‘Antlers’ review: The Guillermo del Toro-produced horror movie branches off in too many directions

Environmental activism, therapy of indigenous individuals, the opioid epidemic, and little one abuse all determine into the story, which hinges on a middle-school trainer, Julia (Keri Russell), and her brother, the native sheriff (Jesse Plemons), reunited within the small Oregon city the place they not-very-happily grew up.

Julia has observed a pupil (Jeremy T. Thomas) who’s exhibiting indicators of hassle, and the image does not get any higher because the viewers friends into his dwelling life, which incorporates having his dad and younger brother locked away behind a bolted door, fearing what’s going to occur ought to they someway get out.

Apart from the message that it is not smart to mess with Mom Nature, “Antlers” explores the potential of actual threats behind myths and legends, which is ceaselessly fertile terrain. On this case, it is the notion of one thing darkish and evil lurking within the native mines, rooted in Native American folklore.

Tailored from the brief story “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca (who shares script credit score with Cooper and C. Henry Chaisson), the film has an unsettling high quality within the early going that dissipates as extra revelations slowly drip out. But all these aforementioned real-world references really feel more and more compelled, as if reaching for relevance that is not actually supported by the monster motif that ultimately takes over.