The movie opens with Bud having difficulty breathing. He has some mystery illness. While wearing gas masks and rubber gloves, Paul (Joel Edgerton) - Bud's son-in-law - and Travis - his grandson - roll him into the woods in a wheelbarrow, shoot him in the head, and burn his body. The family lives in a large house in the woods with all the windows and doors - except one - boarded. There is a sickness in the world and that is about all the family in the remote cabin knows. Soon after Bud has been buried, someone breaks into the house. They catch Will, who claims he is looking for water for his family. After thoroughly interrogating Will, Paul is sufficiently satisfied that Will is telling the truth. He helps Will retrieve his wife and son.
The title is misleading. Many reviewers on IMDb were very disappointed in this film because nothing comes at night, except maybe an increasing sense of paranoia. The movie does not seek to explain the strange sickness, its origins, or means of transmission. This is a movie about survival and trust. A stressful situation pushes all to be suspicious and do what would be unthinkable in other circumstances. This is a character study. It is a suspense thriller that plays like a horror film, but isn't really a horror film.
The movie has buckets of tension. The most tension comes with Travis's nightmares, in which he sees his cabin mates with the sickness or sees himself walking in the woods at night. Will is very imaginative but it is generally very dark - his drawings are nightmarish. Perhaps it is his nightmares that come at night?
Not really a horror fan and generally not a fan of Edgerton, I entered the film with low expectations which were exceeded. It's a dark film that doesn't go for an easy resolution. Wonder Woman was a lot more fun.
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