Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, coming home in the dark.

movie review coming home in the dark

Now streaming on:

"Coming Home in the Dark" initially feels like another entry in that subcategory of horror films where soft pampered city folk go out into the country to be terrorized by locals. But while it cleaves to that template for a little while, this debut feature from New Zealand filmmaker  James Ashcroft soon reveals another story layer that complicates our sympathies. Throughout, the savage intensity of the central predicament keeps tightening the thumbscrews on the audience, raising questions of how far a film can go to make viewers anxious and fearful before it starts to feel like abuse posing as something more rarified.

The story starts with a slow tracking shot across a desolate highway, revealing a car abandoned by the side of the road, personal effects scattered about, driver's side door cracked open. It's a stunning opening shot, and there are plenty more moments like it: beautiful, ominous, unsettling, using the landscape in a way that's simultaneously menacing/desolate and possessed of otherworldly beauty. Ashcroft—who co-wrote the script with Eli Kent , from a short story by Owen Marshall —has that David Cronenberg gift for icy precision and tonal control, where the filmmaking fills the viewer with dread before the credits have even finished. Something horrible is going to happen, probably more than once, and you're gonna have to wait for it. 

The car belongs to a family on holiday. The father, Hoaggie ( Erik Thomson ), is a white man of Dutch descent who has worked as a teacher and a professor for a long time. His wife Jill ( Miriama McDowell ) appears to be Indigenous, and their tousle-haired teenaged sons, Maika and Jordan (Billy and Frankie Partene), are handsome, talkative, and obviously very close to each other and their mother (though one has unarticulated issues with his dad). The family's two tormentors, who emerge from the brush as the family is relaxing after a picnic, demographically echo the family: there's a charismatic, chattering white sadist named Mandrake ( Daniel Gillies ), after the magician; and a stone-cold-silent Indigenous man known as Tubs (Mathias Luafutu). 

I mention the culture-clash aspect of the casting not because the film does a lot with it, but because it fails to really delve into it. This is the biggest missed opportunity of the movie, which has style to burn but (alas) questionable control over the larger meaning of what it shows us. It's hard to tell if this is a case of simple neglect and obliviousness or if the filmmakers were afraid to go there because they didn't want to overcomplicate the dynamic of tormentor/tormented (or if they cast the movie diversely because that's what filmmakers are expected to do now, without pausing to think through the implications of that casting). The bad guys have an agenda and come ready to spring a few narrative twists with ripped-from-the-headlines resonance. But their motivation is ultimately pretty straightforward. It's probably best to leave it to the viewer to figure out exactly what I mean by that, as this is a rare film where merely to discuss it is to give away its reason for being.

Regardless: the film settles into a sort of " Desperate Hours " or " Funny Games " or " Cape Fear " or "Key Largo" mode, with a self-absorbed, cruel man verbally and physically tormenting hostages with assistance from one or more hench-persons who keep their own counsel and harbor their own secrets. The opening act of the film is so devastatingly cruel that I don't know if the movie could've recovered from it even if it had taken a more nuanced and sensitive approach to the dynamics of the kidnappers and their hostages. The movie just dies and never entirely returns to artistic life except as a grindingly cruel abstraction, with Mandrake's discount Max Cady serving up sardonic one-liners and musings (when he talks to other characters, he often seems to be saying what he'd say to himself if nobody else were around) and occasionally commanding or participating in a savage act.

The filmmaking and acting talent on display is undeniable. You should expect to see the names of editor Annie Collins and cinematographer Matt Henley on big-budget action and horror films, and Gillies playing verbose, vicious bad guy roles if he wants to go that route. Nevertheless, even accounting for each viewer's mileage varying, "Coming Home in the Dark" settles into the memory as a mesmerizing missed opportunity at worst, a promise of future classics at best. It's a razor-edged calling card.

Now playing in theaters and available on demand.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

movie review coming home in the dark

Glenn Kenny

movie review coming home in the dark

Robert Daniels

movie review coming home in the dark

Golden Years

Clint worthington.

movie review coming home in the dark

She Is Conann

movie review coming home in the dark

Orion and the Dark

Brian tallerico.

movie review coming home in the dark

Kiss the Future

Collin souter, film credits.

Coming Home in the Dark movie poster

Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

Daniel Gillies as Mandrake

Erik Thomson as Hoaggie

Miriama McDowell as Jill

Matthias Luafutu as Tubs

Frankie Paratene as Jordan

Billy Paratene as Maika

  • James Ashcroft

Writer (based on the short story by)

  • Owen Marshall

Cinematographer

  • Matt Henley
  • Annie Collins

Latest blog posts

movie review coming home in the dark

Berlin Film Festival 2024: Who Do I Belong To, Memories Of A Burning Body, Sons

movie review coming home in the dark

Berlin Film Festival 2024: Demba, The Strangers' Case, Black Tea

movie review coming home in the dark

Berlin Film Festival 2024: The Roundup: Punishment, Last Swim, Through The Rocks And Clouds

movie review coming home in the dark

The Enduring Laughs—and Life—of Harold Ramis

Advertisement

Supported by

‘Coming Home in the Dark’ Review: No Picnic

A family outing attracts mysterious, menacing uninvited guests in this grinding New Zealand thriller.

  • Share full article

movie review coming home in the dark

By Glenn Kenny

Not infrequently, films set and shot in the Antipodes make a convincing case that one ought to never leave one’s house. Think of the scenarios of “Wake In Fright” (kangaroos and lunatics running amok), “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (girls-school adventurers disappear), “A Cry in the Dark” (dingo, baby). Directed by James Ashcroft from a script he wrote with Eli Kent (based on a short story by Owen Marshall), “Coming Home in the Dark” doesn’t take long in demonstrating that sometimes a day trip to high New Zealand spaces is not worth the views.

Beginning with an ominous shot of a Mercedes abandoned at roadside, “Coming Home” picks up with a family of four in a different vehicle. In the back seat, the sons of Jill (Miriama McDowell) and Hoaggie (Erik Thomson), bicker about music. Aside from that, all is friendly and well. Until the family lays out blankets at a picnic spot.

Then along comes Mandrake (Daniel Gillies), a hirsute fellow whose long, earth-colored overcoat makes him look as if he’s stepped out of a spaghetti Western. Lagging a little behind him is a Maori man, Tubs (Matthias Luafutu). Tubs is exceptionally taciturn. Mandrake totes a rifle and has enough talk for the both of them.

So begins an appalling feature-length ordeal connected to Haoggie’s past. Between excruciatingly suspenseful set pieces, the themes of sin, guilt and expiation get an oblique workout.

While the whole thing is ruthlessly well done, it also sometimes seems to lean into a kind of moral relativism. Gillies’s performance as Mandrake, while remarkable in its way, radiates a kind of movie-killer cool that doesn’t quite square with the vengeful indignation that ostensibly motivates the character.

Coming Home in the Dark Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV , Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

As “Dune: Part Two” hits theaters, the director Denis Villeneuve and the actor Timothée Chalamet discuss the impossible quest for onscreen perfection  and those infamous popcorn buckets.

Jennifer Lopez is back onscreen with “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” a cinematic accompaniment to her new album. “Here’s an entertainer determined to enter-freaking-tain,” Wesley Morris writes .

“Madame Web,” the latest addition to the Spider-Man franchise, has been panned by critics and mocked on social media. But if all press is good press, why are the movie’s ticket sales so dismal ?

The new six-part mini-series “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” builds on more than a decade of back story. We’re here to help .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Review: New Zealand thriller ‘Coming Home in the Dark’ opens old wounds

A man smokes while driving, with another man in the back seat in the movie “Coming Home in the Dark.”

  • Show more sharing options
  • Copy Link URL Copied!

Though it was made in New Zealand, the raw psychological thriller “Coming Home in the Dark” resembles a movie from the heyday of Australia’s 1970s and ’80s “Ozploitation” wave, when a handful of creative, fearless filmmakers told intense and violent stories, often rooted in the country’s complicated history.

Directed by James Ashcroft (who also co-wrote the script with Eli Kent, based on an Owen Marshall short story), “Coming Home in the Dark” doesn’t reveal what it’s about right away. The film starts as the story of an ordinary family — high school teacher Alan “Hoaggie” Hoaganraad (Erik Thomson), his wife, Jill (Miriama McDowell), and her teenage sons Maika (Billy Paratene) and Jordan (Frankie Paratene) from a previous relationship — who are out for a picnic at a scenic location when they get accosted at gunpoint by an eloquent oddball named Mandrake ( Daniel Gillies ) and his sullen sidekick Tubs (Matthias Luafutu).

At first, this seems like a random act of mayhem: two psychopaths who stumble across some nice folks in the middle of nowhere and decide to take advantage. But as Mandrake forces his victims to hop into their car and go for a ride, it soon becomes clear he and Tubs are targeting Hoaggie for a reason.

Ashcroft puts a little too much narrative weight on the secret connection between Hoaggie and his abductors. Though the movie does fairly quickly hint that there’s more going on here — related to an old national scandal — a lot of the conversation in the back half of “Coming Home in the Dark” becomes repetitive, as Mandrake and Tubs poke at their prey. They’re trying to get him to admit that decades ago, he may have been a part of something awful; but the payoff to all this grilling isn’t quite as cathartic as it was probably intended to be.

Still, the parts of “Coming Home in the Dark” about confronting guilt aren’t what make the movie so harrowing. Instead, what matters is that Ashcroft and his cast — and especially Gillies as the menacing and charismatic Mandrake — excel at drawing out the moment-to-moment tension of a crime in progress.

