Described as a supernatural horror, “Antlers” breathes fresh air into the genre as it explores a wonderfully original concept and poses the question, what is real and what is just a myth?

Directed by Scott Cooper (“Hostiles”), the movie follows Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas, “Paradise Lost”), who finds himself amongst the Wendigo, a nightmarish creature straight from Native American stories. The story also follows school teacher Julia Meadows (Keri Russell, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) and Paul Meadows (Jesse Plemons, “Jungle Cruise”), her brother, who is the new sheriff of the Oregonian town in which the film takes place.

One of the many redeeming qualities of the film is its pacing. Nowhere at any point in the movie did scenes feel rushed or plot points feel brushed over. The movie also deserves credit for how it hid the creature that was the main source of problems for the whole movie. In today’s day and age of reboots plaguing the horror genre, audiences know who the bad guy is going to be before walking into the theatres. “Antlers” does a phenomenal job leaving things to the imagination. Allowing the dark corners of viewers’ minds to create their own image of the creature makes for a much more tense and captivating film.

With waiting so long to reveal the creature, in this case the fabled Wendigo, it was important that the movie did well with their use of CGI (Computer-generated imagery) and practical effects. “Antlers” did more than deliver on this front. While it does take a good amount of time before the audience sees the Wendigo for the first time in the film, the reveal is more than worth the wait. The CGI used to create the Wendigo is arguably flawless and makes for a jaw-dropping sight for audiences. This movie is worth watching for this reason alone.

“Antlers” also deserves some applause for tapping into real life to find the inspiration for this movie. The Wendigo is a haunting legend that exists within several Native American tribes. The story goes that if a man is driven to cannibalism, they become eternally hungry, eating any man, woman or child that crossed their path. However, the Wendigo also has the ability to, instead of devouring a person, choose to possess them and in turn, make them a Wendigo as well. The film uses this very real and terrifying legend that many tribes truly believe in to create a bone-chilling experience for audiences.

The acting in the film is brilliant as Thomas, Russell and Plemons make for a likable and captivating trio for the audience to latch onto. The overall cast is small, however this does not in any way hinder the movie. If anything it makes it that much better as the audience truly gets to know, care and understand the characters and the relationships between each of them.

One aspect of the movie that could use some work is the dialogue. For the majority of the movie there is little to complain about, however in some scenes the words felt too on-the-nose and more as if the lines were intended to direct the story a certain direction as opposed to letting it flow on its own. This is only a minor problem with the movie as a good majority of the dialogue is very good and presented with raw emotion from a truly gifted cast.

Despite the Halloween holiday coming and going, “Antlers” is a horror movie for any time of the year. Its genius acting, beautiful art design and original concept make the movie a must-watch for horror fans, as well as those simply seeking a truly suspenseful film that will send shivers down their spines.

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