There’s Extreme Tension Coming Home in the Dark

“The enormity of nature hits you like a freight train in the early scenes of [New Zealander] James Ashcroft’s taut and sinewy first feature, Coming Home in the Dark,” David Rooney writes in a review of the film for The Hollywood Reporter. The film has been very well-received by critics at this year’s Sundance festival, where it screened in the Midnight programme.

“The majestic rural landscape of greater Wellington changes in an instant from a place of enveloping tranquillity to one of terrifying, helpless isolation as a family’s encounter with a pair of murderous drifters uncovers past trauma,” Rooney writes.

“Working with strong actors capable of walking the knife edge between fear and moral revulsion, sadism and barely stifled rage, Ashcroft and editor Annie Collins maximise the psychological murk hidden between the lines, doing a remarkable job of sustaining extreme tension.

“Coming Home in the Dark is a rivetingly nasty ride and an assured debut from a promising new director.”

Original article by David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, February 9, 2021.