It Comes at Night offers a very dark look at the world ravaged by a mysterious disease. A slow-burner that will give you chills and leave you heartbroken!

It Comes at Night is definitely not a feel-good movie. Well, maybe it is, but more so in the sense that you should feel blessed not to live in that world.

Husband and wife, Paul and Sarah, have managed to survive a mysterious disease. The result is a very restricted life in the safety of their house with their 17-year-old son, Travis, and his maternal grandfather.

It Comes at Night is an extremely intense movie. It’s carried by a tight story, a great cast, and realistic characters. You won’t find any crazy special effects or huge jump scares, but you should feel terrified pretty much from start to finish.

There’s a vibe along the lines of It Follows and Here Alone. Just like it’s the case with most post-apocalyptic worlds (i.e. The Walking Dead) the biggest threat is often coming from other healthy people.

When survival is your only goal in life, human nature is to become focused on protecting yourself and your loved ones.

It Comes at Night will leave you breathless

Throughout much of the movie, I found myself holding my breath. The characters are often on edge and being quiet and alert is how you survive. Also, the score is amazing.

I mean, to me it’s “Bear McCreary” awesome. He’s the genius composer behind the scores of The Walking Dead and horror movies such as The Boy and 10 Cloverfield Lane. Basically, I’m always fangirling over him and so when any score is great, I expect him to have written it.

When it comes to It Comes at Night, however, the composer was Brian McOmber. He’s already composed for a lot of shorts and a few other feature films. He has also worked with the writer-director of this movie, Trey Edward Shults, before and they seem to make a perfect horror duo!

We should definitely get ready to see Brian McOmber as score composer for horror in the future. He definitely knows how to create horror with a score, that’s for sure!

It Comes at Night review - Joel Edgerton and Kelvin Harrison Jr as father and son

No happy endings in a post-apocalyptic world

It Comes at Night shows a very dark potential future, but it also seems realistic. Or rather, in a world where we’re constantly between various deadly flues and terror attacks, it certainly doesn’t really feel unrealistic.

What  It Comes at Night centers on is the fact that it’s an “every man for himself”-kind of world. You fight for your own life and that of your loved ones, but mercy and compassion are luxuries, we cannot afford.

Of course, it’s hard not to ponder the obvious; If people had worked together early on, maybe this post-apocalyptic world could’ve been avoided. It’s just too late once the proverbial shit has hit the fan big time.

Amazing cast, story, and director

Joel Edgerton (The Gift) and Carmen Ejogo (Alien: Covenant) are spot-on as husband and wife in the center of the story. Still, I must say the truly heartbreaking and intensely raw acting comes from two other actors.

First, there’s Kelvin Harrison Jr. as their son, Travis, who in many ways is the real lead character in this movie. He’s trapped in a world where there’s no real future. And certainly no other people. For a 17-year-old to only have solitude in his future is the same as death.

Second, I have to mention Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road), who portrays the mother in the family looking for refuge in their house. If you want to hear screams that can make glass – and hearts – break, then she can deliver!

Trey Edward Shults wrote an amazing script for this movie and then directed it to perfection. I cannot wait to see what he has in store next!

It Comes at Night premiered at the 2017 Overlook Film Festival. It’s out in a limited theater release from June 9, 2017.

You do not want to miss this one!

Details

Director: Trey Edward Shults
Writer: Trey Edward Shults
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough

Plot

Married couple Paul and Sarah have secure lives within a desolate home with their 17-year-old son, Travis. While a fierce and mysterious dissease is sweeping across the world, they’ve established a tenuous domestic order to survive. Unfortunately, this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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