The film had its premiere at the Overlook Film Festival at Timberline Lodge in Oregon on April 29, 2017, and was theatrically released on June 9, 2017, in the United States, by A24. It was positively received by critics but less well received by the general public,[4] and grossed over $20 million worldwide.
Plot
A contagious disease ravages the planet. A couple, Paul and Sarah, and their teenage son Travis are secluded in their home deep in the woods in an undisclosed location. After Sarah's father, Bud, contracts the disease, they kill him and burn his body.
That night, they capture an intruder breaking in. Paul ties him to a tree and places a bag over his head overnight to confirm he is not suffering from the disease. The stranger, Will, explains he was searching for fresh water for his wife and his young son. Will offers to trade some food for water. Sarah suggests taking the strangers in, reasoning the more people, the easier it would be to defend themselves. Paul reluctantly agrees, and drives Will to collect his family. Along the way, they are ambushed by two men. Paul kills them, while accusing Will of setting him up. Will assuages Paul's mistrust.
Paul returns with Will, his wife Kim, and son Andrew. After establishing their rules, which include keeping the only entrance locked with a key Paul or Sarah wear around their neck, the two families establish a sense of normality, and grow closer.
One day, Travis's dog Stanley begins barking aggressively at an unseen presence and chases it into the woods. Travis, who had followed Stanley, insists he heard something in the woods. That night, Will seemingly contradicts a story he told Paul earlier, resulting in Paul's increasing distrust of Will.
That evening, Travis discovers Andrew sleeping on the floor of Bud's old room suffering from a nightmare. He also finds the front door of the house open. The families investigate, finding a bleeding and gravely sick Stanley on the floor. They kill and burn the dog. After Travis reveals the door was open, Sarah suggests sleepwalking Andrew opened the door, causing more distrust. Paul suspects Andrew is infected, and decides they should quarantine in their separate rooms to ensure no one is sick. That evening, Travis is awakened by a nightmare about his grandfather.
The next morning, Travis overhears Andrew crying constantly. Kim tells Will they need to leave. Travis informs his parents that he too may be infected. Paul and Sarah don protective masks and gloves, and take weapons to confront Kim and Will. Will draws a gun and takes Paul captive. He insists his family is healthy, repeatedly tells Andrew to keep his eyes shut and orders Paul to remove the mask. Will demands Paul give him "a fair share" of food and water so they can leave. Sarah and Paul overwhelm Will, and force him and his family outside. Will tries to beat Paul to death until Sarah shoots Will, killing him. Kim flees into the woods with Andrew. Paul fires at them, killing Andrew, then Kim.
Later, Travis awakens in bed, visibly sick. His mother comforts him as he dies. Paul and Sarah, now visibly infected, sit at the dinner table in silence. They share a shattered, devastated look.
Cast
Joel Edgerton as Paul, Sarah's husband and Travis's father
Griffin Robert Faulkner as Andrew, Will and Kim's son
David Pendleton as Bud, Sarah's father and Travis's grandfather
Mickey as Stanley, the family dog
Chase Joliet and Mick O'Rourke as men who attack Paul and Will
Production
Shults began writing the film after the death of his father as a way of dealing with the pain.[7] He cites Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s 1562 oil painting The Triumph of Death as inspiration and it features prominently in the movie and its first trailer.[8][9][10] Although the film is post-apocalyptic Shults did not look to any other such films as inspiration; instead, he cited the work of Paul Thomas Anderson and John Cassavetes and the films Night of the Living Dead and The Shining as inspirations. To the later point, the film takes some influences from The Shining's Overlook Hotel in that the layout of the house is deliberately vague and never properly established. Shults has described it "as this kind of labyrinth" and a metaphor for "the mesh of Travis' head".[7]
It Comes at Night grossed $14 million in the United States and Canada and $5.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $19.7 million.[5]
It Comes at Night was released alongside The Mummy and Megan Leavey, and was expected to gross around $7 million from 2,533 theaters in its opening weekend, with a chance of making as much as $12 million.[18] It made $700,000 from Thursday night previews and $2.4 million on its first day. It ended up debuting to $6 million, finishing 6th at the box office. Deadline Hollywood noted the film's poor audience word-of-mouth led to a drop of potential Saturday and Sunday sales.[4]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 257 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It Comes at Night makes lethally effective use of its bare-bones trappings while proving once again that what's left unseen can be just as horrifying as anything on the screen."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 78 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D" on an A+ to F scale.[4]
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film a thumbs up, saying "It is a movie in which the villains are loss, grief, pain, fear and distrust — very human emotions — and it has no traditional brain-eaters." He added that "it is one of the most terrifying films in years".[21]
