It Comes at Night

While a fatal contagious disease ravages the outside world, former teacher Paul, his wife Sarah, and their 17 year old son Travis live in a remote house. They have strict rules and procedures for how to interact with the outside world, when to gather supplies, how to do chores, how much food to eat, etc. Their home is invaded by a lone man and they take the necessary precautions to make sure he isn't infected. His name is Will and claims to have a healthy son and wife in a house miles away. Paul goes with him to pick them up along with their farm animals to bring them back, cautious and suspicious the whole way. Is Will as he seems? Can Paul truly trust anyone outside of his own family?

It Comes at Night has polarizing reactions from crowds that witnessed myself and heard from other people. At the end of the film, someone behind me shouted "Boooooooring" and others agreed. It has a deceptive title, advertising that don't match the tone, and a slow, quiet, deliberate pacing. It's definitely not for everyone and I can understand the hate. I loved it. The outside world is not seen, but it's clear based that this is an apocalypse situation where the family is rigid in their rules to protect each other and what's theirs. At the start, Bud, Sarah's father, has somehow contracted the illness, devastating the family. Paul and Travis handle him with care in gas masks, gloves, and other protective clothing. They take him outside, shoot him, burn his body, and finally bury him. Travis is the most affected by the harrowing incident and dreams of his grandfather as a monster and himself becoming infected. Very little is shown of the disease beyond large sores, but they wisely never let it get farther for their own protection. Paul has found a way for them to survive and it has worked when the world around them crumbled. They never go out after dark unless it's an emergency. Each person keeps busy and contributes to shared resources. Life goes on even after tragedy.

When Will shows up, it's the middle of the night and he breaks into their house for food and water. Paul takes every precaution and ties him up outside for a day to make sure he's not infected. When he proves to be compliant and uninfected, Will leads Paul to his house with one mishap. A group of men attack them in the road, forcing Paul to kill them all to keep what's his and his life. This shows how the world is now. Paul isn't wrong to treat Will so badly, constantly training a gun on him and making sure he isn't planning to strike when the moment is right. They return with Paul's family without further incident and they live together in harmony, working together, for a while after that until one fateful night. It's hard to blame either side for what happens. Both are looking to protect their families and no matter how nicely they act together, trust can never truly be given anymore. Either side suspects the other of wanting to take all they have or wanting to do harm no matter how well intentioned. Travis sits in the middle of all of this as the most innocent, the most willing to trust and keep his humanity. He sits on the cusp of adulthood with all the hope in the world. The tragic ending for both sides shows that his hope has no place anymore.

It Comes at Night has very little music and builds tension throughout the film until the heartbreaking resolution. Neither side comes away unscathed and the most innocent people suffer the most. The film is not action packed or fast paced, but the emotions and the dimensions of all the characters make it one of the most realistic apocalypse movies I've seen. Some accuse it of being more of a drama as it focuses on the characters and their relationships over the disease or its horror elements. I think this take makes it even more horrific because these people seem real due to the writing and the excellent performances on all sides plus the lack of clear answers. I can understand each person's motivation which makes the ending all the more tragic. The ending scene shows the same as earlier in the film, that life goes on even after loss.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

Bite

Kid has been wandering around by herself for a while now. She is about to die in the wastelands when she happens upon a group of sharks, cannibals that indiscriminately kill and create trouble. It's either die or join them, so she joins them. The cannibalism and violence take some getting used to especially since she isn't the strongest person or any good at all with weapons. Despite all this, eventually Kid feels like she finally belongs somewhere. Their entire way of life is threatened when the Saint starts enforcing law and creating order. Kid and her group of misfits decides to attempt to destroy this Saint or die trying.

I happened upon this book at a bookstore because of it's kickass cover and the subject matter of cannibals. Cannibal stories are few and far between, but many are pretty awesome. Historically, cannibals have been painted as villains in most stories like The Walking Dead comic and TV show, Ravenous, The Silence of the Lambs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and many others. In Bite, this group of sharks comprised of Dolly, Wolf, Tank, and Pretty Boy are not necessarily good or bad guys, but somewhere in the shades of grey in the middle. They are the protagonists of the story and arguably on the correct side at least some of the time. Their own survival is the most important thing, so they fight as hard as they can using unconventional or just plain stupid methods to defeat enemies and gather supplies.

