Coming Home in the Dark is an intense revenge thriller that will likely captivate viewers for its full 90 minutes.
Coming Home in the Dark is one of the most intense movies I have seen in a long time. This Australian revenge horror click doesn’t make you wait long before the violence and suspense start. I am glad I waited until daylight to watch it because I might have legit had a heart attack if I watched it at night. It literally gave me chills and had me jumping out of my skin. When all the puzzle pieces come together — WOW. This one messed me up a bit — in a good way.
The story starts with a mother and father and two teenage sons driving down a road. They decide to stop for a hike and a picnic when they are approached by two wanderers with a gun. From this moment on things get incredibly tense. Things quickly turn violent and the family is kidnapped and forced into the car.
As the movie continues, terrible secrets of the past come to light and it is clear this is not just a random act of violence. This attack is calculated and the reasons behind it are honestly, quite heartbreaking. The script itself tends to go a bit off in the middle, but it doesn’t take long to bring itself back around. As everything start to piece together, the movie really elevates itself and goes to the next level of intense, which feels impossible before it actually happens.
The score has a lot to do with this as there are several song choices that make the moment. I don’t want to give spoilers but this is especially so as we near the end of the film. Something I really love about this film is that there are several climactic moments in it, not just one. Each one more intense than the last.
Daniel Gillies is the standout actor in this movie. Somehow he gets scarier and scarier as it goes on until you think he can’t get any darker — and then he does. Every time I see him from now on my heart is sure to skip a beat from terror. His performance lingers and steals every scene.
Coming Home in the Dark is a movie that is going to stick with me for a while. Yes, it is a revenge thriller — but it gets deeper than that. It shows what holding onto certain moments for all of your life can do to you. If you like horror, suspense, and a story line that comes full circle at the end as it ties everything together, you will love Coming Home in the Dark!
Coming Home In The Dark
Winding down a desolate road through an endless valley, Alan and Jill stop their car to take their teenage boys on a hike through the New Zealand wilderness. As they rest for a picnic at a clearing overlooking the water, two ominous-looking drifters appear out of nowhere, silently surrounding the peaceful clan and radiating a threat of imminent danger. With a swift act of violence, these men take the family by force, a seemingly random decision that sets them all on a maddening collision course with the ghosts of their pasts—from which there is no escape.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.