IT COMES AT NIGHT

Title : It Comes at Night

Languange : English

Release Date : April 29, 2017 (Timberline Lodge)

June 9, 2017 (United States)

Directed By : Trey Edward Shults

Distributed By : A24

It Comes at Night is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. It stars Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Riley Keough.

The film had its premiere at the Overlook Film Festival in Mount Hood, 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, and has been a modest success at the box office, grossing $19 million.

Plot

A highly contagious outbreak has ravaged the world. Paul, his wife Sarah, and their teenage son Travis have secluded themselves in their home deep in the woods in an undisclosed location. When Sarah's father, Bud, contracts the disease, they kill him and burn his body in a shallow grave. The next night, they capture an intruder breaking into the house. 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 that he did not know the house was occupied and was only searching for fresh water for himself, his wife, and his young son. Will offers to trade some of their supply of food for water. Sarah suggests bringing Will's family back to their home, reasoning that the more people they have with them, the easier it would be to defend themselves should anyone else discover their location. Paul agrees, and he takes Will to collect his family. Along the way, they are ambushed by two men. Paul kills them and accuses Will of having set him up. Will points out that he fought them as well and assuages Paul's mistrust.

A few days later, Paul returns along with Will, his wife Kim, and son Andrew. After establishing the rules that Paul and Sarah have used to stay safe, including keeping the only entrance locked with a key Paul or Sarah wear around their neck, and keeping nighttime excursions to a minimum, the two families begin to establish a sense of normalcy and grow closer to each other. One day, Travis's dog Stanley begins barking aggressively at and chases an unseen presence in the woods. Travis follows the dog deeper into the woods before Stanley's barking suddenly ceases. Travis insists to Paul and Will that he heard something in the woods. They decide to return home, as Paul insists Stanley knows the woods and will find his own way home. That night, Will seemingly contradicts a story he had told Paul earlier about what he and Kim were doing prior to finding the abandoned house. This causes Paul to begin distrusting Will.

That evening, Travis is awakened by a nightmare about his grandfather. He discovers Andrew sleeping on the floor of Bud's old room, also suffering from a nightmare. Travis leads him back to his parents' room before hearing a sound from downstairs. Investigating, Travis finds that the front door of the house is ajar. He wakes Paul and Will, who investigate further and find a bleeding and gravely sick Stanley lying on the floor. They kill and burn the dog. When Travis reveals that the door was already open when he came downstairs, Sarah suggests that a sleepwalking Andrew might have opened the door. As tensions between the two families begin to rise, Paul decides that they should isolate themselves in their own rooms for a couple of days so that they can calm down and ensure no one is infected.

The next morning, Travis overhears a distraught Kim telling Will that they need to leave. Travis informs his parents that Andrew might be infected and, as such, he may be infected himself. Paul and Sarah don protective masks and gloves and take weapons to confront Kim and Will, fearing that they may steal their food and water, or return later by force. When Paul asks to be let in to see if Andrew is sick, Will draws a gun and takes Paul captive. Will insists that his family is healthy and demands Paul give him a fair share of food and water so that they can leave. Paul and Sarah overwhelm Will and force him and his family outside. Will and Paul get into a brutal fight before Sarah shoots and kills Will. Kim flees into the woods with Andrew. Paul fires after them, killing Andrew. Kim hysterically begs Paul to kill her to end her misery, and he does. Having witnessed it all, the dazed Travis vomits blood in the bathroom. Later, he spots signs of illness in the mirror.

Later, Travis awakens in bed, visibly sick. His mother comforts him as he dies. Some time later, Paul and Sarah sit at the dinner table in silence. They share a shattered, devastated look as the film ends.