riveting “The Shining.” Want something fresh? Check out “A Quiet Place” and “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie: ‘Come Play’ is all padding with no thriller."