Can’t Come Out to Play – ABC Film Challenge – Horror – C – Can’t Come Out to Play – Movie Review 

Director: John McNaughton

Writer: Stephen Lancellotti (Screenplay)

Cast

• Samantha Morton (The Whale)
• Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water)
• Natasha Calis (The Possession)
• Charlie Tahan (Ozark)
• Peter Fonda (Easy Rider)

 

Plot: A couple who keeps their sick son in a secluded environment find their controlled lives challenged by a young girl who moves in next door.  

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review 

Story: Can’t Come Out to Play starts when Andy (Tahan) is involved in a sporting accident. It has left him stuck in home not the same as he was before. His parents Katherine (Morton) and Richard (Shannon) are trying their best to help him, but he is starting to get lonely.

Meanwhile, Maryann (Calis) moves in with her grandparents, (Fonda) and (Lyles). She sees Andy in the home next door and starts to make friends. However, Katherine doesn’t want Andy to make any new friends and tries to stop the two from getting to know each other. There is a reason for this, one that Maryann learns first hand being much more disturbing.

Verdict on Can’t Come Out to Play

Can’t Come Out to Play is a horror thriller following a young boy struggling with a mysterious illness. When he starts to make friends with a neighbour, his parents have a very different reaction to their new friendship.

This is a movie that takes a while to get going, with a large part of the first half of the movie focusing more on the friendship growing. However, once the bigger picture is revealed, we go down a disturbing path we weren’t ready for. It creates a massive mystery about the bigger problems going on and turns what felt like a standard horror into one that leaves you shocked. 

Final Thoughts – Can’t Come Out to Play is a horror that leaves you shocked.