From the second Mandrake and Tubs wander up to Hoaggie’s picnic spot — unnerving the family with talk about how being someplace so private is both a gift and a hazard — “Coming Home in the Dark” challenges the audience to think and feel along with Hoaggie.

Can he make a move against Mandrake? Is there even a move to make? How complicit is Hoaggie in any harm that comes to the people he loves? This is ultimately a movie about a man weighing — and often regretting — his increasingly narrowing choices.

'Coming Home in the Dark'

Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes Playing: Available Friday on digital and VOD

More to Read

A prehistoric woman stands her ground.

Review: Set thousands of years before civilization, ‘Out of Darkness’ is eons-old horror by the book

Feb. 9, 2024

This image released by Netflix shows Hope Ikpoku Jnr, left, in a scene from "The Kitchen." (Netflix via AP)

If you like your sci-fi nightmares smart and socially aware, get into ‘The Kitchen’

Jan. 11, 2024

Emerald Fennell photographed at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills at Los Angeles, CA on November 15, 2023.

For Emerald Fennell’s ‘Saltburn,’ it was go goth or go home

Jan. 10, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.

After PGA Awards win, the Oscar for best picture is ‘Oppenheimer’s’ to lose

Santa Monica, CA - February 25: A protest taking place during celebrity arrivals at the Independent Spirit Awards hosted by Aidy Bryant in Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Spirit Awards ceremony disrupted by protesters as ‘Past Lives’ takes top prize

Feb. 25, 2024

Hilary Swank en una escena de la cinta de estreno "Ordinary Angels", basada en un caso real.

Entertainment & Arts

Box office doldrums continue, but ‘Dune: Part Two’ looms on the horizon

Kenneth Mitchell, from left, Kenric Green, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Chieffo and Alex Kurtzman attend the Governors Ball during night one of the Television Academy's 2018 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

‘Star Trek’ actor Kenneth Mitchell dies at 49

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Rotten Tomatoes Newsletter

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

  • Upcoming Movies and TV shows
  • Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
  • Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

  • What's the Tomatometer®?
  • Login/signup

movie review coming home in the dark

Movies in theaters

  • Opening this week
  • Top box office
  • Coming soon to theaters
  • Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

  • Netflix streaming
  • Amazon prime
  • Most popular streaming movies
  • What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

  • Dune: Part Two Link to Dune: Part Two
  • Io Capitano Link to Io Capitano
  • Orion and the Dark Link to Orion and the Dark

New TV Tonight

  • Shōgun: Season 1
  • The Tourist: Season 2
  • The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: Season 1
  • American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders: Season 1
  • Iwájú: Season 1
  • Elsbeth: Season 1
  • The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin: Season 1
  • Megamind Rules!: Season 1
  • Deal or No Deal Island: Season 1
  • God Save Texas: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 1
  • Constellation: Season 1
  • One Day: Season 1
  • True Detective: Season 4
  • House of Ninjas: Season 1
  • Masters of the Air: Season 1
  • Expats: Season 1
  • Halo: Season 2
  • Best TV Shows
  • Most Popular TV
  • TV & Streaming News
  • Prime Video

Certified fresh pick

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 12 Link to Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 12
  • All-Time Lists
  • Binge Guide
  • Comics on TV
  • Five Favorite Films
  • Video Interviews
  • Weekend Box Office
  • Weekly Ketchup
  • What to Watch

Berlin Film Festival 2024: Movie Scorecard

All Coen Brothers Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Black Heritage

Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2023

Oppenheimer and Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse win at the 2024 Producers Guild Awards

The Holdovers and Past Lives take top honors at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards

  • Trending on RT
  • Play Movie Trivia
  • Best Horror Movies 2024
  • Most Anticipated Movies

Coming Home in the Dark Reviews

movie review coming home in the dark

Coming Home in the Dark never lets up until the very end. The suffering is extensive, and the sorrow is ceaseless. There is only so much people can take before they have to look away out of fear for their own wellbeing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 23, 2023

movie review coming home in the dark

With his debut, Ashcroft shows a knack for bringing visceral thrills to a genre audience craving some gnarly fun in the middle of the night.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 22, 2022

movie review coming home in the dark

In the end, Coming Home in the Dark provides enough intellectual stimuli with adequate gritty tension to chew on, even if it isnt entirely persuasive in its intent.

Full Review | Apr 20, 2022

movie review coming home in the dark

...Gillies' magnetic, electrifying work here, which remains an ongoing highlight, plays a key role in sustaining the picture's tense atmosphere...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 22, 2022

movie review coming home in the dark

While the story is incredible on its own, the acting is what makes this a truly unforgettable movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 7, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

Tense thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Oct 29, 2021

Successful purely as a lean, gritty seen-it-all-before survival thriller, Coming Home in the Dark really shifts into another gear when the weight of the story drops

Full Review | Oct 18, 2021

It's Gillies' performance that raises Coming Home in the Dark from fascinating to utterly chilling, complimenting Matt Henley's cold, angular cinematography and John Gibson's score.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 15, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

Makes the most of the plot's obscurities and limitations, and Gillies' dedicated performance gives it a good extra push.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 9, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

A tense thriller that hinges on a seemingly random act of violence, James Ashcroft's debut feature offers a gritty meditation on the insidious ripple effect of trauma.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.75/5 | Oct 6, 2021

The filmmaking and acting talent on display is undeniable.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 1, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

Even the most shocking moments are rooted in strong character work.

Full Review | Oct 1, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

A riveting, provocative and terrifying psychological horror film.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.60345/10 | Oct 1, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu overcome a muddled third act to stand out in James Ashcroft's coldly endearing thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Sep 30, 2021

With long, hypnotic sequences which speak to that feeling one can experience when driving late at night, somehow separate from the ordinary world, Coming Home In The Dark takes us to familiar places and renders them strange.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 30, 2021

Ashcroft and his cast - and especially Gillies as the menacing and charismatic Mandrake - excel at drawing out the moment-to-moment tension of a crime in progress.

Full Review | Sep 30, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

While the whole thing is ruthlessly well done, it also sometimes seems to lean into a kind of moral relativism.

movie review coming home in the dark

Coming Home in the Dark offers a spare but unblinking span of gritty, punishing thrills.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | Sep 28, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

...leans more on psychology than outright gore, often artfully obscuring its worst moments. This is the type of film able to inspire overwhelming dread with an overhead shot of a vehicle circling back on a gas station

Full Review | Original Score: B | Sep 27, 2021

movie review coming home in the dark

A thriller with questions about the nature of guilt.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Sep 26, 2021

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘coming home in the dark’: film review | sundance 2021.

A family hiking trip on New Zealand’s remote coastline becomes a nightmare of bloodshed and retribution in debuting director James Ashcroft's white-knuckle psycho thriller, 'Coming Home in the Dark.'

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Flipboard
  • Share this article on Email
  • Show additional share options
  • Share this article on Linkedin
  • Share this article on Pinit
  • Share this article on Reddit
  • Share this article on Tumblr
  • Share this article on Whatsapp
  • Share this article on Print
  • Share this article on Comment

Coming Home in the Dark

The enormity of nature hits you like a freight train in the early scenes of James Ashcroft’s taut and sinewy first feature, Coming Home in the Dark . The majestic rural landscape of Greater Wellington, on the southernmost tip of New Zealand’s north island, changes in an instant from a place of enveloping tranquility to one of terrifying, helpless isolation as a family’s encounter with a pair of murderous drifters uncovers past trauma. What starts out as a nerve-rattling portrait of chance violence becomes a dark meditation on the long-term reverberations of childhood abuse in state institutions.

Adapted by actor-turned-director Ashcroft and Eli Kent from the short story by leading New Zealand fiction writer Owen Marshall, the thriller teases out its ambiguities with knowing malevolence. Is the family a victim of random, nihilistic viciousness or have they been targeted because of the past sins of the father? And to what degree does being witness to cruelty but doing nothing to stop it make a person culpable? Those questions resonate throughout the lean and mean action as the setting contracts from the expansive outdoors to the frightening claustrophobia of a car interior over a long night of intensifying hell.

The Bottom Line Cancel that wilderness escape.

Ashcroft and DP Matt Henley foreshadow the lurking menace in two succinct opening shots that reveal relatively little. The first is a magnificent sunrise with a lone figure sitting in silhouette on a hill overlooking the horizon. The second is an abandoned Mercedes left by the side of the road, an open passenger door creaking on its hinges in the breeze.

A Wellington schoolteacher nicknamed Hoaggie (Erik Thomson), his wife Jill (Miriama McDowell) and her affably bickering teenage sons Maika and Jordan (Billy and Frankie Paratene) all seem content enough enjoying what one of the boys refers to with a hint of snark as “the road trip experience.” Even getting pulled over for speeding doesn’t dampen the mood for long. They take a hike in the mountains and then choose a spot by a pretty inlet for a picnic, posing for a family photograph to capture the moment. But that happy portrait is shattered the instant two strangers amble onto the scene out of nowhere.

Casually removing a rifle from under his coat, Mandrake ( Daniel Gillies , a TV veteran of The Vampire Diaries , Saving Hope and The Originals ) does all the talking, while his hulking sidekick Tubs (Matthias Luafutu), who is of Maori descent like Jill and her boys, says nothing as he helps himself to their food. Hoaggie and Jill do their best to reassure Maika and Jordan by remaining calm, handing over their car keys and cash without hesitation. But any doubt as to whether Mandrake has violent intentions vanishes in a moment of startling brutality.

