With the film delayed by Covid for nearly 2 years, shuffled during the Fox/Disney studio merger, and overshadowed by a crowded field of horrors in October, you’d be forgiven if you missed Antlers. What’s been overlooked, though, is a fascinating fable with a dread-inducing momentum toward a spectacular climax few films nail. Much like Guillermo Del Toro used the contrast of fantasy to depict fascism in Pan‘s Labyrinth, Antlers uses the horror genre to face the nightmares of contemporary America in intimate and historic terms.
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It’s December, which means we’re deep into award season–where the standard offerings might include family dramas you’ve seen before, but with a slight new flavor (Lady Bird) or the period drama your grandparents will rave about (Darkest Hour). None of these films will do anything inventive with the form because they’re like pizza – not fine dining, but you know what to expect regardless of where it comes from.
mother! is a scathing critique of patriarchal gender roles and a deformed, Cronenberg-esque literalization of the horrors of celebrity, all wrapped in a theological metaphor that paints God as a cosmic asshole we’d all be better off without. No wonder people are pissed about it.
The Filmsmith 