It Comes at Night

Director and Writer(screenplay):
Trey Edward Shults
Cast:
Joel Edgerton
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Carmen Ejogo
Christopher Abbott
Riley Keough
Griffin Robert Faulkner
H.P. Lovecraft once said "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." No truer words have been spoken and more aptly describe the new tense horror/mystery film "It Comes At Night". With a small cast of only six, I was unsure what to expect, but the title and trailer spoke for it's self. It was Directed and Written by Trey Edward Shults who is relatively new to the scene, but he is definitely heavy hitter with the macabre. The film revolves around the lives of a couple and their son, living in the middle of the woods in fear of a biological terror in a post-apocalyptic world. With a very strict routine they ward off impending threat of contagion, but even the most prepared can not prepare for everything. With a series of unfortunate events leading up to a shocking ending, this claustrophobic movie had all the ingredients for a recipe for pure insanity.

The lead was taken by dual roles of the father and son, playing out the different behaviors for the same situation. Joel Edgerton (Black Mass, The Gift, Warrior) plays Paul, a father trying to keep his family safe at all costs. His portrayal of Paul was seamless to protect everything that he had left in that world by any means necessary. Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Birth of a Nation, Roots, Shots Fired) plays Tavis the doting son that likes to listen even when he shouldn't. He plays Tavis as the opposite spectrum of his father he likes to observe more than take action, the most terrifying thing was the nightmare's/prophecies of Travis which were hard to decipher and that is I think is the reason for the title the film. Carmen Ejogo (Alien: Covenant, Selma, Purge: Anarchy) plays Sarah the mother of Travis is head of reason in this but like mother like son, she is a observer. She definitely used her maternal connection to play this part I could truly feel the desperation of a mother just protecting her child. Christopher Abbott (HBO's Girls, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) and Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road, American Honey,The Runaways) play the younger couple Will and Kim with their son Andrew played by Griffin Robert Faulkner. I don't want to give too much away but their performances will chill you to the bone. The the beauty of the cinematography of the scenes were eerily picturesque even in the showing of the passage of time, you could tell it was executed with a precision eye. Even the gruesome events that take place had a aesthetic quality to them, giving it a intensity that shook me.

All I say is keep an open mind and eyes, because if you blink for a second you might miss something. In my opinion on a late night, this is definitely worth the ticket.
(Review by Samantha Leggio)