119.
It Comes At Night
6.5
I'm so glad that there are plenty of horrors films hitting the big screen this year and this was one that interested me. There wasn't much exposed during the trailer so I was left to my own devices and I think that's the great thing about the genre. The trailer was very dark, in colour more than images because everything was either at night or inside a house without light. I wonder if this film will leave dreading the night.
We are straight into asking questions as we see a poorly old man sitting up, wheezing, covered in boils and seemingly near the end of his life. His daughter is seen telling him that everything will be ok but she's wearing a gas mask so clearly that isn't the case. Soon he's laid down by his son-in-law and wheeled out into the woods by him and his son, the ill man's grandson. There, Travis, the son-in-law, lays the old man down and puts a pillow over his head, then shoots him and rolls him into a grave before setting him on fire. Well that was a beginning to remember. The family is scene to live together in a wooden house in the forest, far away from anyone else and with their dog, Stanley. They are away from the rest of the world because it's implied that a deadly virus has set itself on the population and no-one actually knows what is going on out there. Since the death of his Grandfather, Travis, has constant nightmares. He sees himself walking through his house, into a room at the end of a long corridor and seeing a man sitting on the bed, wheezing just like his Grandfather until he approaches and then suddenly wakes up. The door at the end of the corridor is bright red and it resembles something that I have seen in movies before. It's made to resemble a door that leads to hell, or a demon's lair. This time it leads to a room where the old man died and also the room that is the only entrance to the house or exit to the outside. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not but it is something to think about. Back to Travis and he is jolted awake to see his mother in his room telling him that there is someone in their house. A lot of banging is heard as the family grab their gas masks and gloves and head to the red door. Paul and Sarah, the parents, grab their guns. The intruder breaks through the door for Paul to let off a shot and miss. Running into the room through some plastic sheets, we see the man willing to surrender. They find out his name is Will but is unsure of his true intentions once he tells them he thought the house was empty and he was just looking to find some food and water for his family. He's alone but Paul goes outside to check anyway because all he trusts is his family. Knocking him out with the butt of his gun before leaving, he's still unconscious when he ties him to a tree outside the next morning. A large sack is placed over his head and some tape over his head. Watching on, Travis takes all this in and it leads to another nightmare that night. He sees Will standing up over him with dark eyes.
Around 24 hours later, Paul gets to Will and decides to ask him some more questions about where he came from, his family and what his intentions are. We learn he has been living on his brother's farm, but travelled to a house a few miles away, where his son and wife still are. The farm was 80 miles away and on his travels, he has seen no-one on the road. He is willing to swap some animals for resources but instead Paul decides it's best to move the family in with them for more protection and the good set up he has. All of the house is boarded up so that's why it's still dark inside, even in the day. He unveils a truck and drives with Will in the back. As they go along the country road, someone suddenly shoots at the truck and smashes the window, causing him to drive off road and crash into a tree. He clambers out and under the truck as he sees Will jump out the back and run. He shoots a man hidden behind a tree. Getting out, he sees Will on top of another man, beating him but also asking Paul not to shoot him. In the heat of the moment, he does. Will loses it a little because he wanted to ask the man questions but Paul doesn't believe him and for a while thinks that this was a set up by Will. Later, the two return to the original house and make the introductions that are necessary. Straight into laying down the rules though. Everyone chips in, no one goes out at night, Paul has the only keys to the outside and everyone pisses in a bucket at night because the toilet is outside.
