It Comes At Night: Horror Fans Rejoice... But That's All I Can Tell You

I can't tell you anything about this movie. Do not assume you know anything about this movie. When it comes to horror movies, I personally feel that the less one knows going into it, the better and scarier the movie is. In fact, when it comes to horror the only thing I want to know is if it is going to be worth my time. Horror is a strange breed of film. There are always far more terrible horror films than worthwhile ones. And while I don't use rottentomatoes as the gold standard of whether or not to see a movie... I will almost always trust it with horror. When a horror film scores over 80% on RT, I have yet to be let down (other than It Follows which is universally adored and I just don't get it). I made it a point to avoid any and all trailers for It Comes At Night and I'm glad I did. And while it wasn't anything like what I was expecting... it's a really good horror film.

All you really need to know about this movie is what kind of horror movie fan you personally are. If you're in it for the "jump scares"... this will disappoint. If you're in it for the copious amounts of gore... this will disappoint. But, if you like a slow burn of ever-building tension and unease... then you will enjoy every second of It Comes At Night. There are so many elements of Trey Edward Shults' first venture into horror that lend to the slow building dread within the film. It's not just the acting or the writing or the plot or what's in the shadows or the soundtrack (btw-- fucking terrifying soundtrack)... it's in the camera work as well. Each shot is so smooth and deliberate, slowly focusing on what Shults wants you to see and keeping just out of sight what he doesn't. It's like walking through a haunted house while someone slowly and lightly runs the tip of their finger softly down your spine. If it wasn't so terrifying, it might actually be relaxing.

I wish I could tell you more. I wish I could tell you why I enjoyed the movie so much. I wish I could explain to you how proud I am of this film and the originality and creativity of it. But I will give you only what this movie provides-- what's unseen is far scarier than what you're shown. I don't want to give you the slightest glimpse into the movie because this is a film that deserves your blind attention and trust. I did the same with last year's The Witch (which tonally is very similar to It Comes At Night). The unfortunate element here though... I didn't actively have to avoid advertisement for this film. There were a few instances where I'd turn off my screen or look somewhere else... but there wasn't a hell of a lot of promotion for this movie. It will inevitably go overlooked, especially amid the Summer Movie CGI-fest we have going right now. I highly suggest seeing it in theaters, but if you're unable to... let's hope it finds an audience when it's released into our homes.

B+