Today’s Prayer Focus
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It Comes at Night

also known as “Ao Cair da Noite,” “Viene de noche”
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for violence, disturbing images, and language.
Moral Rating: Not recommended, due to content
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Psychological-Horror Thriller
Length: 1 hr. 31 min.
Year of Release: 2017
USA Release: Apr 29, 2017 (festival)
June 9, 2017 (wide—2,533 theaters)
Copyright, A24click photos to ENLARGE Copyright, A24
Relevant Issues

conflict between wanting to help others in need and needing to protect one’s family

mysterious, virulent, infectious viral disease

maintaining a strict process of self-quarantine

plagues in the Bible

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Fear

FEAR, Anxiety and Worry—What does the Bible say? Answer

fear of the unknown

fear of death

the dangerous effects of severe stress and complete isolation in a survival situation

allowing oneself to become consumed and destroyed by fear

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human behavior under severe pressure

a father’s duty to protect his family

building a fortress against a dangerous world

being hyperalert to dangers

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mistrust of others—finding a proper balance between valid, vigilent concern and total paranoia


mercy killings / mercy killing of a family member

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Doing what is good and right

What does it mean to be a “good person”? —see: goodness and righteousness

How to know right from wrong

Is it right to protect your family at ALL costs?

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the importance of empathy

love

What is true love?

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understanding the sometimes confusing difference between REALITY and hallucinations and dreams

sexual nightmares

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Featuring Joel EdgertonPaul
Christopher Abbott … Will
Carmen Ejogo … Sarah
Riley Keough … Kim
Kelvin Harrison Jr. … Travis
Griffin Robert Faulkner … Andrew
David Pendleton … Bud
Mikey … Stanley
Chase Joliet … Man #1
Mick O'Rourke … Man #2
Director Trey Edward Shults
Producer David Kaplan
Andrea Roa
Animal Kingdom
A24
Distributor
Copyrighted, A24

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “Imagine the end of the world. Now imagine something worse. Award-winning filmmaker Trey Edward Shults follows his breakout debut Krisha with the psychological horror thriller ‘It Comes At Night,’ centering on a teenaged boy (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) as he grapples with mounting terrors—external and otherwise—in the aftermath of an unnamed cataclysm.

Secure within a desolate home with his vigilant, protective and heavily armed parents (Joel Edgerton and Carmen Ejogo), 17-year-old Travis navigates fear, grief and paranoia amid scarce resources as a desperate young couple (Christopher Abbott and Riley Keough) seeks refuge in his family home with their young child.

Despite the best intentions of both families, panic and mistrust boil over as the horrors of the outside world creep ever closer. But they are nothing compared to the horrors within, where Travis discovers that his father’s commitment to protecting the family may cost him his soul.”

Violence: Extreme / Vulgarity and Profanity: Very Heavy—f-words (many), s-words (8), “Jesus Christ Almighty,” “Christ,” OMG (2), h*ll, SOB, / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


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Movie Critics
…an all-consuming and deeply disturbing film… the dark, disturbing places we’ll go to protect our loved ones… [A-]
Perri Nemiroff, Collider
…indicts modern fear-based politics… [4½/5]
Aja Romano, Vox
…“It Comes at Night” ambitiously moves beyond a conventional creepfest or a film built on cheap scares and big swerves. Instead, it's an artful, often Hitchcockian look at our own human failings in dealing with a threat we know is there but cannot see. …
Brian Truitt, USA Today
…unusual and haunting. …delves into family dynamics and a very, very difficult coming of age. …well-acted… [3]
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
…a waking nightmare, heart-pounding and resonant… a minimalist deep dive into apocalyptic horror…
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
…It looks like a zombie movie, but Trey Edward Shults' thriller is a cabin-in-the-woods drama more psychological than sensational. …while tense and absorbing, is ultimately a tad forgettable, because it thinks it’s up to more than it is. …
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
…spare but savage horror movie… Like a Bruegel painting, this post-apocalyptic horror film portrays a bleak vision with a master’s touch. …Though its themes are so dark they seem to call for the invention of a new color, “It Comes at Night” does offer a few glimpses of levity and affection amid the unremitting bleakness…
Dana Stevens, Slate
…packs a frightening punch… its grim, tough-minded dystopia will prove hard to shake for many. [4/5]
Benjamin Lee, The Guardian (UK)
…the whole story is actually an exercise in patience. “It Comes at Night” feels as much like a survival horror video game as it does a movie… The truly frightening prospect is just how hopeless you’re likely to feel by the time it ends.
Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture
…The tension Shults builds is incredible, nearly unbearable in the most-satisfying way. …
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic
…isn’t scary so much as it’s horrific, though Shults is extremely gifted at cultivating the kind of slow, droning dread that inflates in your chest like a black balloon. For that alone, the film will likely earn its place on any horror fanatic’s best-of-the-year list.
Randall Coburn, Consequence of Sound
…a hushed but intense apocalyptic thriller… a fantastic cast… frightens and frustrates… [3½/5]
Edward Douglas, New York Daily News