As the sociopaths pile the family into their car, a shell-shocked Hoaggie asks, “Where are you taking us?” “Home,” replies Mandrake, quietly savoring his prey’s panic while emotionless Tubs stares out the window at the darkening skies in silence.

From early on, the stunned horror and the dread of worse to come are spiked by John Gibson’s distinctive score, using the jagged string sounds of bowed piano and bass to insidious effect. At first, Ashcroft seems focused on creating a disturbing genre exercise with a debt to countless bone-chilling predecessors from Wolf Creek to Funny Games . But the script deftly stitches in the possibility that there could be an agenda behind the violence as Mandrake starts interrogating Hoaggie about his teaching experience.

“Business as usual. The next meal. The next car. It’s just a happy coincidence,” explains Mandrake as their past connection comes to light and Hoaggie begins to suspect some kind of twisted revenge plan. He’s prodded to revisit haunting details from his first job as an assistant teacher in a boys’ school for state wards that has since been shut down after a national scandal. This also undermines Jill’s trust in her husband, giving Mandrake an opening into which he can drive a wedge. The flickering looks in Tubs’ eyes make it clear that the same dark history touched his life.

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 maximize the psychological murk hidden between the lines, doing a remarkable job of sustaining extreme tension. Charged set-pieces like a gas station stop, a tire blowout, an escape attempt and a desperate plea to a bunch of joyriding teens keep the pulse pounding, even if the worst of the bloodshed tends to be shown from a distance, mirroring Mandrake’s ice-cold detachment. Considering that the majority of the action is talk-driven and confined to the car, the pace is unrelenting.

The lines of power between white Mandrake and indigenous Tubs subtly introduce elements of racial disparity while declining to explore them head-on. The same goes for any possible point of connection between Tubs and Jill over their shared ethnicity. That factor feeds a slight sense of missed opportunity that might have given the script added dimension. But as an exploration of the ways in which childhood damage can manifest as unfettered evil in adults, taking its toll even on those who have absolved themselves of responsibility, Coming Home in the Dark is a rivetingly nasty ride and an assured debut from a promising new director.

Venue: Sundance Film Festival (Midnight) Production company: Homecoming Productions Cast: Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Billy Paratene, Frankie Paratene, Bailey Cowan Director: James Ashcroft Screenwriters: Eli Kent, James Ashcroft, based on the short story by Owen Marshall Producers: Mike Minogue, Catherine Fitzgerald, Desray Armstrong Executive producer: James Ashcroft Director of photography: Matt Henley Production designers: Kate Logan, Phillip Gibson Costume designer: Gabrielle Stevenson Music: John Gibson Editor: Annie Collins Sound designer: John McKay Sales: CAA, MPI Media Group 92 minutes

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Pga awards: martin scorsese remembers kissing elke sommer at 1965 ceremony as he celebrates “full-circle” moment, pga awards: ‘oppenheimer’ takes top film prize, 12 things the cameras missed during the spirit awards, spirit awards: ‘may december’ only wins first screenplay despite five noms as ‘i’m a virgo,’ ‘all of us strangers’ shut out, spirit awards: jeffrey wright says “nobody wanted to finance” ‘american fiction’ initially, celine song references ‘past lives’ themes while accepting best feature at the spirit awards.

Quantcast

an image, when javascript is unavailable

‘Coming Home in the Dark’ Review: A Confident Kiwi Horror Debut Mixes Extremity and Ambiguity

A daytripping family is put violently through the wringer in James Ashcroft's debut, which initially channels 'Wolf Creek' before revealing something else on its mind.

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

  • ‘The Strangers’ Case’ Review: A Polished But Heavy-Handed Thriller Sorts the Villains From the Victims of the Syrian Refugee Crisis 20 hours ago
  • Mati Diop Doc ‘Dahomey’ Wins Golden Bear at Berlin; Sebastian Stan and Emily Watson Take Acting Awards 2 days ago
  • ‘No Other Land’ Review: A Frank, Devastating Protest Against Israel’s West Bank Occupation 3 days ago

Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu appear in Coming Home in the Dark by James Ashcroft, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Goldfish Creative.All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or 'Courtesy of Sundance Institute.' Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

An expensive new car slouches on the side of a deserted country road, unoccupied and unattended, while one passenger door hangs open, creaking disconsolately in the afternoon breeze. It’s the kind of opening image that immediately warns you the film to come is up to nothing good, or at least nothing pleasant: “ Coming Home in the Dark ” never tells us who was behind the wheel of that abandoned car, though it gives us enough indirect detail to paint a pretty vivid, stomach-turning picture of what went down. At first glance, New Zealand filmmaker James Ashcroft ‘s unforgiving, tightly wound debut appears to be a nihilistic horror excursion in the blood-leaking vein of “Wolf Creek,” before its torture-porn trappings give way to a moral weight as unanticipated by the characters as it is by the audience.

Though it’s plenty nasty and nervy enough to earn its spot in Sundance ‘s Midnight program, Ashcroft’s film isn’t that much of a genre crowd-pleaser. Extrapolated from a short story by celebrated New Zealand writer Owen Marshall, its gore is brutal but sober throughout, building to a muted, ambiguous payoff that will leave some duly discomfited and others simply dissatisfied — with a couple of needling questions to debate between them.

Niche distribution and further festival spots should follow, though “Coming Home in the Dark” chiefly promises bigger, more full-bodied things from its cool-blooded writer-director. It could also prove a career-changer for star Daniel Gillies, a Kiwi-Canadian TV team player from such series as “Virgin River” and “The Vampire Diaries,” here given the spotlight — a dim, mostly shadow-casting spotlight, admittedly — as an unflappable but queasily human screen psycho.

Ashcroft and co-writer Eli Kent start things slow, following that shivery roadside intro with more reassuringly everyday scenes in a different vehicle: Middle-aged schoolteachers Alan (Erik Thomson) and Jill (Miriama McDowell) are setting out on a road trip with their lightly squabbling teenage sons Jordan and Maika (Frankie and Billy Paratene), flustered only briefly when a cop gives them a speed warning. Reaching an idyllic, unpeopled lakeside nature reserve, they stop for a robust hike followed by a late-afternoon picnic: It’s practically an advertisement for the New Zealand tourist board, though that magnificently serene, tawny landscape takes on a desolate air the second two rangy male figures emerge from the wilderness, closing in on this harmless family gathering with immediately hostile intent.

Lavishly bearded and khaki-clad — with only a pair of silver hoop earrings to distract from his terse, all-business manner — the more vocal of the pair (Gillies) introduces himself as Mandrake. The other (Matthias Luafutu), a lanky Maori man with a silent, haunted demeanor, is referred to only as Tubs, and appears to occupy a position somewhere between accomplice and man Friday — introducing a note of white-Indigenous tension that bleeds into all the misfortune to come, without ever being directly addressed. The men are armed, unfriendly and unappeased when the family hand over their car keys, phones and wallets: With a couple of brisk, unceremonious gunshots, they clearly announce they have a more protracted ordeal in mind for them.

While Ashcroft and Kent’s narrative doesn’t hinge on fussy breakneck twists, detailing things much further would rather betray the impact of the script’s solemn, steady, escalating trickle of information — as the film pivots into a brittle, brooding nighttime road movie, its destination and purpose both unknown. Does Mandrake know more about this family than he lets on, or is he merely a sadistic drifter who grimly chanced upon them? Both possibilities are kept in play over the course of a long night’s journey into day, during which messy baggage is unpacked by more than one party: As in so many horror films of this variety, trauma is the bone uncovered beneath so much red, shredded flesh.

If characterization is lean on either side of the conflict — we learn little of the family besides their pleasant ordinariness, while Mandrake and Tubs are typically chilly, taunting horror executioners — the gutsy, physically bruised commitment of the performances keeps the viewer immersed in the fallout. Gillies gets the most to relish here, but doesn’t overplay his hand: There are embers of outright rage in his cool cruelty.

Ashcroft’s filmmaking likewise holds back, more concerned with cultivating clammy, dusky atmosphere than reveling in grisly set pieces: The film’s most startling acts of violence are shown in aloof, matter-of-fact fashion, often held in unexcitable long shot. Only in a finale that tiptoes gingerly around the idea of catharsis, with blood left on many hands as several fates hang uncertainly in the balance, does Ashcroft’s restraint threaten to work against him — though perhaps it’s the audience’s idea of savage release that is being reproached most of all.

Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (online), London, Jan. 31, 2021. Running time: 93 MIN.

  • Production: (New Zealand) A Homecoming Prods. Ltd. presentation, in association with New Zealand Film Commission. (World sales: MPI Media, Chicago.) Producers: Mike Minogue, Catherine Fitzgerald, Desray Armstrong. Executive producer: James Ashcroft.
  • Crew: Director: James Ashcroft. Screenplay: Ashcroft, Eli Kent, adapted from a short story by Owen Marshall. Camera: Matt Henley. Editor: Annie Collins. Music: John Gibson.
  • With: Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Billy Paratene, Frankie Paratene, Alan Palmer.

More From Our Brands

Watch loretta lynn’s granddaughter audition for ‘american idol’, wilt chamberlain’s groovy l.a. home sells to a crypto entrepreneur for $9.7 million, messi instagram followers hit 500m, second ever after ronaldo, the best mattress protectors, according to sleep experts, pachinko and godzilla to shōgun: anna sawai hasn’t quite processed the ‘strange’ moment she’s having, verify it's you, please log in.

