Filmmaker Trey Edward Shults's It Comes at Night is an apocalyptic thriller set in a world where a plague has struck that makes the afflicted a danger to everyone else. Paul (Joel Edgerton) has boarded up his house deep in a forest to protect his family: wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and teen son Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.). Their solitude is breached when Will (Christopher Abbott) tries to break in. Paul subdues Will, and after a brutal interrogation decides to invite him, his wife Kim (Riley Keough), and their young son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner) to join them. For a time things go well, but ultimately a rupture occurs, with devastating results. Shults's script is cunning, strategically inserting bursts of grim action within a string of tense conversations and suspenseful treks down darkened hallways. The characters are not particularly complex, but the cast adds nuances that bring them to life, and the film boasts a grittily creepy atmosphere. What comes at night is not mindless violence or splashy zombie makeup but rather something human and real—a piercing sense of loss. A haunting film about the high cost of survival, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Trey Edward Shults and costar Kelvin Harrison Jr., and a “Human Nature” production featurette (30 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an atmospheric chiller.] (F. Swietek)
It Comes at Night
Lionsgate, 91 min., R, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $24.99, Sept. 12 Volume 32, Issue 5
It Comes at Night
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