ANTLERS 2021 MOVIE REVIEW + RANT 

You: why did the native guy not play a bigger role in confronting the windigo. Me: because he smart he knows what that thing is capable of so he got the f outa there.

0:51 "I tend to get eaten alive a little bit." Sounds pretty fitting for a horror channel, tbh

As a Native American and someone who has survived childhood trauma, this movie helped me to feel less alone. The characters’ stories and the spirit of the Windego gave an accurate representation of what that type of trauma can feel like. Maybe because of my background I didn’t need things to be more explained. It wasn’t a perfect film and it’s not for everyone, but I am thankful it was made. Even if it only helps one person. It really helped me.

i’ll never understand why people come to YOUR channel and attack you for YOUR opinions on movies. i really liked this movie and i came to see how you liked it and i respect how you feel either way , i like looking at different perspectives and it doesn’t change how much i liked a movie ☺️❤️

Can we talk about how easily the teacher kills the wendigo 😆 like we spent this whole movie discovering (never really seeing) this creature tear people apart and parkour off of a tree to eat a child. But then she lights a flare then starts spearing it's body with a pipe, and it's just standing there taking it like 'oh ouch' .

Nothing excites me more than having a culture's stories and lore told by it's own people. Not doing that makes the entity generic... the Wendigo could be any monster, La Llorona could be any spirit, The Forest could be any forest... Stripping cultural context strips out all that makes the entities unique. Having one minor character does not substitute for that context.

I saw it last week and I was kind of disappointed. It just felt like the monster could have been any generic monster, it was kind of cookie cutter for the most part and didn't have enough specialness, not enough from the native background or mysticism. We get 5 minutes of a sole (token?) native character explaining what it is, but we never know that character's name or even the tribe's name. He's only there for exposition and we never see him again. The medicine bags in the mine imply that there are more native people in the area who know about the wendigo and are trying to control it or appease it or something, but why don't we ever meet those people? It just felt like the filmmakers took the kernel of the idea from native myths but didn't want to include much else from the native world ( or hire more native actors). It just felt like a wasted opportunity. Also: they show the teacher teaching about myths and legends and what is the moral of the story, that is a pretty long scene and she makes a point that myths are invented to teach us lessons about how to behave. (don't steal bear's food, for example) . But then when a legend comes to life, the story forgets completely about any lessons or morals or what the monster is there to teach us. It just becomes generic boogeyman and you have to kill it and then everything is supposed to be fine. There is quite a bit of time also spent on the teacher and sherriff's backstory of childhood abuse, and she seems to be a recovering alcoholic, but it does not seem to have any real importance in the story other than a quick & easy way to make them more complex or troubled characters. (and even that seems cookie cutter, like every troubled cop with a drinking problem and an abusive father, I mean I know those are common in real life but it's formulaic that every movie or tv cop has the exact same backstory. I'd like to see some new or less-used tropes for trauma and 'damaged character' baggage) It provides some motivation for the teacher to want to rescue Lucas from what she thinks is abuse, but like we never hear what their dad did to her brother, for example. I feel like there must have been a few deleted scenes.

In some sources of wendigo lore, you can only kill them with fire. Hence its fear of the flare.

The scariest part for me was when the principal was found … the FLASH of the camera after it being pitch black made me fly out of my seat 🤣

I love hearing your thoughts on horror!!! So interesting how I loved this movie and you were the opposite. No matter our opinions I will always love hearing your views!!!

One thing that bothered me was that the lead ends up telling her traumatic past to a child who was dealing with abuse. Don't tell a child in that situation that your dad killed himself. It just made me feel very uncomfortable. Also, I'm so excited for your book reviews!

I'm not for sure because as you said it was never thoroughly explained but I assumed the reason she always stared at the same Bottle of liquor was because it was the brand of liquor her father drank. The first time in the store she was seen buying a different brand of liquor so I think that debunks her ever being an alcoholic. I assumed the brother took pills to help with anxiety. The sister left him at home to deal with the father alone so he might of had anxiety issues from that.

