We’ve seen this storyline before where frightening monsters in a dystopian world are trying to exterminate humans. Nicolas Cage is the A-lister attached to this film, but the teens who play his twin sons are the leads here about keeping family safe.
Director Benjamin Brewer and Writer Mike Nilon intimate that pollution has taken its toll giving rise to an ugly, zombie-like permutation of lethal creatures who are destroying civilization. But you never really get the whole backstory. There’s never an explanation for anybody’s behavior, human or otherwise. You have to read between the lines. And because Brewer has much of the film shot hand held, there are a lot of swish pans and dizzying visuals that are hard to interpret.
The family relationship is what kept our interest more than those odd-looking dark creatures making weird clicking sounds emanating from their jaws. You never really see the monster in entirety and certainly no head-on closeup for a jump scare. But there is certain amount of tension that keeps the humans so freaked out.
Paul (Cage) and his sons Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins – Lost in Space) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell – IT, Knives Out), sought refuge in a rural farmhouse where they live by day and hide locked up night. That’s when monstrous creatures emerge relentlessly looking for humans to kill. We never get an explanation or background on why pollution or some other permutation created these scary types trying to eliminate the human race.
Joseph is smart and inquisitive wanting to know more about these creatures. He thinks if he can understand them, maybe he could find a way to defeat them. As Joseph is curious about the science, Thomas is led more by his emotions, especially when it comes to his budding relationship with Charlotte (Sadie Soverall – Saltburn) the girl who lives with her family on a nearby farm. He literally runs to see her whenever he can. This is a coming of age romance under bizarre circumstances. Paul loves his sons but is strict with them to know their whereabouts for safety every minute. They have to be inside and locked in before dark, no matter what.
When Cage (Paul) lays down the rules for the boys to follow, he isn’t kidding. But when the boys are away from Dad, they make questionable choices. When Thomas doesn’t return, Paul goes out in the dark to find him and gets gravely injured fighting off the creatures. The rest of the film turns into an all out fight for survival and to save their Dad’s life as well as their own.
This is an uneven film but Jenkins and Martell give sincere performances showing devotion to family. Cage basically checks out, unconscious for most of the third act. The flow and the content are a bit confusing and despite the crisp sound design of the scary clicking and clacking jaws, this creature feature won’t keep you up at night.
IFC 1 hour 32 minutes R
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