#post apocalyptic horror film

“There haven’t been any films quite as tense and gripping as 'It Comes At Night.’ While there are indeed things lurking out there in the woods and the constant threat of infection, the horror in this film is wholly relatable. It’s the threat of people pushed to the edge, and what they do when they’re tired and frightened and only thinking of themselves. Egerton is giving off a real Kurt Russell vibe with his bearded and quietly dangerous character here, fitting because like 'The Thing,’ this is another story about not knowing who to trust.”

–  Slash Film review of “It Comes at Night”

A new, high-anxiety trailer has been released for “It Comes at Night” which opens in the US next Friday (9 June). The film is receiving rave reviews from critics and festival-goers who have been at the preview showings, and it currently has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com. Joel’s performance as a desperate Dad has also been receiving high praise….

“Flexing a rugged masculinity, Edgerton plays Paul as the quintessential protective father, his spooked eyes a by-product of the horrors he’s seen. Paul’s initial resistance to helping Will (Christopher Abbott) is born from his vigilance to safeguard his family, but once he allows them into his home, he wrestles with trust issues  – not to mention a passing concern that his wife and son don’t need him as much now that they have other people in their life. Of course, such a taciturn man never expresses these feelings, but Edgerton’s precise, muted performance telegraphs the character’s shifting emotions.”

When asked how he thought he would respond if he ever found himself a desperate survivor of a global disaster as does his character in “It Comes at Night,” Joel Edgerton laughingly confessed that his first reaction would be to “Cry. I’d eat all the canned food on day one. Cry, and hide in the cupboard. I’m no leader.”

Although ‘It Comes at Night’ is full of fear, horror, and pain, there is one  welcome moment of comic relief between Joel Edgerton’s character and Christopher Abbott’s. Joel has revealed that that bit was not in the script, but was completely ad-libbed by him and Abbott. As one reviewer noted, “it was also a vital moment for the film, as it provided some much needed hope that this new community could work.”

As Joel explains, “That’s the one moment of levity. That was unscripted and let us show the family, because in order for the family to go on their downward spiral – the two families – they really need to get to a place of, 'Aw, this could work.’ There’s a hopefulness. There’s a sense of community” before it all goes wrong.

Photo: Joel Edgerton and Christopher Abbott keep each other entertained at the NY premiere of “It Comes at Night”

“It Comes at Night” cast mates Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ojogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. share some laughs whilst describing the things they did to bond as a family on the film, and reveal who they think would be the most capable survivor in a post-apocalyptic world…

“I wanted there to be a certain desperation ,,, kind of like there’s a certain fragility to his paranoia as well. The dynamic between him and Will (Christopher Abbott, the patriarch of the family Paul takes into his home) is, ‘I want to trust you but I don’t know if I can.’ That sense of self-doubt. And so I definitely needed a presence, in the energy and in the eyes.”

–  Joel Edgerton talking about the character he plays in “It Comes at Night”

Click on the attached link to watch a very informative 30 mins. interview with Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and writer/director Trey Edward Shults as they discuss their new film, the deeply disturbing “It Comes at Night.”

Joel, Carmen, and Kelvin provide some particularly interesting insights into how they appproached creating a family on screen.

https://build.aol.com/video/5935acf4f3bdc946b9a35e58/#nav-videos

“It seems like a parable for today’s times of paranoia. The press is feeding it. We’re all feeding it. World events are exacerbating it, this sense of going, ‘Some people we can trust and other people we don’t.’ And I’m afraid if you don’t have a certain level of intelligence and your own discernment, then we fall into generalizations. Everyone stands to learn something about taking a moment to really weigh up the way that they judge other people.”

–  Joel Edgerton commenting on how the fear, paranoia, and mistrust so prevalent in his new film “It Comes at Night” reflects the prevailing mood in the world today

A short interview with Joel Edgerton and Riley Keough who appeared on the US television show “Good Morning America” this week to discuss their new psychological horror film “It Comes at Night.”

“These are good people in this movie [‘It Comes at Night’] driven mad by illness and paranoia and claustrophobia. Like wild animals backed into a corner, the inhabitants of this household lash out at one another at the slightest sign of trouble, unable to trust one another, and quick to turn on anyone who starts to show signs of the plague that has infiltrated their once safe world. They are torn apart by their survival instincts; made monsters by their own self preservation. It’s tragic and unsettling, but it oozes with authenticity and heartbreak.”

Photos: “It Comes at Night” cast members Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, Carmen Ejogo, Christopher Abbott and Kelvin Harrison, Jr. at the film’s New York premiere earlier this week.