When you were talking about how poc are used to dump cultural "lore" and then discarded I instantly thought of until dawn. This man who you think was the antagonist gets like 10-20 mins of screen time where he tells the wendigo story for that game and is then is killed in the next scene. What's so infuriating is that the character was supposedly the person who was fighting against the wendigo for decades and was just snuffed out by them with no thought given.

desperately need a wendigo movie with a full native american cast now. like why hasn’t this been made yet???? so much potential. haven’t seen antlers just like hearing your opinions 🖤

I was cautiously looking forward to this movie; I love folklore horror, I love creature features, Del Toro, movies about trauma; but ultimately I'm not going to watch it, because I'm done with stories using Native creatures as the Big Bad for white people, Native stories to illustrate white trauma, and Native characters as the "mystical" stereotype to explain the danger then exit stage left; thanks for talking about that, it's been a problem since Stephen King and before, so much so that they named it the "Indian Burial Ground Trope" again, the atmosphere and setting looked so much my thing! but there are too many other, better movies I can see that do that stuff and more

I would be curious to see what you think of the source material- the movie is based by a short story called “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca published by Guernica and is quite good. I know you are a writer, so you might want to check it out if you have time and are curious! It might fit in with the other series you have comparing books\stories and films.

I'm willing to give Candyman a partial pass since it kinda feels like the story itself is about a white person learning about black suffering, rather than just using 'ethnic person explains lore' as a quick trope. Now, worth debating whether the 'white person learns about black suffering' narrative is a good thing to begin with...

I thought it was very average, but I do love listening to someone pick apart a movie, so thank you for your review 😄

Was waiting for this review !!!🤩

I love your reviews. You keep it real and you address issues not addressed by other critics because they worry about losing subscribers, but hey that's how you find your tribe. I was worried this movie wasn't going to as good as expected .

I love when you mention that movies use the same shot multiple times, whether it be the same exact clip or identical set up. It’s a big pet peeve of mine and nobody else seems to care lol. As my go to horror reviewer, as someone who doesn’t watch horror movies, I appreciate it 🤣

So many times I was asking myself “why is no one calling for police back up?” I had so many questions but kept coming back to this one over and over

I totally agree with everything you've said tbh especially the shed scenes

I feel like this myth/monster could be such an amazing film with more cultural context and indigenous production (both in front of and behind the camera). I wonder though if there might be a reluctance by some whose traditions may contain the figure of this creature/corruption. Would it be frowned upon to present it for entertainment purposes? I’m not sure.

I think candy man handles the trope the best (which is ironic considering it’s the oldest of the films you mentioned) cause in that movie the black characters and their culture and environment and hardships are the core of the movie narratively and thematically and continue to be explored long after the stereotypical exposition scene. Their history and the plights they face under the system are integral to the movie

sarah, i literally went to school this morning, and the first thing i did when i got there was turn on one of your vids. i just love ur channel so much!

honestly my biggest gripe with the movie was i felt that this teacher did not have a justifiable reason to want to intervene, like yeah she was abused, and she related to that, but i felt it was such a weak attempt to justify her sympathy, like she really went to defeat a mythologicla creature cause 1 kid was drawing spooky picutres. Does she show up at all the kids homes to check on them?? i think a familial relationship woudl have made more sense, maybe hes her nephew, then that explains also why the dad isnt ever arrested. idk, i just couldnt believe this woman would go to these lengths.

I can't WAIT for you to start talking about books!!!!!!!!

Great review and I couldn't agree more on the missed opportunities of using Graham Greene more. As someone who is passionate about indigenous representation, and who is native, it was refreshing to see a non-native be so passionate about this aspect of the film. Subbed and liked!

I just finished this movie on VOD. Fantastic review. You put into words all of the things I was thinking. Keep up the great work!!

Love that you’re going to do horror book reviews!!! 💜.