Both families settle in well and get on with their day to day work, eating together and quick scenes show everyone getting on well, Travis colouring in with the little boy and everyone having a drink and a laugh. Will and his wife Kim constantly get it on and Travis likes to listen through the walls and floor boards whenever he can. He develops a crush on the new woman and instantly she is in his dreams. She climbs on top of him and begins to kiss Travis, pulling away, she spews black bile into him mouth, causing him to wake vigorously and run to the toilet to wash. Travis heads into the kitchen and suddenly becomes nervous when he sees Kim, his interest, sitting at the kitchen table. She notices that he is eyeing her up so quickly ends their conversation on desserts and he heads off to bed. The next day, Stanley is barking and something and runs off into the woods with Travis following him. Deeper and deeper they run until the barking stops and there is no sight of the dog. Paul shouts at his son for running off alone but Travis is sure he seen something moving out there. That night Travis finds Andrew, the young boy, sleeping at the foot of his Grandfathers bed. He takes him by the hand and leads him back into his parent's room. As he leaves he hears banging again and runs to wake his parents who grab the gun and head into that room again. This time Paul finds Stanley, lying bleeding and hardly breathing, he mercy kills the dog beyond Travis's wishes and the night ends. We've got a scene where Paul takes Will into his study and they have a bottle of whiskey together, discussing their personal life. Will talks about being an only child. Hold up! wasn't he staying at his brother's farm? Questioned on this, because Paul picked it up too, he passes it off that it was his brother-in-law's. Paul quickly ends the conversation there, clearly worried about the new facts. This guy has trust issues.
Every is sitting around the kitchen table the next day and people are looking pretty shook up. Travis explains that he found Andrew where he did that night and saw that the red door was open whilst he heard the banging and before he went to get his parents. Will and Kim get very defensive about their son, who doesn't remember sleep walking that night. As things start to get heated, we see some cracks appearing and Paul decides that everyone should take provisions and stay in their rooms for a while. Paul questions his son in private about whether he touched the boy and obviously he led him back to bed by hand. Paul is upset knowing that there were no gloves involved and he thinks that the family may be sick with the virus. Travis has another, worse nightmare that night. He sees boils up his arms, spews black bile and also sees his Grandfather across from him, covered in black veins with blackened eyes. Travis is the first to wake up in the morning and her hears Andrew crying and whining from down the corridor. The first thing he does is tell his father, who goes to knock on their door to ask if things are ok but also demanding that he enters the room. Sarah is standing around the corner with a gun, ready for any action. After a while, Will allows him in but we see Kim crying and holding her son's head into her chest so we never get to see if his eyes have changed at all. Will produces a gun and demands that Paul lets them leave, insisting there is actually nothing wrong with his own family. Taking Paul by gun point, they head downstairs but Sarah points her gun out of the shadow and demands that Will lowers his. Both doing so at the same time, Paul wrestles the man for his weapon as we notice that Kim has made a run for it through the house and tries to get out the door.
We now cut to what could be the ending as a dazed Will is wheeled out to woods and probably the grave site. Tossing him to the ground we see the Kim is still holding Andrew but Sarah has her at gunpoint now. Will gets up and tried to fight his last fight but Paul smashing him over the head with a rock and Kim runs off into the woods. Paul takes aim and fires, all we hear is screaming but it doesn't sound like pain. He's killed the boy. She begs to get killed too and Paul doesn't really hesitate after knowing his mistake. Will slowly dies from a shot to the back and Travis can't believe his eyes as he runs back inside. This is a really dark moment in this movie. After sometime, Travis is completely overcome with the virus. Sarah sits over him but this time there is no gas mask. Maybe this is because she consoled him after the dog was killed or hugged him when everyone was arguing, but either way, she's doomed to I think. We see a scene of Travis walking the corridor and heading to that red door again, maybe on his way to death, as his mother tells him he can let go now. The last shot is of the mother and father, Paul and Sarah sitting at the kitchen table alone. We can see Sarah's eyes are slowly starting to turn black but before we see anymore, the screen turns black.
Ok, ok, I understand which was way this horror was heading but it wasn't what I personally enjoy in the genre. This film was focused on a paranoia within the family, how protective one man can be and the lengths he will actually go for them. The film had some really dark scenes with the killings and a few seconds or gruesome effects with the virus and dreams. Other than that, it felt like the film stayed in third gear and never took that extra step, just when you thought you were about to see something, it was over or was an anti-climax. I liked that fact that it was a cast I didn't recognise other than Paul who was played by Joel Edgerton because I didn't know what to expect from each of their style. I left with so many questions but not in a good way. What was 'it'? Because it never came. What caused the virus? Surely the virus is simply airborne so the gas masks make no difference when you don't wear them in the day. A low budget movie that let me wondering rather than needing to know. It was an interesting idea but 'it's' not for me.
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