I made my first foray since March to a movie theater and was fortunate to see the superlative horror film “Come Play.” The picture does more than effectively scare viewers. It also looks at issues involving autism, how parents cope with children on the autism spectrum, and the lengths to which a family will go to protect their offspring.

We first meet Oliver (Azhy Robertson) in his bedroom where he is watching “Spongebob Squarepants” on his phone. Oliver is on the autism spectrum and does not talk. He speaks by tapping icons for words on his phone.

After he falls asleep, his phone awakens him to the picture of a cover of a book, “Misunderstood Monsters.” In an homage to “The Babadook,” this book reveals the existence of the tall, skeleton-like monster Larry, who is lonely and only wants to have a friend.

Soon we learn more about Larry. He can turn off lights. You can only see him through your phone’s camera, and it is not a pretty sight.

At school, Oliver sits with an aide in a traditional classroom. His use of his speech icons on his phone infuriates another classmate, Byron (Winslow Fegley), whose phone was confiscated when he was caught playing Minecraft. After school lets out, Oliver is lured to a field where Byron and two others taunt him, eventually throwing his phone into the weeds.

Oliver’s parents, Sarah (Gillian Jacobs) and Marty (John Gallagher, Jr.), are at odds with each other. Sarah feels that she does the lion’s share of caring for their son, and frankly, it is exhausting her. She is jealous of Marty because he is the one who brings their son presents and is the hero when she is the disciplinarian. Marty moves out.

To encourage her son to make friends, Sarah invites three boys over to a sleepover. Yes, they are Byron and his two friends! The sleepover, however, unfolds peacefully until they hear the tablet, which Marty gave to Oliver after the phone was lost in the field, buzz.

Byron sees the “Misunderstood Monsters” book and begins to read it. It now has extra pages, which are more frightening than the initial ones. When they look through the camera, they see Larry. Byron, full of bravado, goes over to the apparently empty kitchen and is attacked by the unseen Larry.

Byron subsequently becomes catatonic. The night of the sleepover several light bulbs were blown out by Larry and so Sarah brings new bulbs home. She is startled when Larry speaks to her through the tablet. She then discovers that Larry has installed all the new bulbs himself.

Sarah goes to Byron’s house with Oliver in tow. Byron admits that Oliver had not attacked him as he had previously claimed. He admits that Larry did it.

Freaked out, Sarah cannot convince Marty of Larry’s existence & his threat to abduct their son into another world to be his friend. Soon Marty learns of the danger of Larry as new pages in the book reveal to him that anyone who gets in Larry’s way dies!

To call “Come Play” a horror film does not do justice to the fact that it portrays complicated issues in dealing with the subject of autism. I will be the first to admit that I am not very knowledgeable about autism, other than what I have chanced to read. But the communications issues and the strains on a family were very clearly laid out.

This is one of the best pictures to convey the terrors that children feel in the dark that I have ever seen. We all are familiar with monsters under the bed and in the closet but this movie reifies this experience in a believable manner.

I also was very impressed with how the picture portrayed family dynamics and what it means to protect your children. The resolution was a twist, but then the movie does itself one better with a conclusion that is brilliantly conceived. I will say that this is an even better ending than “The Babadook,” which I consider a horror classic.

The film also raises issues of what is out there in the virtual world. We assume that it is all the zeroes and ones used in its creation, but what if it were a doorway to alternate dimensions? We of course have in the past seen the depiction of technology gaining sentience & enslaving or killing mankind (e.g., “Colossus: the Forbin Project)”. But here the issue is not with the technology, but its use as a cyber Ouija Board.

I also appreciated the fact that time was not wasted on some origin story of Larry. This would have bogged down the plot and taken away the visceral panic that ensues when he is discovered to exist.

The design of Larry is top-notch. He is truly a scary monster. When you only initially see his face, even that is startling. The picture effectively uses jump-scares and chases to heighten the tension. A special nod goes to the creator of the sound effects for Larry, which are beyond creepy.

Another kudo must be given to the composer, Roque Banos. From the very first bars of the score, a sense of unsettling eeriness is created. I did not much care for the cinematography, however, which I found to be too dark.

The acting is adequate for the needs of the film. Both Jacobs and Gallagher are believable parents. You feel their love for their child and their desperation to save him at any cost.

Very young children, especially those prone to nightmares, should not see this film. I think that the movie is appropriate for tweens and teens as there is no gore.

It is a shame that we didn’t have a traditional, pre-pandemic October theatrical release of pictures. This one would have been a highlight. If you like being scared and horror films in general, this is the film for you.

Four and a half out of five stars

Newcomer Azhy Robertson stars as Oliver, a lonely young boy who feels different from everyone else. Desperate for a friend, he seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses Oliver’s devices against him to break into the world, Oliver’s parents (Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr.) must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.

Cast: Azhy Robertson, Gillian Jacobs, John Gallagher Jr.
Director/Writer: Jacob Chase