If there is one thing that is pretty much a fact in life, it is that nothing lasts forever. For one thing we all know that humanity will one day cease to exist. We don’t know yet how that will happen, but there are endless scenarios for that. And ofcourse we all know that a lot of these have been featured in movies. Now I for one am a huge fan of post apocalyptic movies, and no that does not mean that I want the world to end. I may at times be crazy, but I am sure as hell not that crazy. I particularly love the genre, because it usually features ordinary men and women that are put into situations that will see them having to overcome impossible odds. And in order to do so change the ways they usually did things in the life before the apocalypse. The movie I am about to review falls into the post apocalyptic genre, but really tries to take things in a completely different direction than is usually the case.
The only thing that is clear at the beginning of the movie is that there is some kind of plague going around, that is probably responsible for wiping out most of humanity. We meet up with Paul a man that lives together with his wife Sarah and their teenage son Travis in a secluded house in the forest. They are pretty much cut off from everything, and only have each other to depend on. However the situation is beginning to look more grim every day, especially considering that their food is running out. One night they hear noises in the house, and they find that someone is trying to break in. The man responsible for that act is called Will, and at first Paul is very suspicious of him. Will tells them that the house looked abandoned from the outside, and that he was only trying to find some water for his own family. After a while, Paul reluctantly agrees to take Will and his family in. At first things are going well, and the two families are living amicably together. But as time passes by, a mutual distrust is beginning to take root. Is everyone telling the truth? Is everyone free of the disease? As suspicions grow, the tension begins to increase with every passing day with very dire consequences…..
This is a movie that can be decribed as a psychological horror movie. It certainly has it’s flaws, which I will adress shortly. But it also does a lot of things right. For one thing it is highly original. When I first heard the description for this film, my first thought was “Oh, it’s another one of those kind of movies”. I expected either zombies or large abandoned cities where pockets of humanity still lived. But that really wasn’t the case. Almost the entire movie took place in one single location, and as such you run the risk of it becoming very boring. But I wasn’t bored for one minute. It tells the story of what happens to people when a situation like this would present itself, and it did so in a very realistic way. Here we have a movie that explores the human psyche, and how one changes when it comes to protecting family, instead of going along a well trodden path like zombies or stuff like that. And that was what made it all the more chilling.
The cast consisted of pretty much unknown actors with the exception of Joel Edgerton, who played the role of Paul. Joel did a great job in my opinion of playing the desperate but also slightly paranoid father, who’s only thought is to protect his family. He puts enough emotion in the role to make it very believable and certain decisions he makes are tough, but most of the times you can relate to them. And that is mostly because of his acting. The film does leave you with a lot of questions at the end. And that is one of it’s biggest flaws. Quite a few things are left wide open at the end of the movie, and that can be a bit frustrating. It also is a pretty bleak and quite depressing film. A movie such as this is hard to recommend and it definitely won’t be for everyone. It is a type of horror that can crawl under your skin, and it certainly did that for me, but there will also be people who will experience it differently.
I give It comes at Night a 8 out of 10 score.
I think you should give Into the Woods a try. Its a 2015 film. You’d like it. It has the same apocalyptic theme.
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Thanks for the recommendation, will definitely check that one out 😀
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no problem
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Thanks for the reblog, appreciate it 😀
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This looks pretty darn good. My kind of film.
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It really was very good. I really loved the psychological aspects of it, and the way the movie kept hanging around in my mind, way after the credits rolled 😀
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Hmm I’m definitely skipping this one as one thing I hate more than horror movies is probably psychological horror movies xD However, I very much enjoyed your review, as per usual, and I’m quite happy you liked it!
It really bothers me when a movie leaves a lot of loose ends at the end so that would frustrate me. But thankfully the acting was really good! 🙂
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Lol…then yes, you should definitely skip this one. Too many elements in it that will not make you happy for this movie 😂 Thank you for your comments, and the very kind words. Always appreciate it very much 😊
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Love the premise of the film. I like psychological thrillers and apocalyptic stuff, but not so much the horror element. Very nice review 🙂
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This movie certainly has some horror elements in it, won’t deny that fact, but I would say this is more of a thriller than a horror movie. As it contained no supernatural elements, but focussed mostly on the human psyche, that’s what the true horror of the film really was 😊
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I love a good post-apocalyptic tale! It runs the risk of being very boring, like you said, when it all takes place in one single setting. I’d say most of the time I don’t like single setting stories for this reason. Although, my favorite Walking Dead episode of all time was an exception to this, Season 6 Episode 4: “Here’s Not Here.” Or as I call it, “The Way of The Stick” – how Morgan learned his non-lethal fighting philosophy.
