Delayed Reaction: It Comes at Night

The Pitch: Don't go outside. Don't worry about why.

In a post-apocalyptic world, one family invites another family into their house for shelter.

It Comes at Night got double-screwed over by advertising then word of mouth. The trailers I saw leaned heavily on the horror mystery of what's behind the red door. It's a damn effective trailer and also, not really what the movie is about. I then came across reviews and interviews that warned that the movie isn't horror at all. I got the impression from those reactions that it was something a lot more cerebral and unique. People would talk around what it actually is like it's something unfamiliar. So, I was both fooled into thinking it was a horror movie and into thinking that it wasn't a familiar genre movie.

It turns out, this is a very familiar movie. It's good but not some clever new twist on a tired formula. This is a post-apocalyptic survival movie. There are variants of things you'd find in an zombie movie, The Road, or Z for Zachariah. There are hints of things like The Thing or The Mist in the way that the horrible things are off screen. The "It" in the title isn't really explained and only matters in that it keeps everyone afraid and hiding.

The movie feels a little Sundance-y the way that the whole movie is like the first 30 minutes of another movie stretched out to 90 minutes. I like aspects of that. It allows for more character moments. I can soak in the atmosphere more and the characters don't have to constantly be talking to drive the story. I'd've appreciated it a bit more had the direction the story went in not felt like an inevitability.

Joel Edgerton is ideal as a grizzled, paternal figure who doesn't hide that he's not always sure what the right thing to do is. Chrstopher Abbott is great at being able to look sincere and untrustworthy at the same time. I wish I had more to say about Carmen Ejogo and Riley Keough. They get a couple of good moments, but I would've liked to see them get more to do. Kelvin Harrison Jr. basically looked nervous the whole time and acted as a POV character. He didn't feel very essential.

This is a fun movie if you are into post-apocalyptic stories. It's not much of a horror movie (and isn't really trying to be one). Everything about it is pretty good. There isn't a lot that's new.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend