Come Play (2020)

Come Play (2020) I’d already adored Gillian Jacobs in Visions (2015) and was looking forward to seeing her again, but there aren’t many of her films that interest me. I thought I’d give this one a go, as a first step. I also know that she’s in one of the episodes of The Twilight Zone – The Complete Series (2019), but mostly in the series Community.

Great! What can I say about this film? Well, it’s a lot better than the nullified Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (2010) or Mama (2013), both presented by Guillermo Del Toro, as luck would have it, and both of which are also worse than Mister Babadook (2014)! But all these films are worse than Before I Wake (2016).

It seems to me that films that are based on children seeing their fears realised in the form of monsters or other creatures. There’s no shortage of them! So, inevitably, we know that if children are going to be the main protagonists, there are certain limits that are not going to be crossed, because that makes the story more mainstream. By widening these doors, we know that there won’t be gore galore and that it won’t be a film that will keep you awake for weeks on end. Yes, that’s a little clarification for all those who recognised themselves in ‘people who can move on’!

Another film that clumsily tries to knock screens, but uses them to make its more or less original concept. A subliminal critique of the rampant smartphone addiction. Of course, it’s always well-intentioned!

Once again we see: the unconditional love of a mother for her child,
the difficulty of communication between men and women (in this case between mother and father),
the child psychologist, who is as benevolent as they come, but doesn’t believe in the supernatural,
the police, who always arrive when the big events have just finished…

Note that the child is autistic and is bullied at school by his classmates, which makes the story dramatic long before it becomes scare, terror, fright.

For his second feature film after ‘The Four-Faced Liar’, Jacob Chase is adapting his short film ‘Larry’, released in 2017. While adaptations can sometimes result in projects that differ significantly from the original, this is not the case here, as the entire short film is reproduced in the film. The director has therefore created an entire story around his basic concept. The car park attendant is still there, for example, except that he’s no longer a simple stranger, but the child’s father.

In fact, I can see that this feature film has done everything to be right, but I really had trouble getting into it and staying hooked. I can’t loudly proclaim that it’s scary, breathtaking, captivating and entertaining right up to the end. It’s far-fetched, full of inconsistencies and implausibilities. Some of the scenes are quite long, as if they absolutely had to be an hour and a half long and no less.

The monster manages to surround, frighten and taunt a gentleman working in a car park, while lighting up all the cars one by one and playing with lamps, bulbs and lampposts all the while being invisible… but he can’t find a mother and her son hiding under a bed in a small bedroom? In short!

The theme is basically kitsch, too crude, not credible enough not to say, in fact, completely stupid! I don’t think this film deserves a higher rating. What’s more, a lot of questions remain unanswered. But I still had a good time, and didn’t waste my time like I do with most of these films. This one fulfilled its objective for me. It lacked a little spice in the right places. A few more horror scenes could have been added, even if the atmosphere is good.

The characters are believable and likeable and the film’s music is atmospheric, created by Spaniard Roque Baños.

The film’s title is good too. ‘Come and play’ says it all. This becomes even clearer in the final seconds. The film is lit up with sequences from SpongeBob SquarePants and there’s an incredible moment when the TV starts talking using a word from each channel it’s frantically flipping through. We see Hugh Grant, for example, in those few seconds.

I’m glad I saw it once, but this film is neither useful nor a priority. Even if its ending is truly magnificent!
A beautiful conclusion, poetic, truly touching and also testifying to the very good acting of the main trio.