It Comes At Night (2017)
There’s nothing in the woods.
Presentation:
This film basically has no storyline. It’s a pitch meeting with great ideas, visuals, execution, but then disappoints with nothing really explained. This makes the film one of those metaphorical manifestations of something else, but it’s not very confident in what that is meant to be. The film really is very dark by nature of how it is barely lit by flashlights and lamps. But it does excel in building tension and conflict through having so little. Probably one of the best depictions mood wise for a dystopian setting in the woods.
Story:
My take is the film is take on our perception of strangers. It's nuanced in that we don't know what is the right choice, who is right or wrong, it is just human nature. Ultimately the son dies and they are also infected, which I believe suggests that the disease is a form of xenophobia and mistrust of strangers.
Conclusion:
This film has an objectively weak script but I think there are many moments of potential through how the tension is built up. As this is a horror, I don’t think it’s always necessary to make it absolutely clear and explain everything in detail. If you can accept this, then perhaps you won’t receive the film so harshly. Even so, it should be creepy enough to make you think about it whenever you see a similar situation, affecting how you view yourself and second guess other people. I think Honeymoon does this film better.
Recommendations
Is it better to suffer injustice than do it?