CAN'T COME OUT TO PLAY - originally titled THE HARVEST - is a great example of movie mis-selling. Looking at the DVD box you'd be forgiven for thinking that this was a supernatural horror either about psychopaths, devil worship, or an evil entity residing inside a family home. In reality it's about none of those things, rather this is a psychological thriller about a couple of maladjusted parents and the disabled and lonely son they care for.

The film is directed by John McNaughton, who made the infamous HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER back in the 1980s. That was an example of edgy, independent film-making, whereas CAN'T COME OUT TO PLAY is strictly by-the-numbers Hollywood fare. I was mainly interested in watching it because Michael Shannon plays the father, although he doesn't have very much to do here other than play the usual kooky character and he's a bit more restrained than usual. By contrast, I wish Samantha Morton had been more restrained; her character is larger than life here and her acting suffers for it.

The film is quite slow paced although the child angle of the story is refreshing and reminded me of THE SECRET GARDEN, of all things, at some points. Sadly it gets less and less believable as it goes on, closing with one of those ridiculously contrived and clichéd climaxes that Hollywood knows and loves. It's a sour end for a film which occasionally promises much but delivers nothing out of the ordinary.

"The Harvest" is an American 105-minute film from 2 years ago and it features Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon in the main roles. Spart from these 2, Henry Fonda is the third Academy Award nominee in here, even if he plays only a smaller role. So it is fairly obvious, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this film in terms of acting. The two child actors are excellent as well. The director is John McNaughton, who has made films for many decades. His most known work so far is probably "Wild Things" and apart from the thriller elements, this one here could not be a more different movie. The script comes from Stephen Lancellotti, a complete rookie in the profession of screen writing, but he was very good here and I am certainly curious about upcoming works by him.

The story is about a couple, both roughly 40, and their very sick son. They (especially the mother) will not let him out of the house, because it's apparently too stressful for him and also do not want him to have contact with other children. That's why they say he is home-schooled for example. However, things get complicated when a girl who moved in with her grandparents tries to make friends with the sick boy. Dark secrets come to surface as a consequence and a dark link to the past becomes obvious when we see there is another, even sicker boy in the couple's house. The final twist about the real child of the two is not entirely surprising anymore as the film goes on, but that is not a problem at all. I never thought predictability is an issue and can hurt a film if it is realistically constructed and makes sense as it does here. The first half of the film is basically only about the boy, the parents and the girl who moves in. We still have no clue what exactly is going on here and that's perfectly fine. I love films, especially horror films, that have a touch of unknown danger attached to them.

Morton plays the main antagonist in this film and she is very strong here, occasionally reminded me of Kathy Bates in "Misery". Michael Shannon plays a character who is struck between love for his child and sympathy for the other boy. The former may have clouded his judgment for a long time, but finally he makes the right decision. Excellent performance as well, but that is almost a given with him. Incredible actor and his final scene with his real son also adds a great deal of emotion in terms of fatherly love here. This is also one of the greatest reasons why this is such a great watch. This is not just scares, it's also great character development and some true emotions in here, also with the girl who lost her parents and her desperate attempts of making a connection with the sick child. Maybe she witnessed her parents being sick as well, at least she witnessed them dying possibly, and that's why she creates such a strong connection with the boy. The film ends after roughly 100 minutes in the same tone that fits the entire film. When Morton's character realizes her boy is really dying now, she returns to the house instead of doing something horrible to the two children. Her son's sickness may have driven her insane, but she will not kill without a purpose if it won't save her child. So there is still a small deal of humanity left inside her. Finally, the baseball scene, it's nicely done as well and I guess they did not just want to include it in order to show that the boy and the girl are fine again, but instead they create a frame to a tragedy with which the film began. We perceived the beginning as a massive tragedy, but now after watching this movie not so much anymore, maybe also because we did not make a connection with the black boy and mother from the very beginning. All in all, a very atmospheric, smart and well-crafted film with amazing performances from everybody involved. Higjly recommended.

Can't Come Out to Play (aka Harvest) is a rather unsatisfying movie. The initial situation is intriguing, but as it progresses the "Why, why why?" response kicks in.

With Peter Fonda in the cast I expected something a bit more Machiavellian, and it could have gone that way. However admittedly that route would not have satisfied the 'Horror' label it lays claim to. What was incredibly hard to swallow was Maryann's grandparents' immediate dismissal of her pleas and concerns. You would expect them, under the circumstances of her having to come to live with them, to be more indulgent and not less. This would be the point at which Grandad - Peter Fonda - could have become more involved in some kind of psychological chess game with Katherine (Samantha Morton). Instead, Fonda gets about six lines in the film, one of which - "Follow your heart" - is the kind of disappointing cliché so utterly useless to a child whose life might well be in danger. I don't know if the story comes from a book - in which case, I can't blame the film - but I have wonderful visions of another, different film.

Anyway, there are some impressive performances in this film, Samantha Morton most notable, but also Michael Shannon, the long- suffering husband, who manages to get through the entire movie without cracking a smile. In securing the affections of Sandra (Meadow Williams) he is punching well above his weight, which shows that he might have more verve than you think.

Already mentioned in another review is the discrepancy in the two boys' ages, which can only be reconciled if the real son has remained in an arrested state of development by becoming bed bound, and ventilated, drip fed and over medicated for some time. A mistake like this is hard to believe, which makes me wonder if there is something we the audience have failed to understand.

As is the habit of fantasy thrillers, there are several points in the story at which the more pragmatic among us will be shouting, "Call the police!" or "Just call social services!". But of course it's not a documentary. And yet it needs just a little more to tip the scales, i.e. 'no one will believe me/is around because {reason}so I have NO choice but to do it myself'. And it's so much for an orphan schoolgirl to take on.

So I give it a 6 for keeping me, and my generally unimpressible son, engaged for an hour and holding back until the point of incredulity the inevitable introduction of jokes. Like the closing scene where Andy surely "has become a major league baseball player!"