Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

Coming Home in the Dark is a 2021 New Zealand psychological-thriller film based on a 1995 short-story of the same name by Owen Marshall. Directed by James Ashcroft and written by Eli Kent with James Ashcroft, the film stars Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell and Matthias Luafutu. Coming Home in the Dark premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 in the Midnight section.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_Home_in_the_Dark

A schoolteacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters take his family and him on a nightmare road trip.

source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6874762/

***SPOILER ALERT***

K: Third film of the week - Coming Home in the Dark - a film that, without watching, you will lose nothing, and get to keep your eyesight and mood. I still didn’t understand what the director was trying to convey to the viewer with this film; that cruelty breeds cruelty or that karma will overtake you sooner or later?

F: Hey there! Today we have yet another psychological thriller, this time with guns in hand. I wouldn't recommend this movie either, Krasnaya. There's just nothing special about it. Though I liked how it made me feel tense during the speeches of the bad guy, Mandrake (Daniel Gillies). You just couldn't know when that guy was going to squeeze the trigger on his gun. Mandrake is an interesting character when you meet him, but when you get to know him after an hour and thirty-three minutes, you realize that he's just another ordinary villain.

If you see someone doing this, you better run.

K: The beginning of the film was interesting and showed promise for an exciting story. I really liked the scenery and the character of Daniel Gillies in the rays of the setting sun. As a result, everything merged into endless cruelty, strange dialogues and little dynamic scenes. The acting leaves much to be desired. None of the characters hooked me.

F: I have to agree with you, the beginning was exciting and very shocking and it left me with high hopes for Daniel Gillies' character and his mute partner (Matthias Luafutu). The story and dialogue just didn't help with the character's development. Their psychopathic actions didn't make much sense. In the end, I was asking if I had missed something. The movie is very simple, so I don't think so, there's just nothing special to be said. 

The acting for me was also not very convincing, especially by the father. The feelings just didn't translate very well to what had just happened. It needed more suffering, despair, terror, something...

Don't cry. You will be in better movies soon.

K: It turned out to be a boring film at one time. After seeing the protected natural beauties of New Zealand, perhaps you can turn it off.

F: I didn't find it boring at all, but it was an unsatisfactory experience in the end. This movie didn't "feel" real enough to me. It's just one more violent movie that you can skip. And even that violence, which seems to be the theme of the movie, is done poorly. How come you bang the head of a guy with a fire extinguisher several times and his skull is still intact? Hasn't director James Ashcroft watched the movie "Irreversible"? Very poor.

Here I was having traumatic "Irreversible" flashbacks.

Freddy's Score: 40/100

Krasnaya's Score: 21/100

FINAL SCORE

MEET THE FILMMAKER JAMES ASHCROFT

DANIEL GILLIES TALKS ABOUT THE MOVIE