Following the success of “Get Out,” the horror film genre has shifted.
Gone are the cheesy slasher films of the past. Now, horror films seem to be taking themselves more seriously by incorporating beautiful cinematography and high-quality acting.
“It Comes at Night,” the latest installment in this new horror genre hits each of those marks.
The movie looks gorgeous, with gloomy, bleak backdrops occasionally interrupted with splashes of color. Joel Edgerton leads the cast, accompanied by co-stars Kelvin Harris Jr. and Carmen Ejajo. All three put on a tortured and desperate performance that helps the audience empathize with the emotion behind their situation.
However, the actors and their characters are put into a world with an ankle-deep plot, highlighting the greatest flaw of “It Comes at Night.”
The film begins with Paul, played by Edgerton, taking care of his family deep in the woods following what appears to be a global pandemic. Ejojo’s character, Sara, is forced to say goodbye to her father after he becomes “sick” and Travis, played by Harrison Jr. is shown helping his father protect their secluded home.
The family gets a visit from a character named Will, who convinces Paul to take in he and his family. The remainder of the film follows their conflicts while hinting at what could possibly be ravaging the outside world.
Unfortunately for the audience, few of the plot points and exposition ever pan out. That’s the problem with “It Comes at Night.” Nothing is ever answered. The movie sets up countless questions that, if context were provided, would make for an engaging story.
More than once, tense moments in the movie result in anticlimactic conclusions. For instance, Travis often hears noises coming from outside the back door of the house, but the source is never anything that furthers the story or provides new information.
What’s worse, the trailer made the movie look like a suspenseful, disturbing thriller full of horrifying imagery and the supernatural. Much of that footage is shown out of context and the “scariest” moments come during Travis’s many dream sequences. During the first few dreams, it appears that there will be some type of real-world consequences for Travis, but alas, many of his visions are red-herrings, with no purpose later in the story.
“It Comes at Night” attempted to capitalize on the motif of the most terrifying things cannot be seen. The audience knows that something is out there, but they just can’t make it out. However, the film took is a step too far and showed the audience absolutely nothing. There is human conflict, drama and mild fear, but no terror. There’s nothing to see, nothing to emotionally latch on to, resulting in an empty, hollow film with only the actors left to carry what little story remains.
If it were not for Edgerton and his fellow cast members, “It Comes at Night” would hardly be considered a film, rather images cut together with no coherence or purpose.
The movie, much like the characters in it, is secluded in its own world, cut off from anything creative or useful.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill