Okay kiddies, we’re at Day 17 on our dark journey, and up today is the post apocalyptic thriller It Comes At Night. The movie opens with the execution of a sick old man, and the subsequent burning of the body. The family- father Paul (Joel Edgerton), mother Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), son Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), and their dog- struggles to deal with their loss. We learn that some sort of virus has risen in the world, wiping out many in the cities. Survivors have fled to the surrounding country. One night, the family finds an intruder in the house. Upon capturing and interrogating the man, Paul finds out he has a family of his own. This new family- Will (Christopher Abbott), Kim (Riley Keough), and young son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner)- is reluctantly brought into the house so both families can share supplies. Things seem to go okay at first, but soon fear and paranoia begin to build, and after an incident things head towards a violent climax.
This film is bound to divide people, as director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha), leaves us with more questions than answers. The cast is all very good. Edgerton (Midnight Special) does nicely as portraying a man who wants to keep his family safe at all costs. Abbott (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) is also good as a man driven to desperate measures to keep his wife and son alive, even if it means making some unsure compromises. Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s (The Birth of a Nation) Travis seems to be a bridge between the two families, as he finds joy in how Will and Kim interact, and even start to fall for Kim. It’s Travis’s nightmares that give us a possible glimpse to what this disease may be, though the nature of the disease is never quite disclosed, beyond that it causes raised boils to appear on the body, is communicable through the air (since they don gas masks when dealing with the sick or those suspected of being sick), and is ultimately fatal. Shults does a great job at maintaining a high level of tension and suspense throughout, but the film’s ending may leave some viewers feeling hollow. It’s worth checking out for the performances alone, but expect that you’ll need to come to your own conclusions to answer the questions that the movie raises. Now available on DVD and Blu-ray. 7/10 stars
