Given its apocalyptic premise, the movie's portrayal of the elimination of one of the Black Death-like disease's victims -- specifically, Travis' grandfather, Bud (David Pendleton), who's put out of his misery early on -- can be taken as having no troubling application to everyday life. And the extremes to which some characters are later driven are a source of dread, not a pattern to be imitated.
However, like Travis' adolescent sexuality -- his attraction to Kim leads him to dream of an encounter with her that shifts abruptly from fantasy to nightmare -- these elements of the story, together with the distressing nature of the violence on screen, put "It Comes at Night" out of bounds for youngsters.
Even grown viewers may be unsettled by Shults' deeply pessimistic view of human nature as a Darwinian struggle for survival takes hold. Neither heroism nor self-sacrifice play any role in his narrative. In fact, even the most basic laws of civilization are breached in the end.
So, although the mayhem of the situation is not handled gratuitously, moviegoers may be left wondering why they subjected themselves to this artful but bitter slice of doom-laden life.
The film contains some harsh gory violence, including mercy killing, an adultery theme, scenes of marital intimacy, sexual sound effects, a couple of uses of profanity, frequent rough language and several crude terms. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.
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CAPSULE REVIEW
"It Comes at Night" (A24)
Bleak psychological thriller, set in a dystopian version of rural America that's being ravaged by an unspecified but inevitably fatal plague, in which an isolated family -- dad Joel Edgerton, mom Carmen Ejogo and teen son Kelvin Harrison Jr. -- gives shelter to a young couple (Christopher Abbott and Riley Keough) and their toddler (Griffin Robert Faulkner). But fear and suspicion eventually undermine the good intentions behind this arrangement, with horrifying results. Writer-director Trey Edward Shults takes a deeply pessimistic view of human nature in a film that is well executed yet painful to watch. Maturity is required to grapple with its lifeboat ethics and tacit acceptance of euthanasia in extreme circumstances. Some harsh gory violence, including mercy killing, an adultery theme, scenes of marital intimacy, sexual sound effects, a couple of uses of profanity, frequent rough language, several crude terms. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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CLASSIFICATION
"It Comes at Night" (A24) -- Catholic News Service classification, A-III -- adults. Motion Picture Association of America rating, R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