Quantcast

  • For Parents
  • For Educators
  • Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

  • Movie Reviews
  • Best Movie Lists
  • Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

movie review coming home in the dark

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

movie review coming home in the dark

  • Best TV Lists
  • Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
  • Common Sense Selections for TV
  • Video Reviews of TV Shows

movie review coming home in the dark

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

movie review coming home in the dark

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

  • Book Reviews
  • Best Book Lists
  • Common Sense Selections for Books

movie review coming home in the dark

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

movie review coming home in the dark

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

  • Game Reviews
  • Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

  • Video Reviews of Games

movie review coming home in the dark

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

movie review coming home in the dark

  • Podcast Reviews
  • Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

movie review coming home in the dark

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

movie review coming home in the dark

  • App Reviews
  • Best App Lists

movie review coming home in the dark

Social Networking for Teens

movie review coming home in the dark

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

movie review coming home in the dark

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

  • YouTube Channel Reviews
  • YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

movie review coming home in the dark

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

movie review coming home in the dark

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

  • Preschoolers (2-4)
  • Little Kids (5-7)
  • Big Kids (8-9)
  • Pre-Teens (10-12)
  • Teens (13+)
  • Screen Time
  • Social Media
  • Online Safety
  • Identity and Community

movie review coming home in the dark

Explaining the News to Our Kids

  • Family Tech Planners
  • Digital Skills
  • All Articles
  • Latino Culture
  • Black Voices
  • Asian Stories
  • Native Narratives
  • LGBTQ+ Pride
  • Best of Diverse Representation List

movie review coming home in the dark

Celebrating Black History Month

movie review coming home in the dark

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

movie review coming home in the dark

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Coming home in the dark, common sense media reviewers.

movie review coming home in the dark

Graphic violence in thoughtful, disturbing horror-thriller.

Coming Home in the Dark Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Witnessing evil actions and doing nothing to stop

Lead character is a teacher who, early in his care

Set in New Zealand. One of the lead characters is

Two kids are shot and killed at point-blank range.

Strong language throughout, including "f--k" and "

Talk of a carjacking and killing of a person drivi

Villain smokes cigarettes throughout. Villains tal

Parents need to know that Coming Home in the Dark is a 2021 horror-thriller in which a family outing to the countryside takes a horrific turn as the father is forced to reckon with his past. There's violence throughout -- much of it graphic and disturbing. Two kids are shot and killed at point-blank range…

Positive Messages

Witnessing evil actions and doing nothing to stop it is just as bad as being involved in the evil actions.

Positive Role Models

Lead character is a teacher who, early in his career 30 years prior, witnessed physical and sexual abuse in a reform school and did nothing to stop it.

Diverse Representations

Set in New Zealand. One of the lead characters is of Samoan ethnicity.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Two kids are shot and killed at point-blank range. Teens shot and killed while inside their car. Gas station attendant choked and then bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher. Man bludgeoned with a rock before being shot and killed at point-blank range. Character jumps off a bridge, presumably to their death. Graphic talk of physical abuse perpetrated by teachers in a reform school, some insinuation of sexual abuse as well. Man beaten, shoulder dislocated. Car door to head.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language throughout, including "f--k" and "c--t." Also: "Jesus f--king Christ," "s--t," "bulls--t," "a--hole."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Talk of a carjacking and killing of a person driving a Mercedes.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Villain smokes cigarettes throughout. Villains talk of going to the pub once their work is finished.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Coming Home in the Dark is a 2021 horror-thriller in which a family outing to the countryside takes a horrific turn as the father is forced to reckon with his past. There's violence throughout -- much of it graphic and disturbing. Two kids are shot and killed at point-blank range while their parents watch. Teens inside a car are shot and killed. A gas station attendant is choked and then bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher. A man is bludgeoned in the head with a rock. Man shot and killed at point-blank range. Character jumps off a bridge, presumably to their death. Graphic talk of physical abuse perpetrated by teachers at a reform school, as well as hints of sexual abuse as well. Strong language throughout, including "f--k" and "c--t." Cigarette smoking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Coming Home in the Dark Trailer

Community Reviews

  • Parents say (2)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Uncomfortable but crafted beautifully

Dark..figuratively and literally, what's the story.

In COMING HOME IN THE DARK, Alan (Erik Thomson) is a high school teacher on a road trip to the New Zealand seaside with his wife, Jill, and her teenage sons, Jordan and Maika. They stop for a picnic as the sun is starting to set, but after taking a family photo and settling in to enjoy the evening, they're accosted by two drifters who rob them at gunpoint, the wickedly eloquent Mandrake ( Daniel Gillies ) and his sullen sidekick Tubs. They are about to leave after robbing them, but when one of the kids calls Alan by his nickname, it sets off a more violent altercation. After two family members are killed, Mandrake and Tubs steal Alan's car, and Mandrake begins asking probing questions about his career as a teacher. Mandrake gets Alan to admit that when he was starting out as a teacher, he worked as an assistant in a reform school where students were sadistically abused by their instructors. As Alan is forced to confront his past, he must also find a way to survive Mandrake's horrifying night of reckoning.

Is It Any Good?

This incredible horror-thriller from New Zealand has unrelenting suspense and a provocative message. Coming Home in the Dark dispenses with the slow build of other horror-thrillers, and once the first shocking moment of violence happens, the gruesome action takes increasingly darker turns and doesn't let up until the credits. All the while, the movie never loses sight of its reflections on the idea expressed in the quote attributed to Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This message comes through, brutally, time and time again, even as it exists in the gray areas of justice being meted out by a pair of psychotic drifters.

While the story is incredible on its own, the acting is what makes this a truly unforgettable movie. Mandrake, the savagely eloquent bad guy drifter played by Daniel Gillies, comes across as a less cartoonish chip off the old psychotic cellblock populated by the murderous gang members of the first two Mad Max movies. And with its recurring shots of the white lines of desolate highways scrolling through the course of a traumatic night, it's hard not to be reminded of the second half of Mad Max , as Max drives all night in the "Last of the V8 Interceptors" in search of vigilante justice. But the comparisons stop there, as Coming Home in the Dark isn't so much about justice or the lack thereof from a society that is falling apart, but rather from injustice as a result of individual cowardice, indifference, or apathy. This is a message that should linger long after viewing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the theme of Coming Home in the Dark . What comment is the movie making about how it's just as bad for good people to do nothing when witnessing evil as it is for evil people to commit horrific acts? What are your thoughts on this?

How does violence, or the threat of violence, propel the story? Is it too much, or is it necessary for the movie's overall message?

This movie is based on a short story. What would be the challenges in adapting a short story into a feature-length film?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : January 30, 2021
  • On DVD or streaming : November 30, 2021
  • Cast : Daniel Gillies , Erik Thomson , Miriama McDowell
  • Director : James Ashcroft
  • Studio : Light in the Dark
  • Genre : Horror
  • Run time : 93 minutes
  • MPAA rating : NR
  • Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Mad Max Poster Image

The Pianist

Best horror movies, horror books for kids and teens.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Coming Home in the Dark (Movie Review)

Andy's rating: ★ ★ ★ director: james ashcroft | release date: 2021.

Based on a short story by acclaimed New Zealand author Owen Marshall, Coming Home in the Dark is a brutal road movie in a long tradition of pressure cooker narratives of families in peril. Jill and Hoagie (Miriama McDowell and Erik Thomson) make their way into the New Zealand country with their teen sons Maika and Jordan (Billy and Frankie Paratene) reluctantly in tow. As the family finds a spot for a picnic, they’re beset upon by two strangers, Tubs and Mandrake (Matthias Luafutu and Daniel Gillies). What follows is the sort of suspenseful storytelling that continues to ratchet up some splendid tension despite some of its more familiar elements.

Co-Written and directed by John Ashcroft, Coming Home in the Dark displays a rigorous attention to space and setting. The New Zealand wilderness is a formidable backdrop to nightmarish sequences while also providing essential framing for some of the characters’ motivations. As we’re introduced to Mandrake, the de facto voice of these seemingly nomadic brigands, he is backlit with a setting sun slowly descending behind a ridge. He is quite literally the obstruction of this family’s deteriorating hope, but his and Tubs’s presence in the landscape becomes tethered more precisely to some grim realities of the country’s past. That Hoagie is of Dutch ancestry is hardly an accident. Indeed, the roles filled by Mandrake and Hoagie--the only main characters not of Māori descent--offers an essential ideological weight to their choices.

In their address of the film, both Ashcroft and his writing partner Eli Kent see the film as an attempt to reckon with the “sins” of their home country. The film draws from anecdotal and documented instances of abuse in Borstal schools that are just as harrowing in their recitation as the violence depicted on screen. What easily could have been a traditional genre piece opens up into a wider context that complicates our relationship to these characters. The performances from the four lead adults are particularly instrumental to this result. Gillies seems to be channelling all the charisma of Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter while McDowell serves up an incredibly withering, utterly shocking line reading. As we learn more about Hoagie’s past, Thomson imbues his role as “heroic” husband/father with a rising, palpable sense of regret, anger, and sorrow.

