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It Comes At Night

Firstly, a disclaimer: If you don’t like the slow pace motions of studio A24’s library including THE WITCH, THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER and INTO THE FOREST then IT COMES AT NIGHT is not going to change anything. There is an absence of shock horror and vicious blood splattering here but then again, that is no surprise.

 

IT COMES AT NIGHT is tense throughout and a far more emotionally driven journey than trailers may lead to believe. The only horror here is the setting and much akin to films like MAGGIE and CONTRACTED, the apocalypse is firmly in the background and the characters on centre stage. The ambiguity as to what has lead to survival is never touched on. Is it zombies? Nucleur war? Transformers? None of it matters as the end of the world is here and each man stands for himself.

 

Joel Edgerton plays the protective father to Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and husband to Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) as the family survive in the middle of the woods. As the film opens up, the family lose their oldest member as Sarah’s dad is killed after contracting an illness, presumably that which they are avoiding, and the brutal disposal of his body begins to haunt young Travis. Despite the film’s lead casting, this is Travis’ story and it’s a heart wrenching one of innocence, coming of age and the brutal toll a life in isolation brings. As he comes to grips with the death of his grandfather, events take a darker turn when a nearby family are welcomed to join them bringing more food and more baggage.

 

The film has little in the way of content but dramatically focuses on the trauma bought upon the families by this event. The horrors they have endured are rarely touched on but always present and as tensions escalate, so does the emotional output of all involved.

 

Between the drama, the film is shot to a standard familiar to A24 fans. Dull overtones with stark reds but there's very little behind the surface of a simple tale of survival and the humanity that comes at at a cost to it all.

 

By definition, IT COMES AT NIGHT is not a horror movie, it’s a film with horrible moments and one that puts its effort in the emotional intelligence of its cast all of whom strip back to raw humanity. While there is little here for a scary ride, no jump moments and some tension layered through a beautiful score, the film is worth the investment for something more human. For everything else, there’s a whole host of scary horror movies.

Director: Trey Edward Shults

Released:  14th July 2017

Running Time: 91 minutes

Age Rating: 15

 

Reviewer: Martyn Wakefield

RATING


Plot: 4
Fear: 3
Gore: 2


R3.5/5​

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