I watched a matinée showing of this at a cinema in the middle of summer and it cast such a shadow over the day that it took the rest of the weekend to recover from it. I had no expectations going in, knowing only that a friend had heard good things about it and it is supposedly part of a new wave of low key, post-horror movies.
I'd recently seen The Witch, and thoroughly enjoyed that. Only later did I find that they'd been distributed by the same company but the similarities are clear: slow paced, brooding and atmospheric, mysterious and ultimately bleak. However, while The Witch was pretty dark, it had a sense of playfulness to it and the fantastical and supernatural elements of the plot meant it wasn't tied down to reality and served as a bit of escapism.
It Comes at Night is what I would consider a genuine horror film. Whereas most films in the genre are fast paced, contain periods of action, rely on jump scares and are sufficiently removed from reality to be entertaining more than horrifying, It Comes at Night is firmly grounded in reality, is relentlessly bleak and actually horrifies. The closest comparison I can find is the cinematic adaptation of McCarthy's The Road.
Among the films many strengths are the complex and deep characters and subtle and tense relationships between them. Also, the oppressive but not intrusive soundtrack brilliantly builds tension and puts the viewer on edge throughout. The acting is understated and convincing with Kelvin Harrison particularly compelling as the young and confused idealist who has to watch his own family become increasingly ruthless, paranoid and morally questionable in their actions. That the film is shot through the eyes of this lonely young man makes it all the more compelling and unsettling when the other characters unravel.
'Nothing comes at night', as an army of negative reviewers seem keen to point out. But of course, that's just a title and really has little bearing on the contents of the film. But also, much in this film does come at night, the creeping paranoia that consumes the characters, the horrific dreams that haunt the main protagonist and the potentially infected visitors who wish to bang down the door.
This film is indeed a horror movie. No movie I've seen in a long time has been so horrifying. It isn't an easy watch and you don't have to expose yourself to it if you don't want to experience something so persistently grim and bleak. But as a film that sets out to disturb and unnerve its audience, it does an excellent job.
I'd recently seen The Witch, and thoroughly enjoyed that. Only later did I find that they'd been distributed by the same company but the similarities are clear: slow paced, brooding and atmospheric, mysterious and ultimately bleak. However, while The Witch was pretty dark, it had a sense of playfulness to it and the fantastical and supernatural elements of the plot meant it wasn't tied down to reality and served as a bit of escapism.
It Comes at Night is what I would consider a genuine horror film. Whereas most films in the genre are fast paced, contain periods of action, rely on jump scares and are sufficiently removed from reality to be entertaining more than horrifying, It Comes at Night is firmly grounded in reality, is relentlessly bleak and actually horrifies. The closest comparison I can find is the cinematic adaptation of McCarthy's The Road.
Among the films many strengths are the complex and deep characters and subtle and tense relationships between them. Also, the oppressive but not intrusive soundtrack brilliantly builds tension and puts the viewer on edge throughout. The acting is understated and convincing with Kelvin Harrison particularly compelling as the young and confused idealist who has to watch his own family become increasingly ruthless, paranoid and morally questionable in their actions. That the film is shot through the eyes of this lonely young man makes it all the more compelling and unsettling when the other characters unravel.
'Nothing comes at night', as an army of negative reviewers seem keen to point out. But of course, that's just a title and really has little bearing on the contents of the film. But also, much in this film does come at night, the creeping paranoia that consumes the characters, the horrific dreams that haunt the main protagonist and the potentially infected visitors who wish to bang down the door.
This film is indeed a horror movie. No movie I've seen in a long time has been so horrifying. It isn't an easy watch and you don't have to expose yourself to it if you don't want to experience something so persistently grim and bleak. But as a film that sets out to disturb and unnerve its audience, it does an excellent job.
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