While Coming Home in the Dark brings a more complex take on this setup, the film begins to run out of unique narrative beats to bring the third act home, relying instead on more conventional, occasionally confusing, acts of violence. The conviction of the performances never falters and Ashcroft keeps the tension up, but the film never quite reaches the heights of its first half. Once the table is set for these characters there’s only a limited number of ways the film could proceed, and unfortunately the film doesn’t bring its earlier inventiveness to the final moments.

Impactful, brutal, and unrelenting, Coming Home in the Dark offers a refreshed take on the material that emphasizes the need for just reconciliation. Ashcroft’s feature debut displays an ambition and skill that is full of potential and an emerging, keen vision. The film presents a past that can never be left buried, requiring its characters and audience to reckon with what they know and what they choose to forget. Screened as a part of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Former Managing Editor

Andy is an editor for Grim magazine from Anatomy of a Scream.

  • Andy's Profile

Check It Out

Primal scream: exploring horror from a mental health lens.

Natalie, a licensed clinical psychologist, looks at what your favorite horror films get right (and wrong) about mental health.

In-Extremis: Legal Analysis of Horror

Are you interested in the legal implications of your favorite horror films for strictly educational purposes? Have you met our friend Adam?

Play Along With Our Horror Movie Drinking Games!

One Thursday a month, Sophie lays out the rules for a horror film drinking game! Browse our past entires and be on the look out for new ones.

Movies Like Coming Home in the Dark

Alone in the dark ii.

  • The Podcast

movie review coming home in the dark

The Ending Of Coming Home In The Dark Explained

Jill looking to the side

The following article includes mentions of child abuse and sexual assault.

Based on a short story of the same name by Owen Marshall, the New Zealand psychological thriller , "Coming Home in the Dark," was directed by James Ashcroft, who co-wrote the film's screenplay with Eli Kent. It originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January (via /Film ) and is now available to watch on Netflix .

The film centers on a family road trip that quickly turns deadly and frightening for Alan (Erik Thomson) and his wife, Jill (Miriama McDowell), as well as their two sons, Jordan (Frankie Paratene) and Maika (Billy Paratene). While the family of four is having a peaceful picnic by the waterfront, they're suddenly approached by two somber, eerie-looking men named Mandrake (Daniel Gillies of "The Vampire Diaries"  fame) and Tubs (Matthias Luafutu). Mandrake reveals that he has a rifle, and the family quickly realizes that they're in danger. Alan, meanwhile, is left unsettled and confused after Mandrake calls him "Hoagie," which turns out to be an old nickname of his.

Within minutes, Mandrake has shockingly shot and killed both of Alan and Jill's sons. Afterward, Alan and Jill are forced back into their car, and Mandrake's motives gradually start to become clear. It is revealed that Mandrake was abused as a kid by teachers at his boys' school and Alan, an assistant teacher there at the time, may have been involved. Both Alan and Jill insist that Alan was not one of the abusers, but Mandrake's sadistic behavior toward them — particularly Alan — suggests not only that there may be more to the story, but that their meeting may be much less random than it initially seemed.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services .

The price of doing nothing

After a failed escape attempt results in the needless death of a gas station attendant, Mandrake forces Alan and Jill to kneel at the side of the roadand demands to know what Alan did while he was a teacher at Mandrake's former school. Alan despairingly admits that he witnessed a lot of the abuse that was going on at the school when he was there, including instances of whipping and sexual assault.

When Mandrake pushes for more information, Alan reveals that there was one specific incident he witnessed up close. He explains that all of the school's boys used to line up on the playground's four-square court for roll call, a procedure that was referred to as "on-line." As an assistant teacher, Alan wasn't typically involved with the process but had to help conduct it one time when the school was understaffed. 

The day Alan helped out, one of the school's teachers saw that a little boy had given himself a tattoo of a swastika and demanded that someone get them a wire brush. With the brush, the teacher began scrubbing the boy's tattoo while he screamed and cried in pain. Alan, however, merely stood by and watched. Mandrake reveals himself to be the boy in question when he corrects Alan that it was not a wire brush, but a nylon brush that the teacher had used to scrub away his tattoo.

It subsequently becomes clear that Mandrake sees no difference between committing an awful act and standing by while one happens. Therefore, the torture that he has put Alan and Jill through, as well as the murder of their kids, are intended to be the consequences of Alan's failure to intervene when Mandrake was being abused.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Everything ends on-line

Not long after Alan's confession, Jill throws herself off the side of a cliff and into the water below (it's unclear whether or not she died), leaving Alan alone to face the consequences of his past failures. Mandrake takes Alan and Tubs back to the school where it all began, which is now abandoned. Once there, Alan admits that he acted like a coward when Mandrake was being abused, but also says that he thought the young boy deserved it.

Mandrake demands Alan that stand "on-line," and when he does, Mandrake shoots Alan with his rifle. The bullet grazes the side of Alan's stomach, but while he is on the ground, he manages to grab a rock and nearly beats Mandrake to death with it. Choosing not to grab the rifle, Alan begins to crawl away while Mandrake attempts to shoot him again.

Tubs, however, walks over to the two wounded men, picks up the rifle, and shoots Mandrake right in the head — killing him instantly. He then walks over to Alan, but instead of killing him, merely says, "I hate this place," before walking away.

Alan's fate is, much like his wife's, left ambiguous. However, considering the severity of his gunshot wound and the fact that he has no phone to call for help with, it seems safe to assume that he bleeds out and dies off-screen. Either way, what the film does make clear is the fact that, ultimately, Alan was unable to escape the consequences of his decision years prior.

Why does Tubs kill Mandrake?

While Tubs spends much of "Coming Home in the Dark" acting as Mandrake's mostly silent, obedient right-hand man, he ends up being the only character in the film that we absolutely know makes it out alive. It is implied early in the movie that Tubs was also a student at the boys' school where Mandrake was abused, and he later confirms that fact when he tells Alan that he "hates this place" right after killing Mandrake. Given their shared history together, it's undeniably surprising that Tubs is the one to kill Mandrake instead of Alan, and it leaves viewers with something interesting to think about. 

Essentially, there are two reasons why Tubs may have chosen to kill Mandrake, someone who had experienced the same trauma and abuse he likely did. Firstly, it's possible that Tubs may secretly have resented Mandrake for making him relive his past experiences by seeking out the teachers who hurt them. After all, we can safely assume that Alan was not the only former faculty member that the pair sought out. 

Alternatively, Tubs may have taken Mandrake's own philosophy more seriously than his partner realized. In other words, Tubs may decide in the film's final act that, by simply letting Mandrake torment Alan and his family, he was doing exactly what Alan had done all those years ago: letting violence occur without stepping in.

But no matter what Tubs' reasons are for killing Mandrake, his final decisions in "Coming Home in the Dark" add an interesting wrinkle to the film's thematic questions about which actions — or inactions — may warrant punishment, and which don't. Those themes and questions will probably linger in viewers' minds long after they finish the film, as will its closing shot of a teary-eyed Tubs looking out over the water, likely thinking about the fact that, over the course of just one night, he played a role in the deaths of several people.

movie review coming home in the dark

Movie reviews, Oscar predictions, and more!

‘Coming Home in the Dark’ is a perfect midnight feature | Sundance movie review

Coming home in the dark follows a family on a road trip in the new zealand mountains that is isolated and tormented by an unknown assailant.

movie review coming home in the dark

Coming Home in the Dark is like the best of home invasion thrillers — slow-burning, shocking, and continually shifting circumstances — except it’s not set in a home. The movie takes us off a hiking trail and on the road across the New Zealand landscape. If there is a perfect film to screen in the Midnight section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival , it is this one.

The plot is simple. A family is on a road trip to do some hiking in the mountains of New Zealand. There’s father Hoaggie ( Erik Thomson ), mother Jill ( Miriama McDowell ), and their two sons. With sweeping vistas captured by cinematographer Matt Henley , it’s clear that the family is alone. 

ADVERTISEMENT

That is until Mandrake ( Daniel Gillies ) and his quiet sidekick Tubs ( Matthias Luafutu ) come walking over the ridge towards the picnicking family wielding a powerful rifle and nothing to lose. The entire ordeal, which takes place over a chilling twenty or so minutes is reminiscent of the infamous lake scene in Zodiac or perhaps the eggs scene in Funny Games . It’s restrained, simmering with tension — until it’s not.

Director James Ashcroft, who wrote the film alongside Eli Kent, said at the start of the screening, “I hope it gets under your skin.” And it does. Coming Home in the Dark is built for maximum anxiety-inducing suspense that can turn into violence — though not glorified — at the drop of a hat. That opening scene, one of the best of the fest, is the perfect example of that. 

As the story moves from the mountains to a car driving to an unknown location in the dark, the claustrophobic atmosphere becomes all the more apparent thanks to Gillies’ committed and unpredictable performance. However, unlike many other home invasion-inspired movies, Mandrake and Tubs aren’t torturing the family for no reason — like The Strangers ’s infamous “because you were home” line. No, they have a purpose, which makes things feel all the more hopeless.

Coming Home in the Dark doesn’t necessarily reinvent the thriller genre. Instead, it takes all its best elements and puts them to good use. The result is a sleek, well-shot, mean, and lean — it clocks in at 93 minutes — entry that leaves you satisfied knowing that you got exactly what you were looking for.

More movies, less problems

A scene from Dune: Part Two.

Hey! I’m Karl . You can find me on Twitter here . I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic .

💌 Sign up for our weekly email newsletter with movie recommendations available to stream.

Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland ‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.

movie review coming home in the dark

Karl Delossantos

Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.

