Why The Director Of It Comes At Night Hopes Audiences “Don’t Catch On” To His Technological Tricks

Over the past two decades, horror movies have increasinglygravitated toward jump-scare experiences: stories more interested in deliveringsudden shocks than developing suspense through mood & atmosphere. Thisdumbing down of horror, which has turned it into a PG-13 assembly line, hasresulted in a long danh sách of uninspired, uninspiring titles that are easilyconsumed and more easily forgotten. ItComes at Night, from sophomore writer/director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha), rejects these trends and setsitself up as a character-driven foray into psychological horror. The R-rating,which could have been softened lớn a PG-13 with only a few changes, is astatement: horror isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not a child’s genre. Itisn’t meant to be comfortable. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to lớn think of a recentmovie that’s as uncomfortable anddisturbing as It Comes at Night.

As the movie opens, we’re not sure what’s going on. An oldman, afflicted with some kind of disease, is surrounded by three people wearinggas masks. They speak but their words are garbled by the masks. We soon learnwhy they’re there, what they’re doing, and how dire their circumstances are.They are Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), & their 17-yearold son, Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Their task is lớn kill Sarah’s terminallyill father then burn his body. He has contracted a dangerously contagiousillness that has ravaged the country. The deed done, they return inside theirheavily fortified, isolated house. They are stuck in a terrible limbo wherelife is about survival. There is no light at the kết thúc of the tunnel, just animpenetrable fog of uncertainty và the recognition that any other human beingcan be The Grim Reaper.

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Their security is compromised when a lone man, Will(Christopher Abbott), breaks in, thinking the place is abandoned. Paul knockshim out, ties him up, and waits to lớn see whether there are indications ofsickness. When it appears that the newcomer is healthy, Paul listens lớn Will’sstory – he and his wife và son are also refugees – và agrees khổng lồ help. Inshort time, the small group inside the house grows from three lớn six, withWill, his wife Kim (Riley Keough), and their son Edward providing companionshipand help with chores. But what at first seems to lớn be an amicable situation growstense as small instances of dishonesty create fractures in the interpersonaldynamics. Meanwhile, there may be something out in the woods, watching andwaiting.

Although It Comes atNight embraces its giới thiệu of tropes, it becomes almost impossible khổng lồ guesswhere the story is going. 60 minutes into the 97-minute running time, I foundmyself unable to predict how things would over up – something unusual for ahorror movie circa 2017. Shults, appropriating a technique from Hitchcock,peppers the film with red herrings. Some mean nothing but they prod viewers tothink and wonder about characters. Clever misdirection keeps us off-balance. Theending doesn’t blindside us but is no less powerful for its inevitability.

It Comes at Night isbuilt on a foundation of mood. The woods are a character. They surround thehouse providing protection and hiding potential enemies. When the familywatchdog scampers off & his barks suddenly stop, only the trees know what hashappened lớn him. The inside of the house is claustrophobic – the diametricopposite of what a “home” should be. Nightmares bleed into reality and, despiteShults’ reluctance to lớn make It Comes atNight about jolts, there are a couple of top-notch jump-scares. The sounddepartment deserves special recognition – the use of sound in this movie, especiallythe percussive music – is extraordinary.

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There’s no denying that ItComes at Night is dark. This isn’t a movie to lớn see for anyone in search oflight escapism or disposable horror. Its atmosphere settles into the bones andits presence lingers after the credits have ended and the house lightsbrightened. The closest recent analog is Green Room and, although the films are only superficially alike in terms ofnarrative, they cốt truyện a kinship in the way they treat audiences & the genrewith respect. It Comes at Night doesn’tcompromise and for those who love a grittier, less audience-friendly flavor ofhorror, it’s a must-see.