The beginning was good, the atmosphere had me captivated and really eager to know what would happen (that little kid had my heart from the start 🥲) ... which makes the third act way more disappointing. I'm pretty sure more than half of the people in the screening were laughing in disbelief of what we were experiencing.

If you want a good wendigo movie, Ravenous is the best one I have seen to date. Wendigo is basically a manifestation of insatiable greed which drives one to cannibalism and is used in ravenous as a great metaphor for you know settler colonialism, capitalism, and manifest destiny. I have read the story of antlers and the story is a pretty decent one. Sad to see the movie didn't live up to the hype. I am not a big fan of Hollywood Del Torro anyway so I have no idea how much his involvement would have saved the movie. I actually loved Candyman 2021 and wish we had more movies like that. I still love the old Candyman and it has its themes but you are right.

As someone who enjoyed watching the movie I appreciate this video and feel like you made extremely valid points. Great job!

Why was the younger brother sick like the dad when the windigo can only possess one host at a time?

This is the exact opposite of everything else I’ve heard about this movie. Can’t wait to see it. I’ll be back for the rest of this.

interesting hearing your point of view on the “fear” thing. when i watched the scene with the brother approaching the shed after the first cop died, I felt like he had some of the most genuine fear on his face that ive literally ever seen in a movie, he looked absolutely terrified lmao.. I can see where you’re coming from in other parts, but definitely not that scene. I like hearing your hot takes no matter what, but I thought this movie was such a great creature feature and I loved it!!

The wendigo is afraid of fire, that's why he was so afraid of the flare. A lot of stuff in the film can be confusing because you're expected to know at least some basic things about the lore going in, they were trying not to spoon feed the audience everything.

I love IT Ch 2 more than I should but it ALSO does the “throwaway native to explain thing” plot

Definitely made lots of very good points & aside from the movie I’m glad to hear you liked that book as well, my coworker coincidentally just gave it to me the other day so I’m definitely going to read that one next!

Sarah-I agree with you that it was predictable and I really wish they would have went more in depth on the creatures origin, but that’s my only complaint. I loved this movie, but I also love to hear your thoughts even if they are in opposition of my own😃. Great video!

Thank you so much for addressing the cultural crap that goes on with these kinds of movies. Anytime I see Wendigos in a piece of media, I tend to shut down. Especially because I know the only Native involved (if any of us are) is to be the Magical Native to explain shit.

I'm just gonna give a friendly advice to both you as a movie enjoyer and all who watch your videos: don't ever watch trailers. It doesn't matter what piece of media, it can be movies, shows, videogames. Don't watch any sort of teaser, it always ends up disappointing the consumer since it creates expectations which are hardly ever delivered. It's a lot more enjoyable when you know nothing about a piece of media you've seen an announcement for and you go in with no knowledge of it. And I know this is very obvious to many, and that you as a movie reviewing channel sometimes HAVE to watch trailers to make videos about them and hype up the audience, I just think it's not worth it.

"that's the wendigo good luck" lmao the accuracy of that tho lol love your reviews btw

When I see +rant I know I gotta see the movie and I’m gonna love the video lol

@9:40 she spilled lol I had the same thoughts on La Llorona… a period piece with a Mexican cast would be awesome. Not necessarily an origin story, but that too.

This makes me SO MAD because the short story it's based on doesn't have any sort of indication that it's a w*nd*go (even though I also got those vibes from the trailer). I'm Native and just so tired of folks who aren't Native telling our stories poorly (and without having any or hardly any Native writers, actors, etc involved).

You pointing out the addiction metaphor really illuminated to me the bones of what could have been a really great film. The theme of addiction could have been expanded on with the siblings, the dad, and also the meth kitchen (as we know the US has a huge opioid problem that isn't being cared for). Wonder why it became a comedy with the bodies pileling up in the entrance of that one shed. Hysterical.

Love you little stack of books! "The Terror" is one of my all-time faves.

I respect you give your honest opinion on films and truthfully if it bothers people so much there are other horror channels they can watch, I come here because I want to hear your take even if I don’t always agree.