  • Karl Delossantos https://smashcutreviews.com/author/karldelogmail-com/ 12 Years A Slave Movie Review — A Beautiful, Unflinching Film
  • Karl Delossantos https://smashcutreviews.com/author/karldelogmail-com/ 2014 Oscar Nominations: Snubs and Surprises
  • Karl Delossantos https://smashcutreviews.com/author/karldelogmail-com/ 2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture (Updated 2/16)
  • Karl Delossantos https://smashcutreviews.com/author/karldelogmail-com/ 2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Director (Is Alfonso Cuarón a Lock to Win?)

Search Reeling Reviews

Coming home in the dark.

movie review coming home in the dark

While hiking up a hill on New Zealand’s magnificent coast, teacher Alan Hoaganraad (Erik Thomson, "Somersault") comments to his wife Jill (Miriama McDowell) that ‘you get two eggs from the same basket and one’s this gentle, patient boy…’ implying that his other stepson is the opposite.  Ironically, the four road trippers will be approached by two male strangers out in this vulnerably remote landscape, the one armed with a sawed off shotgun informing Hoaggie and Jill that they’ll be “Coming Home in the Dark.”

Laura's Review: B

Cowriter (with Eli Kent, Owen Marshall)/director James Ashcroft makes his feature debut with a chilling, brutal tale of the root causes of sociopathy.  Meticulously crafted, with cinematographer Matt Henley coupling pointed use of the unique landscape with character portraits drawn in dusk, the film leans more on psychology than outright gore, often artfully obscuring its worst moments.  This is the type of film able that inspires overwhelming dread with an overhead shot of a vehicle circling back on a gas station.  As Mandrake, the more assertive of the two murderous kidnappers, Daniel Gillies ("Spider-Man 2"), resembling a cross between Guy Pearce and Nick Cave, is all the more terrifying for his quiet matter-of-factness.

If at first the setup recalls the Aussie “Wolf Creek,” fear not as the filmmaker has a lot more on his mind than torture porn.  While the broader outlines of Ashcroft’s script may rely too strongly on coincidence, there are many insightful observations to be found in its dialogue.   Tension ratchets up in moments often mundane, a command to lie on a blanket suggesting imminent violence.  When a van approaches across the lake from where the initial encounter is taking place, we hold our breaths as we hear Jill’s, watching Hoaggie’s eyes dart about looking for a solution.  When it pulls away, Mandrake observes ‘You know, later on when you look back at this occasion, I think that right there is going to be the moment you wish you’d done something.’  Then Mandrake’s partner, Tubs (Matthias Luafutu, "Ghost in the Shell"), pulls up in the Hoaganraads’ SUV and they’re ordered to get back in.  ‘Where are you taking us?’ demands Hoaggie.  ‘Home’ never sounded like such an unwelcome destination.

This reverse road trip reveals both the film’s theme (‘There’s a difference between doing something and letting it happen. There has to be.’) and its destination, a home in three of the SUV occupants’ past.  Ashcroft offers many moments of hoped for escape, some quite clever in their construction, but he’s put his protagonist on a path that will find him in the same predicament that molded his vigilante judge.  Ashcroft also effectively sprinkles in other hints of the past, some as recent as the day in question, which help establish his foreboding atmosphere.        

“Coming Home in the Dark” will set your teeth on edge early and never let up, but although its tone can verge on nasty, its execution reveals a born filmmaker.

Robin's Review: B-

Dark Sky Films releases "Coming Home in the Dark" in theaters and VOD on 10/1/21.

REELING IS A PROUD MEMBER OF…

Laura and Robin's reviews are also featured on Rotten Tomatoes , the Movie Review Query Engine , and the IMDB .

  • Reeling’s Top 10 Lists
  • All Reviews
  • Past Episodes
  • Broadcast Schedule

Reeling: The Movie Review Show

has been produced by Robin and Laura Clifford at the Malden, Massachusetts cable access television station, MATV, since March 16, 1991.

  • Reviews RSS

The Austin Chronicle Events

Coming Home in the Dark

2021, nr, 93 min. directed by james ashcroft. starring erik thomson, miriama mcdowell, daniel gillies, matthias luafutu, billy paratene, frankie paratene., reviewed by richard whittaker , fri., oct. 1, 2021.

movie review coming home in the dark

Violence curdles in the air every time menacing drifter Mandrake opens his mouth. "I'm a magician," he smugly threatens his latest victims. "I make things disappear." With his taciturn enforcer, Tubs (Luafutu), he's already committed some unspeakable act, indicated only by an abandoned car and a flash of material. But as portrayed by Daniel Gillies, Mandrake is no unnatural force, much as he evokes the bloodcurdling maliciousness of Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher . There has to be an explanation for why he targets schoolteacher Hoaggie (Thomson), and his wife (McDowell) and her kids from a prior marriage (the Paratenes). There has to be, right? Or is the universe as cold, arbitrary, and merciless as Mandrake's psychological and physical torture of the family?

As the title of Coming Home in the Dark implies, Hoaggie and his family planned on a simple picnic in the colder, wilder remotes of New Zealand and a return when the day is over. But the way their paths intersect with Mandrake and Tubs ensure that their plans are derailed beyond any repair, shattered, but it's not just physical. The violence is calmly executed with a chilling expertise, and always presaged by Mandrake's clinical examination of the events, like a merciless fusion of Australian revenger The Horseman and the mannered accusations and stabbing implications of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt . Director/co-writer James Ashcroft looks at how monsters are created, because his true target is the hideous legacy of institutional violence in New Zealand's borstal system. Complicity and cruelty are all buried in the past, but they have a hideous habit of dragging themselves out of the grave in which the less metaphorical bodies are buried.

Empathy is eroded and transferred as dark secrets are revealed, but Ashcroft also appreciates that he is crafting a true monster in Mandrake. It's Gillies' performance that raises Coming Home in the Dark from fascinating to utterly chilling, complimenting Matt Henley's cold, angular cinematography and John Gibson's score, all reed instruments and long, clean draws over strings, like an icy wind blowing slow through dead grass and bones. But Gillies evokes rare, inhumane pleasure in Mandrake's measured brutality, with glimpses of a shattered child underneath. Conversations of nature versus nurture, accident versus causality, and shades of evil pervade, without ever feeling forced. It's a razor's edge between the visceral and the cerebral that Ashcroft balances upon, an indictment of a cycle of powerlessness begetting abuse. Coming Home in the Dark bears a bleak, bleak message: There is no fixing the sins of the past, no restorative grace that will ever prevent them from obliterating the façade of a peaceful now. Instead, you just better bloody well hope that they don't get repeated.

Available on VOD Oct. 1

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle  

movie review coming home in the dark

Kimberley Jones, April 10, 2009

movie review coming home in the dark

Kimberley Jones, May 19, 2006

movie review coming home in the dark

Feb. 22, 2024

Austin FC Season Kickoff, Black History Month, and More Community Events

Feb. 23, 2024

Coming Home in the Dark , James Ashcroft , Erik Thomson , Miriama McDowell , Daniel Gillies , Matthias Luafutu , Billy Paratene , Frankie Paratene

movie review coming home in the dark

  • Science Fiction
  • All the Rest
  • Recaps & Reviews
  • Tabletop Games
  • Video Games
  • GGA Crush of the Week
  • Anime Roundup
  • Horror With a Side of Cheese
  • Millennial Misremembers
  • Mobile Game Monday
  • Most Anticipated Video Games
  • New Release Radar
  • Tavern Talk Thursday
  • Trek Tuesday
  • Saturday Morning Webtoons
  • Underrated Horror Movie of the Month
  • Indigenerd Wire
  • List Articles
  • Mental Health
  • Think Pieces

Select Page

Home » Movies » Movie Review: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

Movie Review: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

Posted by Melody McCune | Sep 29, 2021 | Movies , Reviews | 0

Movie Review: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

DISCLAIMER: Mild spoilers abound for  Coming Home in the Dark .

Would you place an abuser and bystander on the same pedestal? Can one atone for sins witnessed on the sidelines?  Coming Home in the Dark , directed by  James Ashcroft  with a script from  Eli Kent  and Ashcroft, answers these questions. 

Ashcroft and Kent adapt their screenplay from a short story by  Owen Marshall  with a stellar cast featuring  Daniel Gillies ,  Erik Thomson ,  Miriama McDowell  and  Matthias Luafutu . 

Hoaggie (Thomson) and his wife Jill (McDowell) are enjoying a road trip through the idyllic New Zealand countryside with their sons when two drifters ambush them, Mandrake (Gillies) and Tubs (Luafutu). What transpires is a road trip of a different sort — a nightmarish, violent journey into the past. 

RELATED:  Malignant  Spoiler Review

Coming Home in the Dark  doesn’t beat around the bush, and the action takes flight before the 10-minute mark. Horrifying twists await at every turn with a solid story from the get-go. 

While the writing maintains momentum for most of the film, the true shining light is its star players. Admittedly, I’ve only seen Gillies as the stoic and snazzily-dressed Elijah Mikaelson on The Originals and  The Vampire Diaries . He’s a far cry from the calm and collected vampire, infusing Mandrake with a sinister nonchalance. 

Still of Miriama McDowell in James Ashcroft's Coming Home in the Dark.

Pictured: Miriama McDowell in James Ashcroft’s Coming Home in the Dark.