The evolution of the group is what I like best about the book. Before Kid got there, it seemed that they simply coexisted together with desire for survival being the only thing they shared. Once Kid came along, she brought a sense of community and family with her that bonded them all together more than just surviving. Her influence made Pretty Boy a marginally better person, brought out Dolly's softer side, made Tank protective, and made Wolf trust in his group. They all definitely still have flaws, but the group becomes home for them wherever they are. Despite all the blood, mean eating, and violence, the story was quite heartwarming. You would think that ravaging cannibals would be hard to sympathize with, but they definitely grow on you after a while.

The world is a wasteland because of nuclear war in the past. Radiation is a part of everyday life. Few children survive to adulthood due to the radiation, but also because of starvation, murder, thirst, and tons of other things. Other dangers include crazies (people intend on cannibalism with no reason left in them), bandits (who steal from anyone they come across), and sharks (cannibals and murderers). Life is hard and people survive in small towns, usually unfriendly to strangers unless they have goods to trade. Each town rules in their own way. The largest is ruled by the Queen, who strives to be surrounded by luxury, but in reality, has a pathetic imitation of it. I loved that the situations they stumbled into were different than the usual post-apocalyptic fare.

Bite is a feast of new ideas that turn genre tropes around into something new. A book hasn't grabbed me like this in a while and made want to sit and read it all hours of the day and night. The characters have dimensions and are frankly pretty awesome. My favorite is Dolly, showing the strong silent type can be a woman as well. Wolf makes me laugh with all his crazy ideas and love for chaos and explosives. I love this weird found family that grew to love and trust each other.. The next book will probably come out next summer and I can't wait for it.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Stake Land

The world has been taken over by mindless, savage vampires. Most of the world is deserted during the day and claimed by vampires at night. Martin's parents were killed, so he joined Mister, a vampire hunter, on his journey to New Eden, a rumored place of peace and prosperity. Along the way, they gain and lose group members and found family. They go through periods of peace and periods of violence from foes human and inhuman, but they go on with their journey through it all.

I had heard a lot of good things about this film. It lives up to all of them and more. Stake Land is kind of like The Walking dead with vampires instead of zombies, way more realistic, and minus all the soap opera drama. Martin is a teenager in this horrific world. He still has growing up to do with very little guidance when the vampire scourge takes precedence over his own personal dramas. Lacking experience, he still makes mistakes that could cost his group their lives. He learns over time and is developing into someone who will choose correctly in high pressure situations and works to do good in the world. Mister may be gruff and seemingly emotionless, but he cares for the people he cares for. His skills are unparalleled and he can get out of the most hopeless of situations. Paying shepherd to his flock, he leads his group as best he can, but accepts when someone is lost to them.

Groups in this world are extremely variable. Anyone could die at any time or be kidnapped by crazy people or be eaten by vampires. While they are together, they have relish in their temporary happiness. This aspect truly sets it apart from other post-apocalyptic stories, which oftentimes show the horrible, depressing aspects of this life and none of the happy moments. People can't live with crushing sadness every day. There will always be at least moments of happiness and hope. This is captured in their moments of found family and the town they find where they get enjoy a party with the most people they've seen since the apocalypse. It also serves to contrast with the darker, death filled parts of the rest of the film.

The villains in Stake Land are numerous and not always the monster. Vampires are the first and foremost enemy. They don't think and act completely on instinct and bloodlust. Occasionally, they can try to fool people into briefly thinking they aren't a danger, but that's about the extent of their strategy. Typical rules apply to them: wooden stakes, sunlight, beheadings, destroying the brain stem, and fire leads to vampire death. The human villains take the form of the Brotherhood, a fundamentalist militia that sees the vampires as the work of god. Their superior power to most of the small groups out there is used to collect sex slaves, bolster their numbers, and turn people into vampire food or vampires for opposing them. The main villain at the end is a deadly combination of both: a member of the Brotherhood that willingly became a vampire and as a result was able to retain his intelligence. He chases Mister and his group for revenge in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Stake Land has everything I like in a horror film: strong capable heroes, horrific villains both human and inhuman, touching emotions, and harsh realities. So many horror films and shows feel too safe because certain kinds of people are untouchable because they may be a main character or a child or a pregnant woman. None of these people are safe in this world and it truly feels like anyone can die with the wrong decision. I found no flaws with this film. I loved the experience from beginning to end. One thing that pushed it to amazing for me was the soundtrack. The classical score enhanced emotions and added to each scene it was used in. I would love to see a sequel that was done in the same vein. One is in development, but we'll see if it lives up to the original.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins