Review of It Comes at Night (2017) by Farah R — 20 Oct 2018

I think my main problem with this film is that everything leading up to it suggested that it was going to be a horror/thriller that promised to be a nail-biting experience. Instead, we got a slow-burning, slow-paced psychological thriller with a slight horror element that's barely worth mentioning.

It takes place almost entirely in and around the main family's house who have established a well-worn and effective routine to keep them safe from an unknown threat from the outside world. They've been alone, but issues arise when they take in another family of complete strangers whose mere presence brings with it disruption and suspicion.

Is it a bad movie? No, it's well-acted and fantastically filmed, making great use of its simple surroundings and story to build suspense, but you're always waiting for something big to happen and it never does.

The premise isn't bad, but we've seen this kind of thing many times before, so it certainly doesn't feel original, and it lacks scares or much of anything that would pass as exciting. What remains is an interesting, if not particularly amazing, film that's nicely shot with a great final act, but ultimately, doesn't deliver on what you'd hope for.