Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Come Play is a competent but uneven supernatural horror film. The premise of a creature using screens to stalk a lonely autistic child is a decent modern update of monster-under-the-bed stories, and the emotional core around Oliver's isolation gives it some heart. However, the plot follows a fairly predictable haunting-escalation structure and the emotional beats are telegraphed. The acting is solid, particularly from the child lead and Gillian Jacobs as the mother, but nothing transcendent. Cinematography is serviceable horror fare with effective use of phone/tablet screens as windows. The concept borrows from Lights Out (same director's short) and other screen-horror films, limiting its novelty. The ending tries for a bittersweet emotional resolution but lands awkwardly, undercutting the tension built throughout.