Never seen the movie but I appreciate how you talked about the helping the white hero along by explaining the lore and then those characters being throw away characters. It’s definitely a trend I’ve noticed.

LOVE YOUR CHANNEL you got me back into writing again 😇🇯🇵

would love more horror book reviews! excited to see that when u get to it!

Hey, love your content! Would you mind doing a review on The Mothman Prophecies? I think it’s right up your alley because it’s very ambient and atmospheric and it’s personally one of my all time favorite horror movies. Thank you! P.S. Has anyone ever told you that your voice causes some serious ASMR??

You spoke on points I didn't even think about and I LOVE that! Thank you so much.

As someone who's a a big fan of the folklore, I ended up loving the movie. can't wait for a physical release😊

scary stories to tell in the dark & truth or dare also does this with the trope you were talking about

I thought it was pretty good actually, lies somewhere between 6/10 and 7/10. I don't think you're in the majority for calling it bad, but you aren't in a minority. Seems like it has mixed reviews overall, but for me I really liked the story premise, creature design, and especially the setting. I think the color palette and cinemotography really helped make the wild landscapes seem grander and more imposing. The performances were either well done or leaving more to be desired, especially from Jesse Plemons. His character had basically nothing to do and nothing to emote. The central child actor I thought had a pretty great performance, and a really interesting face for his character. My biggest critisism is the final act's route of logic. Seems like every character acted out of their own logical interest and acted only to hit the final plot points, as well as the wendigo doing the same, killing the red shirts and only injuring the leads. All it's problems considered, I liked it a lot more than I didn't, and I think it was a great little movie to go and see with some friends. *ps* I also wish that the police department was actually involved with the final confrontation, the potential for a firefight in the mines could've been so cool and made the wendigo feel like a greater adversary.

Love this video! I thought the creature design at the end was dope, but the story definitely has its downfalls. Also massive W for having a copy of Uzumaki love that book!!!

Mr. Greene was playing the part of, "Token race character explains their culture's lore before noping out in a horror movie cliche"

Love everything you do,don't stop being you

I respect your opinion. I enjoyed it personally, although wanted to see more of the death scenes. I think years of anticipation probably hurt it, because a lot of us have been waiting so long and have really built it up.

I’m so biased but I think your point about candyman being about a white women (who never once listens to any of the black people in the movie who tells her to stay away) being the centre of the movie and poc were throw away characters.... was kinda the point of the movie. But also like fair point.

I went and saw this on Halloween. I walked out thinking it was okay, but not mind-blowing. I gave it 3/5. Watching this, I literally agree with EVERY one of your criticisms and I think I was either on a Halloween high or a good mood in general because it was truly rough.

Emma (Spookyastronauts) liked it a lot!

How interesting! I actually really liked this movie but I completely see where you’re coming from in every aspect. I took the movie very deeply personal (sorry for the unload here) as someone who was abused as a child. I liked that things weren’t completely explained, I hate exposition being thrown in my face. It’s also completely representative of how those who were abused or struggle with something aren’t always verbal about it, and if they are it takes years. It felt very real to me. But again for the sake of it being a movie I understand why you would want it explained, I completely get that. I felt it was much more of a dark drama than horror. I 100% agree with you on the white heroism and erasing of any type of native involvement other than his little explanation. We need more representation and accurate ones at that. I hope anyone else that saw it liked it! Or even hated it. Both are valid. :D

thankyou for bringing up the some of the bigger issues with this movie, great review

I’m sad to hear this, because I’ve been looking forward to seeing it for ages. Still not seen it yet, but I know the premise. I wanted to see it because it’s based off a short story I really enjoyed called the quiet boy.

This might be my favorite horror of the year

when will you post ahs double feature review video?

For those who haven't but want to read The Only Good Indians, there is a content warning for animal death (it's pretty graphic and consistent in the book). I really enjoyed the book otherwise, but man, the intensity and frequency of the animal violence was very upsetting and I almost DNF'ed multiple times. I really enjoyed the Night of The Living Mannequins from him though, and I just started My Heart is a Chainsaw also by him.

