It Comes at Night

It Comes at Night

Starring Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Directed by Trey Edward Shults

The Story:
After a mysterious plague affects the world, Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), and teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) - along with Sarah's father - take refuge in an abandoned home in the woods.  Paul fortifies the home, barricading all doors and windows save for one, and they don't go out at night.  When Sarah's father catches the illness, they put him down.

The next day, an intruder arrives and Paul subdues him, and makes sure he's not sick.  The man, Will (Christopher Abbott), says he didn't know anyone was living there and he needed supplies for his wife and son.  Sarah convinces Paul to let them move in, so Will, his wife Kim (Riley Keough), and son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulker) move in.  At first the families get along, but after one disastrous night, all their comradere turns into chaos, pitting family against family and proving that man is sometimes the worst type of monster.

The Synopsis:
Hailed by critics, "It Comes at Night" seemed to be another knockout film by the underappreciated A24 production company (the same company that produced the amazing "The Witch" last year).  However, moviegoers were panning the film from the start, so it was an interesting yin-yang to balance when I finally saw the film.  The result?  I'm siding with the critics and saying that "It Comes at Night" is an amazing thriller - albeit marketed wrong - that uses every weapon in its arsenal to instill fear, dread, and danger at every turn.

Much like "The Walking Dead," we don't know what exactly caused this worldwide plague, nor do we see its effects in the major cities.  The film is shot entirely from two family's perspectives, taking place in the seemingly idyllic forest set apart from civilization.  While it seems like a utopian setting, it's the setting itself that causes the most dread.  There's no big-budget Hollywood effects, no superfluous light displays, but everything about the film has an eerie natural element to it.  The woods appear as foreboding as ever, and the house serves as the perfect prison for those stuck inside - no outside light, only guided by small pinpoint lanterns and flashlights that help instill that feeling of dread at every corner.

Thankfully, unlike "The Walking Dead," we don't see hordes of zombies clambering at their door.  Writer/director Trey Edward Shults uses our imaginations against us - much like the imaginations in poor Travis's nightmares - to tell an even more terrifying story than having the evil dead center.  This could be the issue with people who expected a zombie-filled fuel ride, but instead got a slow-burn tale that infused our deepest fears with what lies in the dark. 

The film is told through the eyes of young Travis, a seventeen year old kid forced to grow up way ahead of his time, and how he deals with very real-life issues such as love, death, and acceptance while fearing he could die at any moment.  He is plagued by vivid nightmares that keep him up at night, and we see the other characters through his lens: overprotective father, nurturing mother, exciting newcomer, flirtatious female, naive child.  Kelvin Harrison Jr. delivers a terrific performance, and we really feel for and root for his character to make it through unscathed.

Joel Edgerton (who also produced the film) is also quickly becoming a darling of the independent film circuit after his amazing directorial/writing debut in "The Gift."  Here he gives a powerful performance as a man who will stop at nothing to protect those he loves.  Christopher Abbott also fares very well as Will, the stranger you really want to trust, but in a world like this trust is very hard to come by.  Carmen Ejogo and Riley Keough are more background characters, as the real struggle comes between Edgerton's Paul and Abbott's Will, with Travis falling in the middle. 

On top of everything, the score is absolutely heart pounding.  There's beats of drums and percussion that resonate deep inside, fulfilling the trifecta of fear - sight, sound, and setting.  The soundtrack hammers home the theme that no one is safe, and there's something truly terrifying that lies outside that red door - or inside it.

The Summary:
More a terrifying psychological thriller than flat-out horror fest, "It Comes at Night" knows its viewers are adults and treats them accordingly - not giving everything away, and allowing our worst imaginations to be projected onto the screen, granting us a motif of fear and dread from start to finish.

The Score: A