We’re only a month and a half into 2017, but it seems like we may have already gotten our first look at the scariest movie of the year.
It Comes at Night is the new film from studio A24, who last year gave us the moody colonial instant classic, The Witch. While The Witch was creepy and atmospheric, it wasn’t necessarily scary, but It Comes at Night definitely looks like it’s going to provide real horror in spades. The film, which stars Joel Edgerton and is directed by Krishna helmer Trey Edward Shults, has a decidedly ambiguous synopsis:
A father will stop at nothing to protect his wife and son from a malevolent, mysterious presence terrorizing them right outside their doorstep.
The trailer doesn’t give any clues as to what that dastardly thing is outside their door, but it definitely creates a strong sense of unease without relying on cheap thrills like jump scares. In it, a group of people, shut off inside an isolated house for unknown reasons, panic when they learn that their front door was somehow opened by itself — possibly letting in whatever terror is lurking outside. The camera gets closer and closer to said door throughout the trailer, building suspense as other mysterious and horrific shots are intercut with that creepy encroaching door. Check it out below.
Why does Edgerton have to wear a gas mask outside? What’s with that hellscape painting? Who or what opened the door? I can’t wait to find out when It Comes at Night hits theaters on August 25, 2017.
