It Comes at Night

It Comes At Night: Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son. Then a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

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Introduction

It Comes at Night was way different than what I was expecting to experience. Honestly, having not read the synopsis of this and just watched it mainly because it was made by A24, I really thought this was a vampire sort of film because of the title. Regardless, I enjoyed it. Although I’d say that its an acquired taste, don’t be swayed by their “Action/Horror” genre, there’s really not much action, its more of Psychological/Horror if you ask me. Directed by Trey Edward Shults.

Set in a post apocalyptic world, with very few information given to us viewers, a family struggles to survive while battling with their morals. Whether to save the next person asking for help, or save themselves by ignoring or ultimately killing an unknown stranger lurking around.

Characters

Paul (played by Joel Edgerton ‐ The Thing 2011, King Arthur 2004) was great. His character, being the father and leader of the house, was stern and decisive. I love how he’s able to project his emotions with his eyes. Whenever he needs to kill someone he doesn’t want to, you’d see his eyes water up and sparkle, you’d feel his hesitation to what he needed to.

Travis (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) And Sarah (played by Carmen Ejogo) was awesome. Considering the fact that they had few dialogues, they were still able to display their emotions and add more depth and tone to the film.

I honestly thought that Will (played by Christopher Abbott) was Kit Harrington, I even told my wife that it was Kit. Anyway, Abbott did a phenomenal job at being who he was.

In my opinion, Kim (played by Riley Keough) had the most moving performance of all, specially towards the end. Her screams were harrowing and it tears through the air. You could feel her pain through her cries.

Tone and music

Dark and full of mysteries. Allthroughout the film, it felt like there was darkness enveloping the family, even when they show some great mornings and a stroll in the woods, that darkness just lingers around in the air. And it never let up until the credits rolled. The music paired with certain scenes were perfect.

Cinematography

Camera angles gave It Comes at Night that cherry-on-top factor. It was so perfectly made. Just what I expected of A24. The best one was how viewers enters Travis’ dreams. The fade was so subtle yet the intention was obvious.

Dialogue

There was minimal dialogue and It Comes at Night is very well known for it. They rely heavily on the atmosphere of fear and anxieties of the people involved. Their emotions, facial expressions, and body language were enough to convey a message.

What I didn’t like

Mostly preference, but I’m a sucker for lores and the like. In this case, a little background of what had happened would be great. But then again, the mystery of it all adds a ton to the quality of the film.

Conclusion

It Comes at Night is very well done. There wasn’t a time where I got bored (I’m sure many viewers were), the dialogue kept me engaged. It was well-written and the exchanges felt natural. Another great film under A24’s belt. Highly recommended.

If you’re into the works under A24, I’d recommend Midsommar (2019).