58
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe director doesn't rely on cheap jump scares or trick editing. Instead, he builds and sustains suspense throughout the well-paced thriller with controlled camera movement, malevolent lighting, unsettling music and jagged, staticky sound.
- 75The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdWriter-director Jacob Chase, making his feature debut, expanded Come Play from an inventive short film. The result is involving, but a little pat as drama; you see the strings, even when it’s successfully pulling the ones attached to your heart. As a horror movie, though, it’s often diabolical fun: a PG-13 funhouse ride of peekaboo jolts.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzCome Play’s themes, characters and story are too strong to lump the film in with the wave of sub-tier horror flooding the market this month.
- 70Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzHorror movies are notoriously tough to end well — how can the last act match the lead-up? But credit Chase with coming up with an ending that fits the mood of the rest of the film without selling out the audience emotionally.
- 63Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanDespite the subtext of screen addiction, it is still essentially a by-the-book monster movie, despite some better-than-average jump scares and clever rendering of Larry, who for the most part can be seen only through the camera lens of a cellphone or tablet device.
- 50Slant MagazinePat BrownSlant MagazinePat BrownWhile it can be expected that high-concept horror movies will often be sewn together from the premises of recent genre successes, it’s much too easy to see the stitches in writer-director Jacob Chase’s Come Play.
- 50VarietyCourtney HowardVarietyCourtney HowardEven though the kid is the hero we should clearly be rooting for, the filmmaker conjures equal amounts of empathy and compassion for the monster. That serves to add complexity to the characterizations, but balancing both sides muddles the poignancy of the climax.
- The most shocking thing about Come Play, however, is that it has a pretty good ending after such a long, poorly paced slog through scary movie cliches.
- 40IGNRosie KnightIGNRosie KnightThe subpar tech-horror film Come Play is as boring as it is painfully outdated.
- 40Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAustin ChronicleRichard WhittakerHorror is built on moms wanting to protect their kids, and Come Play falls down because Sarah just never really seems to connect with Oliver.