Review of It Comes at Night (2017) by Ben S — 14 Jan 2018

It Comes At Night is a tense horror that relies heavily on creating a palpable tense atmosphere and building suspense through what is unseen.

It Comes At Night takes place in a post apocalyptic world in the near future. We follow a couple Paul (Joel Edgerton) and Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and their son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and their day to day as they survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

This horror is deftly helmed by writer/director Trey Edward Shultz. Shultz proved with his first feature in 2015, Krisha, that he is very capable of creating a tense and magnetic atmosphere. He also adds some great characterization which, in helps keep us engaged in this slowly progressing film. Shultz's atmosphere transfers incredibly well into the horror world. The characters' fear of the unknown outside them is visceral and plays so well into each of the characters development. The characters do not even truly understand the world altering disease that has befallen the world and have no communication with the outside world. And we feel this sense of isolation and uncertainty with the characters. Shultz writes these characters well and gives them depth. Their motivations are clear and believable. The film focuses so squarely on the characters and how they interact with one another that it is imperative that they be written well.

Moving on to the characters. Joel Edgerton plays the protective father figure so well. He displays so much confliction throughout the film. He clearly will do absolutely anything to protect his family but he has a strong moral compass and tries to do what is right. There is a scene near the end of the film where Edgerton displays his devotion to protecting his family but beautifully displays the inner turmoil he still goes through. It Comes at Night deals heavily with internal struggle. And the human psyche under an apocalyptic scenario. Mistrust, loyalty and fear run rampant throughout all of the characters. The one character who seems innocent through all of this is the character we follow. We see through him more of the innocent effects isolation and fear would have on someone in this situation. He longs for connection with other people. Even Edgerton's character shows this from time to time.

In summation, behind some crafty direction and a strong leading performance by Joel Edgerton It Comes At Night is a fresh take on the horror genre. It is suspenseful throughout and very thoughtful and intricate in story and characters. Leaving the viewer with a pit in their stomach but willingly along for the ride. Even if the story is an extremely slow burn it feels necessary as it promotes the sense of powerlessness that the characters have in this post apocalyptic world. The reason the film works so well is the clear human drama, in a horrific setting. We never truly understand the threat, and man's fear ends up being the greatest threat of all.