Can't Come Out To Play [DVD] [2017]

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As Andy is very sick he must stay within his home per the instructions of his mother, Katherine ( Samantha Morton), who also forbids him from having any visitors. He truly plays the role of a grieving father quite masterfully, so much to where you begin to feel his sadness and pain, it's simply brilliant.

The film’s underlying is a positive one; despite the unhappiness felt by many in the film they all act unselfishly, or at least that’s probably what they’re telling themselves. The abnormal becomes normal and the terrifying question arises – how far will she go to protect her son? Samantha Morton's acting ability truly shows in this film, it's my favorite performance of hers next to "CONTROL".So much in fact that, the caring demeanor of his mother suddenly takes a turn from sweet yet tired to a more domineering almost "Annie Wilkes like persona". As an Oscar nominee, Morton is capable of far more than this script provided and rather than letting the tension play out naturally, certain scenes were definitely over-acted. There was some fine acting from the youngsters Charlie Tahan and especially Natasha Calis as the friend who puts everything on the line to rescue him. Still reeling from the loss of her parents, she takes it personally until one day when she is trapped in the house and she discovers the Young's terrible secret. Samantha Morton is no Kathy Bates and McNaughton doesn’t quite reach the macabre ‘normalcy’ of Misery but ‘Can’t Come Out to Play’ is on some levels reminiscent of Rob Reiner’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel.

Mary Ann moves in next door and befriends Andy however nothing is what it seems at Andy house with a shock of what is in the basement. The film is directed by John McNaughton and features acclaimed actor Peter Fonda ( Easy Rider) as Maryann's grandfather.Overall, the whole cast are spot-on and deliver great performances and they do drive the film forward. It is the first feature film he has directed in over a decade (his last being Speaking of Sex in 2001) and his first horror venture since Haeckel's Tale, a 2006 episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror. She becomes unhinged when she learns that her new neighbour (Natasha Calis) has secretly befriended the boy, and has been encouraging behaviour she doesn’t approve of.

Whether it be Richard, who can’t escape his unhappy marriage and controlling wife, or Andy who literally can’t escape from his wheelchair, there is a definite exploration of what it means to be stuck in a situation.

In her role as Katherine Young, Samantha Morton provides a disturbing insight into the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. A dazed Richard heads down to the basement, and, after unplugging his son's ventilator, sets the basement on fire and lies next to his son. Less so a horror and more a thriller, Can’t Come Out To Play plays on fears of claustrophobia and being incarcerated. For someone so young she is an utter badass, showing that young girls can be just as tough as their seniors.