I read and heard very little about this movie. However, I felt confident because of one main reason: horror thrillers and/or horror movies have been particularly strong last year and this year so far. It feels directors are taking chances into making intelligent horror films. We have had Green Room, Don't Breathe, The Conjuring 2 to name a few from last year. And, then, Get Out was exceptionally good. Also, Life and Alien: Covenant were entertaining sci-fi horror films for what it was. Now, this movie raises a question regarding what is out there that made them contain themselves and well, we have to find out. But, aside from the question, the movie is a sleek yet disturbing movie that is well worth experiencing for the first time. However, I am not quite sure if I would want to see it again because the movie leaves things both somber and ambiguous.
Sarah, Paul and Travis (Carmen Ejogo, Joel Edgerton and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) are living in a secluded house with their dog, Stanley, hiding from the virus that is infecting the outside world. They live a routine, dull but survivable life that can maintain their family's needs for a long time. However, one day, as Travis wakes up, his parents realize that someone is breaking into the house as a loud thud has been heard. As the assailant tries to open the door, Paul misses his opportunity at shooting him. But, Paul orders him to drop the gun as he hits the assailant's head with the butt of his gun, rendering him unconscious.
Paul ties the man who is named Will (Christopher Abbott) to the tree and he asks Will questions as to where he came from. Will explains that he has been gathering food and supplies for his wife and child, who are miles away. He claims that he has seen nothing. Will also offers Paul some chickens and goats in exchange for his help. Believing Will, Paul offers to help. The two guys search for the wife named Kim (Riley Keough) and their child, Andrew, and they find them as they return to the house. They become quite cooperative as tensions increase within the household.
I'm going to have warn people that if you have seen the trailers or marketing for this movie and thinking that it will be a scary horror movie full of zombies and recurring nightmares, you're going to be very disappointed. This is a more cerebral and claustrophobic psychological horror movie. It explores of self-contained fear and paranoia that sets apart moral standards from common sense. People will frustratingly ask, "Well, WHAT comes at night?" It is called IT comes at night. This a movie that will require some thought as to what comes at night within the environment. In my opinion, fear is what comes at night when both families become nervous regarding their moral dilemma. One character has nightmares and another character is nervous about a person spreading all over bad germs from the virus. It is more tense than what you might think.
All the actors ranging from Edgerton, Keough, Ejogo and Abbott are quite good placing their fears and debates regarding the virus in one place. It is unpredictable where their loyalties will end once they will lose it towards the end. In particular, Edgerton is an actor that can blend into environment and you cannot predict what will come to him in the end.
Trey Edward Shults has made a previous film called Krisha, which was solid. And, here, he does somewhat go into that route of a cliched horror film with the nightmares, but in the end, it's all about the human condition and psyche amidst a cold terror in the outside world. And, that terror would trigger paranoia bringing them to become more emotional especially at night. The movie is solely about moral decisions overcoming those demons. But, are their moral decisions right to maintain a human life or destroy a human life? It is up to the audience and that is what leads to the ambiguity of the film. This is a quiet psychological horror movie that I may not want to watch again. It is one of the bright surprises of 2017.
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