Come Play


Come Play is a 2020 American supernatural horror thriller film written and directed by Jacob Chase, based on his own short film titled Larry. The film stars Gillian Jacobs, John Gallagher Jr., Azhy Robertson, and Winslow Fegley. A gruesome monster named "Larry" manifests itself through smart phones and mobile devices while trying to take Oliver, a lonely boy desperate for a friend.
Come Play was released in the United States on October 30, 2020, by Focus Features. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $13 million against a budget of $9 million.

Plot

Oliver is a young non-verbal autistic boy, who uses a tablet computer and smartphone to communicate. He is taken care of by his mother Sarah, while his father Marty spends most of his time at work, trying to make ends meet, and support the family. Sarah and Marty's marriage has become difficult to the extent that Marty moves out.
One night, Oliver notices a mysterious app on his tablet, "Misunderstood Monsters," narrating the story of a lonely monster named Larry who "wants a friend." While reading the story, his bedroom lights flicker. At school, Oliver is bullied by his classmates due to his condition, leading to loneliness and a desire for friendship.
Sarah organizes a sleepover for Oliver to make him more social, inviting his three classmates who bullied him. One of the classmates retrieves Oliver’s tablet, and reads Larry’s story. Suddenly, the lights go out, and the boys see an image of Larry through the tablet's camera. In disbelief of the presence, Byron is attacked, and all three terrified boys blame Oliver for the incident. In the following days, Sarah begins to notice Larry's manifestation. Using the tablet’s microphone, Larry expresses its desire to take Oliver away from the human world, terrifying Sarah.
That night, Marty takes Oliver to his night-shift parking lot attendant job. Larry, revealed to be a pale skeletal creature similar to a ghoul, begins to invisibly stalk them, and target the boy. When Marty witnesses Larry picking Oliver off from the ground, he finally believes Sarah's claims of an entity seeking a friend. After realizing that Larry cannot cross over from its dimension until someone finishes reading its story, they break the tablet to prevent it from emerging, and abducting Oliver.
Byron is traumatized from the incident, absolves Oliver of blame, and points out that Larry is responsible. Byron and Oliver were once good friends, but their friendship ended badly, which also ended their mothers' friendship. Recognizing their differences, they become friends again at school.
At work during the night, Larry’s story pops up in Marty’s phone. After scrolling through, Larry appears and attacks Marty for his involvement in protecting Oliver. Marty manages to drive away, but is injured and hospitalized.
Back home, Larry continues to torment Sarah and Oliver. Larry digitally manipulates its story to the end, triggers a power outage, and emerges from a television. Sarah and Oliver, hide while Larry searches for them throughout the house. To foil the abduction, Sarah rushes Oliver away to a field. Unaware of Oliver's discarded phone, Larry travels through and emerges in pursuit.
Oliver is captured by Larry, and taken into the woods. As Oliver prepares to take the monster’s hand, Sarah intervenes, and sacrifices herself for the safety of her son. In their final moments, Oliver looks Sarah in the eye for the first time, something Sarah has struggled with ever since Oliver was diagnosed. Larry transforms Sarah into a spectral being, and drags her into the phone screen, leaving Oliver grieving for the loss of his mother.
A short time later, Oliver lives with Marty, and they start to deal with Oliver's autism as Marty gets more involved with Oliver's therapy. One night, the lights go out again, and strange noises are heard downstairs. Marty grabs his tablet, and sees Oliver and Sarah’s ghost playing happily. Sarah tells her son "I will protect you", as Marty smiles.

Cast

  • Azhy Robertson as Oliver, an autistic boy
  • Gillian Jacobs as Sarah, Oliver's mother
  • John Gallagher Jr. as Marty, Oliver's father
  • Winslow Fegley as Byron, Oliver's former friend, who later becomes his friend again
  • Rachel Wilson as Jennifer, Byron's mother
  • Jayden Marine as Mateo, one of Oliver's new friends
  • Gavin MacIver-Wright as Zach, one of Oliver's new friends
  • Eboni Booth as Dr. Robyn, a speech therapist
  • Dalmar Abuzeid as Mr. Calarco, a teacher

    Production

It was announced in February 2018 that Jacob Chase would write and direct a film adaptation of his short film Larry. In September 2018, Gillian Jacobs and Azhy Robertson were cast in the film, and in November 2018, John Gallagher Jr. was added as well.

Release

Come Play was theatrically released in the United States on October 30, 2020. It was previously scheduled to be released on July 24, 2020, but the release was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio spent "in the high single digit million range" promoting the film.

Home media

Come Play was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 26, 2021, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

Come Play grossed $10.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $13.2 million.
The film grossed $1 million from 2,183 theaters on its first day, including $150,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $3.2 million, over the October 30–November 1 Halloween weekend, coming in slightly above projections and topping the box office. The film fell 45% to $1.7 million in its second weekend, finishing second, after fellow Focus Features release Let Him Go, and then made $1.1 million in its third weekend.

Critical response

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 60% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 40% saying they would definitely recommend it.
David Ehrlich, writing for IndieWire, gave the film a "C−" grade, writing, "merely serviceable, leaves you with the feeling that a much better game was lost in the shuffle." The A.V. Clubs A. A. Dowd gave it a "B" and called it "an Amblin entertainment in the purest, classic sense." In Varietys review, Courtney Howard stated, "The title stands as a beckoning call to audiences to join in the devilish delights he's conjured. Yet the scares in the tale fail to scale from a mobile device to the big screen."