Come Out And Play: Review
Directed by Makinov and based Juan José Plan’s 1976 Spanish horror classic. Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Vinessa Shaw star as a young couple that go on vacation to an island right outside of Mexico. As soon as they arrive they are greeted by a group of kids that help them off their single motor boat. They wander around a bit and start noticing that things are a bit odd. The town is completely deserted except for a group of children. What they stumble upon is that the kids aren’t as innocent as they seem. Their tropical getaway has now turned into a mission of survival.
We’ve all seen vacation themed horror movies before but this one (although somewhat familiar) brings something way different to the table. The idea of the film reminded me a lot of Children of the Corn because they both involved killer kids but the similarities stop there. Makinov did a great job at building the suspense. There were tons of moments that had me on the edge of my seat even though I kind of had an idea of what could be coming. The setting was another great choice. Many people may not realize but the buildings in the small town play into the added suspense of the film as well. Everything is so close together and intimate that you can honestly feel like someone could pop up from around any corner. The horror genre has been a bit bland recently and this is definitely refreshing. Makinov has created something terrifyingly special and let’s face it, what’s more creepy than a horde of kids coming after you with knives? Sure you can say “but David, they’re kids. they can be easily subdued.” and to that I say “yeah if you’re dealing with one!”. You can easily compare the children to an army of ants. When you are facing one it’s easily taken care of but when you’re faced with the whole mound they will obviously attack in groups. There was a scene where they attacked an old man and they literally worked like an assembly line to get a big boulder close enough to the old man to ultimately drop it on his head. When I heard initially that kids were involved I was a bit worried that it might be a tad too gruesome which can make a film tacky sometimes. As I watched the film I noticed that much of the killing and violence was cleverly hidden and edited very well. In the end the way the death scenes came across worked way better than any splatterfest film. It almost reminded me and took me back to the early days of horror when less was more. It leaves a bit to the imagination. Shaw and Moss-Bachrach were a perfect fit for this film. The chemistry they had together showed on screen but it was their moments of horror that you could see the panic in their faces. With Shaw playing a pregnant character also brought something unique to the film. The whole time they would get caught in situations I found myself thinking “but shes pregnant!”. I think that aspect makes you connect with the couple more and hope that they get off the island. This film is a fantastic piece of work that surprised the hell out of me. With nail biting scenes and an old school feel, Come Out And Play has everything that has been missing in a true horror film. A must watch indeed!