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Yeah, true movies taking pace in only one location can run the risk of ending in disaster, but this one luckily did not do so. Ooh…the Walking Dead, younger now entering the terrain of my favorite all time tv series. But you are totally correct, it was a fantastic episode. It was slow, but the way it just focussed on only two men that eventually grew into a mutual respect for each other, and a heartfelt friendship was terrific. Could not agree with you more on that one 😊
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Also, The Dark Tower movie comes out Aug 4th, at least here in the US. Did you decide to read any of that series?
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I wish I could have read it, but sadly no, I haven’t found the time for it. So I can now let myself be surprised by the movie. I hope it will be good 😊
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It’s a huge time commitment, that’s for sure. That might work out better for you. I’m about 1/3 of the way through the series and I’m afraid I’m going to be disappointed by the movie. The trailer looks very different from how I imagine the books.
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Well, that is usually the case with movies that are based on novels. With a few exceptions pretty much every time the novel is better than the movie. But who knows,we might get pleasantly surprised 😊
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By the way, I’m almost ridiculously excited for The Gunslinger to come out. It’s one of my favorite Stephen King stories.
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I have yet to read the books, but I have heard truly great things about them. My backlog of novels is almost as big as my backlog in movies, tv series and anime lol, so I hope to eventually get to it at some point 😊
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Same here. I have a huge backlog. I haven’t finished the whole Dark Tower series yet. I’m currently rereading The Gunslinger. But I’m juggling it with several other books. 😂
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I’m currently on book 3: The Wastelands. My favorite quote from the series thus far is in The Gunslinger, “You will not see what you do not look for.” I read that and put the book down and just thought about that for like an hour lol.
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I find myself putting The Gunslinger down this time a lot to think about it. The first time, I think I just devoured it.
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def gonna check this one out when it comes to home video. I love horror movies specially the resurgence its having. I wanted to see this in theaters but didn’t because alot of the fan reviews. I was afraid of the it’s not really what they show in the theaters. like the witch that critics hailed as awesome but I was quite bored and didnt find that scary, but after your review I will be checking this out.
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Well, I quite liked the Witch if I am being honest (lol), but I do have to admit that one is a movie not for everyone. It is a certain type of horrorfilm, that you either like or not. It pretty much has no middle ground. Hope you will like this one when you get to see it 😀
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I love apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movies/stories for the same reason. There’s so much opportunity for characters to dig deep and be heroic, no matter how ordinary they are. It’s the same reason I love good horror.
I shared the “Real Neat Blog Award” with you. You can see it here: https://doingthewritething.wordpress.com/2017/07/08/thats-just-neat/ . No pressure to accept the award though.
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Wow, thank you very much 😊 Really appreciate it a lot. I’m running behind on some awards posts honestly, so I hope to get around to it as soon as I can. But really, thank you for this 😊
As for post apocalyptic movies, I have always enjoyed them, but I especially like smaller films like these, that sometimes are surprisingly good. Another example is Stakeland,a low budget, but pretty decent Vampire/post apocalyptic film, with some great characters. Highly recommend that one 😊
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No worries!
I loved Stakeland! I posted on it awhile back. I like that it was a little bit different than the average vamp fare.
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Good review, I went to see this one last night and found myself totally engrossed. Left at the end wondering what I had just watched, then thinking about it for the rest of the night and realising just how clever it all was.
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Thank you very much 😀 It’s funny, your reaction to the movie is pretty much the exact same one that I had together with the friend I went to see the movie with. We drank a cup,of coffee afterwards, and we could not stop talking about it. It stayed in my mind well the entire evening as well, which is usually the sign of a great movie. Thank you for your comment 😊
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It sure is! Especially when you were just waiting the whole time for something extremely big to happen.
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Great review, although I’m not with you about the ending. It is superbly minimalist but conveys the full horror of what just happened. This film works more because of what it does not show rather than the usual digitial spooks we usually see in this genre.
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Thank you very much 😀 Yes the ending is what I would like to call a Stephen King ending: he at times uses endings that are very open ended as well. I myself did not have a real problem with it: although a few questions answered would have been nice, but the friend I was with had a much harder time with it. She really could not cope with it, and would really have wanted more answers than the questions we are left with. But that’s a minor issue in what was otherwise a truly amazing film. One of the better horrormovies that I have seen in quite a while. Thank you for your comment 😀
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Your reviews are always so descriptive and eloquent. Especially this one, you had me hooked from the opening.
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Aww, thank you so very much for these very kind words. It’s comments like these that really make my day. Thanks, and the sane definitely hier for your posts. Always highly enjoy reading them 😊
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It’s comments like yours that make my blogging worthwhile. I love your support on both my blogs.
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