Zo's Reviews: Come Play

 

Come Play was directed by Jacob Chase and stars John Gallagher Jr. as Marty, Gillian Jacobs as Sarah, a couple of parents with a special needs child named Oliver (played by Azhy Robertson). Oliver is a lonely young boy who feels different from everyone else. Desperate for a friend, he seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses Oliver's devices against him to break into our world, Oliver's parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen. All this creature wants is a friend...a friend FOREVER (insert diabolical laughter here).

So, what did I think about this movie? It was...I mean...it was there. Stuff happened. But I don't want to trash this movie outright because really, it's not that bad. Speaking of the bad...I didn't like Gillian Jacobs' character in this movie. Sarah was written decently enough, but the entire time I felt like the character was just looking for excuses to not deal with her son and his problems, and when things start heating up, she literally blames Oliver for a lot of what's happening...even going as far as screaming at him to "BE NORMAL." I can understand the stress that comes with raising a child, and I can understand that raising one with special needs could also be trying, but the entire time this character felt like she was being selfish, only caring about her own image in front of others...and then doing the exact opposite as the film progressed but without much growth being shown on screen other than "oh no there's a monster for real? OK I'll be super mom now!" Gillian Jacobs wasn't the problem here, I think the writing was a little off. The other thing that kind of bugged me was that this is a techno-horror movie that basically took a lot of inspiration from The Babadook which is, for me, a far superior and creepy film. I will say this though, the writer/director did pick a great movie to draw inspiration from!

As for the good, Azhy Robertson is really good in this movie as Oliver. I'm not sure if he has Autism or if he was pretending, but he's really really great in this film. The fear you can see on his face felt real! The scares are also particularly tense and really well done. The lighting effects and the way it was filmed were great. The music sets the tone and the scenes really well. Also, and this might be a minor spoiler, but the digital book in the electronic devices? Really creepy stuff, a great way to set the tone and progress the film. The cast in this one are actually pretty good despite the writing flaws.

Overall, it's a decent kid's horror movie that teaches us to not be on our digital devices and to actually pay attention to one another; make friends, be with your friends, don't be stuck to a screen all the time! Also, listen to your kids when they're freaking out about a monster...or they may just get spirited away to another dimension. Definitely think it's worth your time, check it out as it should be on digital and DVD/Blu Ray now.

FINAL SCORE: C+