It Comes at Night

Good grief, is this the feel-bad movie of the year or what?

A family of survivalists have holed themselves up in an isolated house in the wake of some biological incident, the details of which are left vague, but which has resulted in a virus that kills anyone who contracts it. When another survivor with a family stumbles upon them, they must then decide whether or not to turn their backs or extend a helping hand. It's a parable that examines where the instinct to protect oneself and those he loves ends and the impulse for basic human decency begins.

I guess I'd have to say that "It Comes at Night" was effectively done, because it left me feeling absolutely awful, and I had trouble shaking it. But I would also have trouble shaking the image of someone getting run over by a car -- no one would have to present it artistically for it to get to me. The final moments of "It Comes at Night" go places few movies dare to go, but it might make a viewer have to decide whether it's dramatically satisfying or cheaply manipulative.

Grade: C