Come Play Stars Talk Tackling Technological Terrors for the New Horror Film

Dating back to the earliest days of cinema, some of the most effective horror movies have been ones that manage to not only offer audiences frights, but also manage to convey an important message to audiences, which often shed insight into the human condition. Come Play continues that trend, as it offers audiences not only a number of intense encounters, but also comments on loneliness, isolation, and our reliance on technology to cope with those dark feelings. Stars of the new film Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr. recently spoke to their time on the film, which hits select theaters on Friday, October 30th.

"John and I have been talking a lot today about how we're both attempting to spend less time on our phones and computers and I've really been making a concerted effort to read more books this year," Jacobs shared with ComicBook.com when discussing what she took away from the experience. "Because I grew up a voracious reader, and then I feel like it's kind of slipped away and I really missed that. So I'm trying to spend less time on my phone, not so successfully, but trying to reconnect with tangible things like books that I love."

In the film, newcomer Azhy Robertson stars as Oliver, a lonely young boy who feels different from everyone else. Desperate for a friend, he seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses Oliver's devices against him to break into our world, Oliver's parents (Jacobs and Gallagher) must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.

Despite the film's reliance on technology not only within its narrative, but also the visual effects required to craft its creepy creature, Gallagher noted that he got to work with an actual puppet on set to give the experience a more authentic feel.

"I always try to look for, if it's gonna be a genre film, a horror film or sci-fi, I try to find something that, to me, has a lot of heart and a way into it," the actor detailed. "And what I loved about this one was that they did kind of went the old school way, and they built us a big giant puppet that was used for the main creature, for Larry. And that doesn't happen every day, a lot of that stuff tends to be smoothed over in post and done with CGI animation and so having a character, albeit a puppet, to interact with on-screen was such a gift. And it made all the difference."

He added, "The characters felt very lived-in, very worn, and real to me and I felt for these parents. [Characters] with all of their flaws and imperfections that backs up for everybody. And so the combination of the human part of it, and the exciting part of the puppet meshing that together made it a really exciting thing to get involved in."

Come Play hits select theaters on October 30th.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!