Gillies could’ve gone down the “mustache-twirling, grandiose villain” route, chewing the scenery and playing to the balcony. Instead, you see a raging storm linger beneath Mandrake’s surface, simmering anger ready to unleash at any moment. It’s far more interesting than outright ire. Everything, including his accent, posture and gait, is different than what we’ve seen Gillies do in the past. He’s sensational. 

Amid the torrent of bloodshed and abject violence, Gillies evokes our sympathy for such a dark character. It reminds us that everyone in Coming Home in the Dark  is a victim — protagonists and antagonists alike. 

McDowell produces stunning work, genuinely encompassing the phrase, “Go big or go home.” She’s all piss and vinegar. McDowell exhibits an impressive array of emotions that brim with honesty, tenderness and gut-wrenching vulnerability. 

Thomson, our anchor, runs the gamut of emotional fortitude, vacillating between a “cooler heads prevail” approach and all-out desperation. Lastly, Luafutu plays the most intriguing character of the bunch, the often silent and brooding Tubs. Luafutu carries a quiet gravitas, and he injects Tubs with nuance and occasional flashes of potential remorse. 

All in all, everyone brings their A-game. 

Still of Matthias Luafutu in James Ashcroft's Coming Home in the Dark.

Pictured: Matthias Luafutu in James Ashcroft’s Coming Home in the Dark.

Coming Home in the Dark ‘s unflinching and sharp cutaways contribute to the tense, edge-of-your-seat feeling that’s pervasive throughout. Shots of the beautiful New Zealand landscape and dark, visceral imagery play on the stark contrast between Hoaggie’s quiet family life and his past life. 

This film is more than just a horror or thriller — it teeters on the edge of psychological drama. As we peel back the layers and dig deep into Hoaggie’s past, Coming Home in the Dark  artfully probes the deepest parts of our psyche. The details we thought we’d forgotten long ago. 

RELATED: Check out our movie reviews here!

The movie sends us on a pulsating, nail-biting ride until the bitter end. It sinks its claws in you and refuses to let go. 

That unsettling feeling stays with you, with the unexpected bouts of violence never straddling the line of gratuitousness. As uncomfortable as the violence is, there’s a reason behind every act. 

I suppose the one notable flaw I could find in  Coming Home in the Dark  is its ending.

It just … ends. 

Still of Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu in James Ashcroft's Coming Home in the Dark.

Pictured: Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu in James Ashcroft’s Coming Home in the Dark.

While we get to the resolution, it feels like there’s no natural closure. But perhaps that was Ashcroft’s intention. Sometimes life comes at you fast, and sometimes you’re left with more questions than answers. Maybe Ashcroft wanted us to sit with our complicated feelings for as long as possible.

Or it’s to drive home the fact that, again, everyone in this film is a victim of some sort. To that end, there’s no real winner or loser because all of our players are in pain. 

Coming Home in the Dark is a fast-paced, gripping, profoundly unsettling film that gives its heroes and foes multiple facets. It’ll stick to you like glue. 

Coming Home in the Dark  hits US theaters on Friday, October 1. 

Movie Review: CANDYMAN
  • Recent Posts

Melody McCune

  • TV Review: THE SECOND BEST HOSPITAL IN THE GALAXY - February 24, 2024
  • Class Is in Session: Best Quotes From ABBOTT ELEMENTARY’s ‘Smoking’ - February 24, 2024
  • RESIDENT ALIEN Recap: (S03E02) The Upper Hand - February 21, 2024

About The Author

Melody McCune

Melody McCune

Contact: [email protected] I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Screen Rant

Steven spielberg is right about the zone of interest (though a 2015 movie challenges it).

While Steven Spielberg's plaudits regarding The Zone of Interest's impact hold serious weight, a 2015 movie challenges the director's assertions.

  • Steven Spielberg praises The Zone of Interest as the best Holocaust movie since his own, highlighting its impact on raising awareness.
  • The film's focus on SS soldier Rudolf Hoss and his wife challenges the banality of evil during the Holocaust, earning critical acclaim.
  • The Zone of Interest competes with Schindler's List in terms of Oscar nominations, particularly excelling in sound design for a haunting atmosphere.

Although A24's The Zone of Interest has received major compliments from the likes of legendary director, Steven Spielberg, a 2015 Hungarian film challenges the director's comments in a major way. The Zone of Interest centers around a German SS soldier, Rudolf Höss , and his wife Hedwig's desire to pursue a better quality of life all while living next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The film's uncompromising depiction of the film's subjects has contributed to the film's positive reception among critics and audiences, with the most notable support coming from none other than Spielberg .

In Spielberg's review of The Zone of Interest , the director referred to the film as " the best I ever witnessed ," which certainly is one of the best endorsements that anyone's film can receive. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter , Spielberg elaborated on his statements by claiming:

The Zone of Interest is the best Holocaust movie I’ve witnessed since my own. It’s doing a lot of good work in raising awareness, especially about the banality of evil .

Spielberg's comments echo a common sentiment among critics that The Zone of Interest is one of the best movies of 2023 , and its commitment to its challenging source material combined with its atmospheric sound and visual fidelity aid significantly in the film receiving such plaudits. However, despite the impact that the A24 historical drama is having on audiences, there is one lesser-known film from 2015 that challenges Spielberg's bold assertions .

Rudolf Hoss standing in front of Auschwitz in The Zone of Interest

The Zone Of Interest: A24's Best Picture Nominee Is Available To Watch At Home Now

Steven spielberg is right: why the zone of interest is the best holocaust movie since schindler's list, 2015's son of saul is a close contender.

Liam Neeson smoking a cigarette as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List.

Among its many praises, Schindler's List is one of the greatest films of all time because it is one of the most poignant examples of a filmmaker putting a spotlight on one of history's greatest tragedies . However, 2015's Son of Saul is a close contender for the best Holocaust movie because it makes its protagonist, Saul, feel relatable by focusing purely on his experience trying to survive the Holocaust. Other movies usually highlight the effects of war and mass casualties that, while effective storytelling devices, don't demand one's attention the same way focusing on a single person does.

The Zone of Interest , on the other hand, highlights that many of the Nazis who were complicit in the Holocaust were, at the end of the day, ordinary people like anyone else . By showing audiences how mundane the macabre situation was to people like Rudolf and Hedwig, it effectively highlights just how truly evil the Holocaust and its perpetrators were. The Pianist is also a suitable contender for best Holocaust movie ever made because of its frightening sense of realism that was achieved largely through Adrien Brody's performance. However, The Zone of Interest 's Oscar potential does elevate its status, possibly past it.

Will The Zone Of Interest Match Schindler's List's Oscars Success?

The zone of interest has 5 oscar nominations.

The Zone of Interest 's five Academy Award nominations against Schindler's List 's seven lend credibility to the claim that it's the second-best Holocaust movie after Spielberg's masterpiece. Most notable among the film's nominations is its Oscar nod for Best Sound courtesy of the efforts of sound engineers Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn . Their work on The Zone of Interest has resulted in the film exuding a perpetually haunting and griping atmosphere that effectively makes the film just as scary as its events are true. With the Oscars on the way, The Zone of Interest could match Schindler's List .

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'The Bad Batch' Season 3 Review: Disney+’s Star Wars Series Turns to the Dark Side

Does the third and final season of 'The Bad Batch' save the best for last?

The Big Picture

  • The third season of The Bad Batch has taken a much darker turn with its storytelling.
  • Omega faces imprisonment and all of the uneasy elements of a child in captivity.
  • The series delves deeper into Palpatine's cloning schemes.

Season 2 of The Bad Batch left audiences with a lot of lingering questions , and fortunately, the first half of Season 3 will answer most of them. The premiere picks up shortly after the end of Season 2, with Omega ( Michelle Ang ) adjusting to life within the clutches of the Empire, beneath the watchful gaze of Dr. Emerie Karr ( Keisha Castle-Hughes ) and Dr. Hemlock ( Jimmi Simpson ). While Crosshair ( Dee Bradley Baker ) is at the cloning facility with Omega, they’re both kept apart and isolated from the camaraderie they’re both familiar with.

From the onset of the season, the tone is markedly different from the upbeat adventures that Omega embarked on with Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Echo in the previous seasons. Tech’s untimely death in Season 2 isn’t directly addressed, but his absence is felt throughout the first eight episodes, building onto the sense of loss that fills every corner of Omega’s isolation. At long last, The Bad Batch is acknowledging the weighty reality of the Empire’s oppressive rule over the galaxy. This is no longer a coming-of-age story for Omega, but rather a fight for survival in the face of steep adversity.

The first two seasons of The Bad Batch suffered quite a bit due to tonal inconsistencies. After each exceptional episode, there would be a handful of middling “monster of the week” style episodes which derailed the momentum. While The Clone Wars could afford to wander away from the central, overarching plotlines, The Bad Batch doesn’t have the benefit of 22-episode seasons or characters that are developed and fully formed in ancillary material. But with Season 3, The Bad Batch seems to have finally reached maturation and zeroed in on the tragedy of this era in the galaxy . The episodes are tighter and more focused on reaching the endgame. What that endgame is remains to be seen, but if the first eight episodes are any indication, the series has saved the best for last.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

The 'Bad Batch' of elite and experimental clones make their way through an ever-changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars.

How Does 'The Bad Batch' Season 3 Connect to 'The Mandalorian'?

