Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A small-town Oregon teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, discover a young student is harbouring a dangerous secret that could have frightening consequences.
Antlers blends folk horror and indigenous mythology (wendigo) with a grounded drama about trauma and poverty in a decaying Oregon mining town. The atmosphere is effectively gloomy and the thematic ambitions—connecting child abuse, addiction, and monstrous heritage—are earnest. Acting is solid if unremarkable, with Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons delivering competent work. The cinematography leans into Pacific Northwest bleakness adequately but without standout visual invention. The wendigo mythology gives it some distinctiveness over standard creature horror, but the execution doesn't fully deliver on its premise. The ending is the weakest link: the creature confrontation feels rushed and tonally inconsistent with the slower, more atmospheric build, leaving the thematic threads only partially resolved.