I agree 100%. A period piece would’ve been spectacular especially with a Native American cast. They went through all the trouble of getting Native American consultants to make sure the Wendigo Lore was accurate, why not make the cast accurate?

You’re always a smile on my face.

Are there any wendigo movies with full or majority Native casts? I would LOVE to watch a movie like that!

I thought it was very good, but some valid criticisms. The wendigo wasn't given enough integration into the story- it was more used as a plot device

SPOILERS POSSIBLE I was in exactly the same situation as you were with being soooo hyped for this movie and I was even more hyped for your review. I saw it already and I was torn. What I liked: - atmosphere, as you mentioned was really strong and well executed - when there’s gore, it’s greatly done as you also said - I personally really enjoyed the creature design, I loved that it was literally covered in antlers almost and also I enjoyed that it still had the Dad’s face on its face - to me it was effective enough - the first hour and ten minutes actually gave me hope for it to be a descent creature feature horror movie but it was really the shed scene(s) and the climax as well where it went down for me too, yes I jumped at the jump scare too that was a good one - the overall aesthetic: visually and aurally this movie was very effective, it created a gloomy and triste feeling and was also very haunting from time to time (the creature’s scream f.e.) that really benefitted the mood. Also I loved the introduction narrated by the (assumingely native) woman setting the tone with that little piece of lore What I disliked: - I was facing the typical I-read-the-book/story-Struggle: the short story is really really effective, like I read it and had to stop midway because I was scared. And the end was more open. I didn’t like that they forced a semi-happy ending and also I felt like they wanted to leave a door open for a sequel and that’s really a current issue with Hollywood: they can’t really finish a story - the whole showdown was not in the story and I know a movie is to be seen from another perspective but here’s the thing: If you make a movie based on a written work of fiction stick to the formula or create something fully different but I felt like if the movie ended just closely similarly to how the book ended it would be more effective - LACK OF INDIGENOUS LORE AND REPRESENTATION! I really hope for that just being a negative effect from the final theatrical cut of the movie and that we will get another extended version on DVD but if you decide to mix in the lore (which the story didn’t) then the movie should be enriched by cultural references and cultural representatives. I think this would have added to the authenticity OVERALL: This movie is by far not terrible to me, I did enjoy it. However it left me a bit frustrated because it really wasted a lot of its potential - at least the one I saw in it. Also I am aware that I might have been intrigued by the expectation I had from reading the short story. But I will definitely give it a second try.

Sarah will you be watching Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City?

20:34 Sounds like Ryan Georges pitch meetings😂

I normally don't agree with you that much but this time OH MY GOD, I felt the same way watching the movie. The father's face on the Wendigo was so dumb, I mean... You're trying to tell me that THAT WENDIGO WAS RUNNING AROUND THE FOREST FOR DAYS, KILLING PEOPLE WITH A HUMAN FACE ON HIS FACE THE WHOLE TIME JUST TO TAKE IT OFF WHILE FIGHTING THE PROTAGONIST? LMAO

Could be wrong but I think wendigos are killed by fire. That’s why it would be scared of a flare

I loooved it! But appreciate your explanation of why you didn't. I agree about the lore not being fleshed out a lot, I did think there were a lot of scenes that were unnecessary that could've been replaced with lore.

i need your junji ito manga ranking.

I enjoyed the movie decently well! I feel like it was a strong commentary on abuse. I didn't much care for the design of the creature but it didnt ruin the movie for me. I'm glad to hear your opinions on it regardless if I agree or not. I didn't hate it and I didnt love it either. That being said if you ever want tonwatch it again in a different mindset we made a drinking game for it 🤣🤣

I’m not Native American, but I’ve listened to a lot of stories about the Wendigo from either Native Americans or from people who live in areas with high Native American populations. The way they describe the Wendigo in this movie is...very bad, I’d even say inaccurate, which is disappointing because the Wendigo is such a chilling tale and has so much horror potential.

