Come Play

Director - Jacob Chase (Larry, Amy)

Starring - Azhy Robertson (Rough Night, Beyond the Night), Gillian Jacobs (Community, The Box), and John Gallagher Jr. (Jonah Hex, 10 Cloverfield Lane)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Don't let him out"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Last year may have been a shit show but the fact that some companies were able to push through quarantine and social distancing laws to make any sort of a movie is pretty spectacular.  These movies may not be movies I enjoy but they deserve some sort of credit when they are able to finish production, editing, and find distribution during a year when the entire country was shut down.  A few weeks ago I received the horror film Come Play for review.  This 2020 title is one I had heard about a few months prior and was amazed that a film of this caliber was able to pull off a release in 2020.  After watching Versus I decided it was the perfect time to give this one a spin.  

     The film follows a loving mother and her autistic son.  He's non-verbal and struggles with finding friends at school.  He's often bullied for being different.  However, he soon finds an unlikely friend in an app named Larry.  However, Larry is actually a monster that is using his iPad as a window to getting into our world.

     I went into this one really excited to check it out but was quick to discover that it was actually pretty similiar to another film I recently reviewed, Z.  Both films followed similiar stories but Come Play was a little bit better.  Not by a lot but was some better.  The acting in this one is pretty good and consistent.  The cast does a great job in their roles and the characters really stand out.  They are very genuine and fit the story perfectly.  With that being said, Azhy Robertson does a phenomenal job at the non-verbal autistic child.  My degree is in education with emphasis on special education.  I had seen so many children just like the one he portrays and he does an amazing job.  The story for this one is a solid horror feature BUT is too similar to the Shudder exclusive Z.  In Z a family is haunted by their child's imaginary friend.  The similarities are there which makes it very difficult to see passed them.  Though they both feature a similar story, Come Play's execution makes this one a little more enjoyable than Z.  The characters, action, and scenes are much more enjoyable.  With that being said, a lot of the scenes we get are repetitive which results in a bit of a boring experience.  Finally, this is not a bloody flick.  In fact, if you are looking for fun and inventive death scenes then you will be very disappointed.  There is some visual effects with the creature that I was not digging.  The monster itself was very disappointing and funny to look at.  It definitely took the tone of the film away.  Overall, Come Play was alright for a first time watch.  It has a solid cast but an unoriginal story.  From my understanding, this one is based on a short from the same director so Z could be inspired by it.  Regardless, both share the same story and both are very forgettable.