If parents weren’t already considering limiting their kid’s screen time they certainly will after seeing “Come Play,” a new horror film starring Gillian Jacobs and “Westworld’s” John Gallagher Jr. and now playing in theatres. In fact, parents might even think about getting rid of every smartphone in the house.
Jacobs plays Sarah, mother of Oliver (Azhy Robertson), a young autistic boy who has trouble making friends with the other kids in his class. The youngster passes time by playing on his tablet, reading a picture book about misunderstood monsters. When the book’s monster, a long-limbed skeletal creature who looks like the Slender Man and a Mugwump had a baby, escapes Oliver’s device Sarah must fight her own disbelief and later, a real threat to her family.
“Come Play” began life as “Larry,” a short film by Jacob Chase and for better and for worse, Chase hasn’t changed the story that much for its adaptation to feature length.
Part of the beauty of “Come Play” is its simplicity. A study in friendship, the effects of loneliness and divorce and the complicated relationships kids have with “the other,” the movie is a slow burn that gives the viewer time to immerse themselves in Oliver’s world. It effectively builds an atmosphere of evolving tension, but it takes time.
Chase isn’t interested in easy scares, he’s making something larger, a monster movie that is an allegory for childhood loneliness and alienation. There is the odd jump scare but the tension comes from the story’s suspense and the connection to the characters. Oddly, for a monster movie of a sort, the creature is the least compelling part of the film. His bony limps and toothy snarl are the stuff of nightmares but the story is about much more than a boogeyman.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more without giving away a plot point but I can say that the creature, Larry, represents more than simple terror.
“Come Play” is short on story but long on ideas. It’s a horror film that isn’t afraid to not be outright scary. Instead it mines psychological and primal fears to create an unsettling story.
On the October 25, 2020 episode of The Richard Crouse Show: we are joined by Sam Roberts who joins us via Zoom from his home in Montreal. His band, the aptly named Sam Roberts Band has been nominated for fourteen Juno Awards, they’ve won six, including Artist of the Year twice. They’ve been very busy since the world pressed pause back in March. The band’s song ‘We’re All in this Together’ became an anthem of sorts for various promos featuring frontline workers and Canadians alike. They put the finishing touches on their new album and played a part in each and every charitable opportunity they could to help artists and Canadians across the board.
Sam Roberts Band have a new album called ‘All of Us’, the first in 4 years
Then, Ethan Lou is a journalist whose work has appeared in in the Globe and Mail, the Guardian, the Toronto Star, the Walrus and the Washington Post.
He has broken stories about the Canadian spy agency’s secret briefing to parliament, the snubbing of Sri Lanka by the country’s prime minister and the possible non-depiction of the future King Charles on Canadian bank notes.
This year was supposed to see the publication of his first book, “Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West” but the pandemic pushed that release date into next year… but he still has a book in stores right now. It’s called Field Notes from a “Pandemic: A Journey Through a World Suspended” and was inspired by two articles he wrote for MacLeans magazine after a January visit with his ailing grandfather in Beijing allowed him to witness the very earliest stages of a COVID-19, a virus he says, will forever change the world as we know it.
The book says that over decades, globalization has crafted a world painfully sensitive and susceptible to shocks such as this pandemic… and examines the virus’s beginnings and how it spread and the unprecedented measures to contain it. He also looks at past pandemics in other crises and how they shaped the world–and has an argument for why this one’s different.
“Field Notes from a Pandemic: A Journey Through a World Suspended” is a timely look at how the virus has transformed the world.
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.
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Richard speaks to “CTV News at 11:30” anchor Andria Case about movies on VOD and in theatres to watch this weekend including Amazon Prime’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” the Netflix animated movie “Over the Moon) and Crave’s joyful concert film “American Utopia.”
Richard speaks to “CTV News at Six” anchor Andria Case about television and movies to watch this weekend including the gritty HBO Max movie “Charm City Kings,” the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and the Apple TV+ kid’s show “Helpsters.”
“Pop Life” returns with another all new show on October 24, 2020, 8:30 pm on CTV NewsChannel, midnight on CTV. This week we meet Jake Clemons, a solo musician, singer and songwriter who understands legacy. Since 2012 he has been the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, after the death of the band’s original saxophonist, his uncle Clarence Clemons. We discuss performing with his famous uncle in church, having big shoes to fill and much more.
Then the “Pop Life” panel, Clemons, Canadian jazz vocalist and pianist Carol Welsman whose granddaughter was Frank Welsman, the founder and first conductor of the first Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Todd D. Snyder, author of a biography of Muhammad Ali’s cornerman, Drew “Bundini” Brown, who coined the phrase “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” talk about the role legacy plays in our lives.
Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s talk show POP LIFE.
Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Bob Geldof, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.
Richard and “CP24 Breakfast” host Pooja Handa have a look at some special streaming opportunities and television shows to watch over the weekend including “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Prime Video), the Nicole Kidman drama “The Undoing” on HBO and the Bruce Springsteen documentary “Letter to You” on Apple TV+.
Richard sits in on the CTV NewsChannel with host Marcia MacMillan to have a look at the new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres including “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Prime Video), “Over the Moon” (Netflix) and “American Utopia” (Crave).
Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres, VOD and streaming services including “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Prime Video), “Over the Moon” (Netflix), “American Utopia” (Crave), “The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw” (VOD), “Rebecca” (Netflix) and “The Haunting of The Mary Celeste (VOD).
If parents weren’t already considering limiting their kid’s screen time they certainly will after seeing “Come Play,” a new horror film starring Gillian Jacobs and “Westworld’s” John Gallagher Jr. and now playing in theatres. In fact, parents might even think about getting rid of every smartphone in the house.
