Come Play (2020)

“Larry just wants a friend” – Byron

Come Play is literally a film that fell between the cracks and just disappeared and was largely forgotten about. And that’s a huge shame, because it really is a great horror movie, one I’m happy to champion because I think it needs to be seen. In fact, it’s easily one of the best horrors I’ve seen recently – but that almost never happened.

I remember seeing the trailer in the multiplex and thinking that it was one to see. Then, Covid-19 happened, the world shut down, and if it ever did make it to my usual cinema, then I must’ve blinked and missed it. I stumbled across it on Netflix, haven forgotten all about it in the intervening years. And it’s a film that I immediately wished I had seen years ago – it’s THAT good. Again, not a film that has seen a disc release in this country – everywhere else though – so another import in case it disappears from streaming (they like to do that).

So, what’s so good about it? What makes it so special?

As ever, it comes down to originality and execution. It’s as far fetched a leap of imagination as you’d expect from a horror movie involving a demonic presence menacing a child, but it has a heart, pathos, and a chilling message that’s actually very relevant in our screen obsessed age.

Oliver (Azhy Robertson) is an autistic, non-verbal child whose primary means of communication is via an app on his cell phone. He happens upon an app that shows a storybook called Misunderstood Monsters, and tells the story of Larry, a tall thin, pale apparition with blazing red eyes, who’s lonely because he’s different and wants a friend.

Playing with another app, one that superimposes hats, etc on your face, the app identifies that there’s another face behind him, but turning around – he can’t see it. The following day, Oliver is cornered and bullied by three kids, and his phone is thrown away by the boys during the attack. His father gives him an old battered tablet, and Larry begins to come over into our world, to claim Oliver as his friend.

Larry is terrifying, with his ghoul-like appearance, but as the film continues its narrative, he also solicits sympathy from the audience. As the film explains, he is born of loneliness. Think about it, we, in this day and age, spend more time in front of a screen to communicate with people than we do standing or sitting in front of the actual people, actually talking in person. And how often have we seen a family out for a meal sit down and immediately prop a screen in front of their children so they don’t even have to talk to them? The message is resonant and clear.

Some other things that fascinated me about the film were the subjective point of view from Larry’s perspective, as he watches Oliver from the other side of the screen. The uneasy notion here being that he’s been watching different people for a long time, from behind whatever it is they’re watching. And the only way to see him is through the camera screen of your device. He’s physically between two worlds, invisible, but physically present in ours – visible only through your screen. But he can still harm, and hurt. It’s a chilling moment when Oliver, playing with his father’s laser ruler watches as the distance on the readout between him and the invisible Larry decreases, or when Larry slowly lifts Oliver up, behind the back of Oliver’s father who’s trying to figure out where Larry is, unsuspecting how close they are.

Moments like these, added to the pathos of Larry elevate this film head and shoulders above most other genre movies. The fact that Larry isn’t out to harm Oliver, but superficially hurts the bully who tormented Oliver earlier in the film in an act of protection and warning adds to Larry’s being misunderstood.

I’m not going to spoil the ending, save to say that it’s a conclusive and very satisfying one that renders any notion of a sequel pretty unnecessary. And this is another huge tick in the box. The film is a one-off, self-contained tale.

Give it a go one of these autumn evenings, with the lights turned off. You won’t regret it, but you might want to consider switching your devices off first.

Remember, if you're in the Shocktober mood and you're craving some more before the next installment, Steve and I picked 20 horror movies for your halloween watch list. Our Piercing the Veil Shocktober Special is available to play or download on this link.