I really enjoyed it. I found it very creepy and atmospheric. I felt like the movie gave us enough to go on without an exposition dump. Show, don't tell. And the creature effects were amazing. It was a little too dark in the end cave scene though. And I agree that Stokes was a throwaway character. I would have liked for him to be more involved. As far as fear is concerned, I thought they conveyed it perfectly. Everyone experiences fear differently. And thank God, she wasn't a screamer. Unfortunately, it suffers from a problem, even the best horror movies have: Characters making dumb decisions to further the plot. Nevertheless, I do respect your opinion. I thought it was dumb that people unsubscribed because you like The Village. Yeesh!

It was a slow burn atmospheric drama wrapped in a certain genre. So yes, it was a Scott Cooper movie.

I just saw this movie two weeks ago the night before it premiered…. So long ago? I absolutely loved this movie.

Thank you for talking about how bad the Native representation in this film was- I've only seen like one other article talk about how problematic this movie really was and the rest praise it for the fact that the director consulted a few native experts. Honestly when they went to the one native character just for him to give exposition and then they forget about him, the movie was completely ruined for me. This is absolutely not something we should be doing at this point. As for everything else, I pretty much agree with what you said! And I'm so glad to see you're reading The Only Good Indians, a good read! Would love to see more videos on what you're reading!

I haven't seen Antlers yet but I have definitely come to respect your opinion because our rates align for the part. I appreciate your honest take. I'm still probably found to see it to 1) decide for myself and 2) support horror as a genre so studios keep making them.

I know I'm late the the party but I've been binging your videos non stop. I think the parts when this was still a mystery in the first 40 minutes was when this movie was the strongest. other than that I thought it was okay but left SO MUCH to be desired. I also have to say even when I don't agree with your takes (rare but it happens haha!) I come to your channel to see YOUR opinion, anyone who gets upset when you disagree with them is dorky.

have not see it yet, I don't even know if it's out here in italy but now I have to watch it ahah just because you make things intriguing wether it's a positive or a negative. Loved the video!!!

Haha, I was dying when you were breaking down the end part. I didn't dislike the movie but I definitely expected a lot more from it and it was definitely more generic than I expected

Nice in-depth review! Thoughtful & entertaining, good editing too. Big question of the movie: why does the kid keep going to school?

Such a great video 😀 I really enjoyed this one. I kind of don't even feel like watching this movie at this point. But that's ok. So many good movies out there. Now I know what not to waste my time on.

So before the first scene with Jesse Plemons and the pills, there was a radio thing talking about the opioid epidemic in Oregon, and then they cut to him looking for his pills so I assumed they were opioids. Also with the way they were hidden, but on my way home I mentioned that to my husband and he was like, oh. I totally missed that. Very bizarre movie. Very much a disappointment.

The "magical person of colour who explains the lore to the white lead" trope is pretty common, eg, Dick Halloran in the Shining.

wendigos weakness' fire hence why the flare worked on it, also in most wendigo stories theyll reside in a mine because of the conditions down there (cold, dark, etc.)/because thats where the wendigo spirit was released in the first place (usually mine incidents involve ground caving in and trapping miners down in their mines for long periods of time, when food runs low they resort to cannibalism, unleashing the wendigo spirit). also wendigo start out as humans always, and since the dad in this story was a miner, maybe the wendigo version of him was drawn to the mines because of all the time he spent there.

I just wish for another like 140 minutes-ish cut because this movie deserves it. I read an interview where Cooper said that the character of the Native American man would have been more involved but got cut out a lot so maybe when the movie comes out on DVD we get a better “Antlers” 🥺

For some reason Antlers was only in our theater here for maaaaaybe 2 weeks and I didn't get a chance to see it. Now I'm kind of glad I went to Dune instead and will eventually watch this on whatever streaming service it pops up on.

I love your opinions!