Ultimately, The Bad Batch is designed to be a children’s show, much in the same way that The Clone Wars appealed to the children who grew up with the prequel series . But those children have now grown up, and they’re the millennials and Gen Xers watching The Bad Batch who are curious to see the fates of characters first introduced in 2008 (Echo and Rex) and 2015 (Clone Force 99). The series may not be as poignant as Andor , but there are elements of Season 3 that fit neatly beside this grittier and darker side to the galaxy.

The first handful of episodes utilize some impressive literary devices to explore the circular nature of the machine we call imperialism and—to some extent—there are shades of Marxist philosophies masked beneath the kid-friendly gossamer of Star Wars . With a series focused on the clones and, specifically, the “defective” clones that stand apart from their brothers, The Bad Batch has a natural ability to pick at the ideas of uniformity. We see that to some extent with Omega’s imprisonment and the Empire’s attempt to strip her of her sense of identity. The clones are the purest example of the commodification of the body in-world, considering they’re designed to be good, controllable soldiers, and this ideology is examined throughout Crosshair’s arc.

By design, The Bad Batch has always been about the clones, but Season 2 really highlighted how the series may actually be trying to bridge the gap between the cloning technology introduced in The Phantom Menace and how the Empire commandeered it off-screen to bring back Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker . To an extent, the cloning subplot that has been interwoven through this new era of Star Wars still feels rather contrived. But at least The Bad Batch seems to be making amends for the rather hamfisted cloning revelations in The Mandalorian , which just underscored why the Empire will never succeed at gaining the upper hand long-term.

With only the first eight episodes to judge, it’s hard to tell where exactly The Bad Batch is heading with the cloning subplot. There are a handful of revelations sprinkled throughout which seem to suggest that we might see the advent of Palpatine’s more successful cloning attempts—namely, his clone son Dathan—but there might not be enough time to satisfactorily wrap up the Batchers’ plot and patch together the Palpatine of it all. Given where The Bad Batch spends the majority of the first half of the season and some of its exposition, there is also a chance that we could even see Grogu in the back half, though that’s probably as unlikely as Dathan, barring time constraints. If anything, The Bad Batch will spark a healthy debate about M-counts again , which is exactly what everyone has been dying to do as The Phantom Menace ’s 25th anniversary looms on the horizon.

Can 'The Bad Batch' Season 3 Fix Star Wars’ Redemption Problem?

The Bad Batch has faced continued scrutiny for its accidental colorism and the perpetuation of less-than-favorable tropes where the “defective” clones are concerned. Much of this stems from the fact that all the clones—including the Bad Batch—are made from Jango Fett’s ( Temuera Morrison ) genetic makeup, which means they should resemble the Māori actor who originated the role. Dee Bradley Baker, who is not Māori, has voiced all the clones since the start of The Clone Wars . Season 2 made strides to walk away from the stereotypes that masqueraded as personalities for the likes of Wrecker, Hunter, Crosshair, and Tech, and Season 3 builds on a lot of that goodwill by continuing to flesh them out into fully realized characters . Better yet, there are new clones introduced in the final season who are voiced by Māori performers, making it clear, at least, that the valid criticism was heard loud and clear .

If the series follows through with some of the narrative arcs being established across the first eight episodes, it also has the potential to rebuild a lot of faith that fans have lost in the franchise over the last few years. While Star Wars has tipped its toes into the notion of restorative justice in novels, such as Alphabet Squadron , live-action (and animation) has been more reluctant to explore all the shades of redemption. In The Bad Batch , it’s not necessarily a redemption that’s playing out (as a brainwashed character doesn’t need to be redeemed in the same sense as a true villain) but the thematic imagery of redemption, rebirth, and acceptance, in all forms, is there. This builds upon a lot of the foundations that Season 2 laid, which brings hope that it will be seen through to its conclusion. Paired with some of the other characters who get to encounter similar ideological quandaries and personal revelations, The Bad Batch Season 3 serves up some truly delicious fodder for fans of The Clone Wars clones.

Star Wars The Bad Batch TV Show Poster

While it's an open question of how it will resolve itself, 'The Bad Batch' Season 3 is shaping up to be a strong end for the Star Wars series.

  • Season 3 takes a darker turn, allowing the series to really explore the tragedy of this era in the galaxy.
  • Omega has matured a lot since Season 1, making her a more compelling lead.
  • This season features some beautiful design choices that match neatly with the literary devices being used.
  • The Kiner Brothers' music delivers an impeccable score, once again.
  • Lingering questions about Palpatine's cloning plans put a burden on the core character's stories.
  • This season could've been stronger if the previous seasons had been as tight as Season 3.
  • The series still carries the baggage of the colorism issue, despite it improving upon the criticism.

The final season of The Bad Batch premieres on Disney+ on February 21 in the U.S.

Watch on Disney+

movie review coming home in the dark

New K-Drama Pyramid Game: Everything You Need To Know

By Nikita Nath

Pyramid Game  is a brand-new and highly anticipated Korean thriller series. It is all set to premiere on  Thursday, February 29, 2024 , on TVING. New episodes will air every Thursday on TVING. The upcoming K-drama is an adaptation of the well-known Naver webtoon of the same title, revolving around a school’s brutal ranking system and a transfer student, Suji. Dalgonyak has acted as both the writer and illustrator of the webtoon.

Lee Jae-Gyu created the survival K-drama series Pyramid Game, while Choi Soo-I was the series writer. The renowned South Korean director Park So-Yeon has directed it. The upcoming K-drama star Kim Ji-Yeon, aka Bona, is one of the members of the popular K-pop girl group WJSN.

Ever since TVING released the trailer for Pyramid Game, the audience has been eagerly waiting to see what the new K-drama has in store for them. So, without further ado, let’s jump in and learn all about it below.

Pyramid Game: Release date, cast & more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by TVING 티빙 (@tving.official)

TVING has revealed the premiere date of the new K-drama  Pyramid Game  on its official Instagram channel. The series will arrive on the streaming platform on Thursday, February 29, 2024. It is a psychological and survival thriller series. It is based around Baekyeon Girls’ High School and its ruthless popularity ranking system, called the “pyramid game.” This brutal system holds immense power as it can determine how the students will be treated in the school. This ranking system also leads to extreme school violence.

The story of Pyramid Game will unfold when a new student named Seong Su-Ji transfers to Baekyeon Girls’ High School. She is a student in 2nd Grade Class 5 in the school. She has adequate social skills. In terms of personality, Seong Su-Ji is also quite straightforward. But after she arrives at Baekyeon Girls’ High School, she gets entangled in the merciless “pyramid game.”

It is a game that is held once per month in the school. It is a voting game based on popularity. According to its rules, the student who receives the lowest count of votes in the game gets an “F.” Thereafter, that student becomes the main target of brutal school violence. Seong Su-Ji receives zero votes upon her arrival and soon becomes the new target of the bullies. She goes on to become the next victim of school violence. However, she does not simply accept the violence and leads a rebellion against this heinous system in the school.

WJSN member Kim Ji-Yeon, aka Bona, portrays the lead role of  Seong Su-Ji  in Pyramid Game. Apart from her, the main cast list for the K-drama also includes Jang Da-Ah as Baek Ha-Rin, Shin Seul-Ki as Seo Do-Ah, Ryu Da-In as Myeong Ja-Eun and Kang Na-Eon as Im Ye-Rim.

The supporting cast of the series includes Ha Yul-Ri as Bang Woo-I, Lee Joo-Yeon as Shim Eun-Jung, Hwang Hyun-Jung as Kim Da-Yeon, Jeong Ha-Dam as Go Eun-Byeol, Oh Se-Eun as Song Jae-Hyung, Choi Yoon-Seo as Gu Seol-Ha and Kim Se-Hee as Pyo Ji-Ae, among several others.

Don’t forget to watch Pyramid Game, which will first debut on  TVING  on Thursday, February 29, 2024.

Nikita Nath

Nikita is a K-Drama News Writer. She loves to explore different genres of Korean dramas, from evergreen classics like Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, Reply 1988, Coffee Prince to the freshly launched thrillers and rom-coms like The Uncanny Counter, Flower of Evil, True Beauty, Twenty Five Twenty One and many more.

She is also a K-Pop enthusiast and all things BTS!

Share article

Watch Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) by streaming via HBO Max

Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max

imprint films may 2024

Imprint Films May 2024 Lineup of Classic Horror Movie Blu-rays Revealed

The Boys in the Band Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Netflix

The Boys in the Band Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Netflix

Marvel and dc.

Superman: Legacy Filming Date

Superman: Legacy Filming Start Date Set for DCU Movie

movie review coming home in the dark

Will There Be a Mark Ruffalo’s Solo Hulk Movie Release Date & Is It Coming Out?

Superman: Legacy Photo

James Gunn Posts Superman: Legacy BTS Photo to Celebrate Table Read

The Impossible Heir

Lee Jae-Wook’s The Impossible Heir: Everything to know about the Disney Plus K-Drama

movie review coming home in the dark

New K-Drama Episode Releases This Week (Feb 26-March 3, 2024): Wedding Impossible, The Impossible Heir, Wonderful World, Captivating the King & More

movie review coming home in the dark

Queen of Tears New Posters Reveal Difference Between Kim Soo-Hyun & Kim Ji-Won’s Families

The Crown Prince Has Disappeared Release Date Postponed

MBN K-Drama The Crown Prince Has Disappeared Episode 1 Gets New Release Date

movie review coming home in the dark

IMAGES

  1. 'Coming Home in the Dark' Review

    movie review coming home in the dark

  2. 'Coming Home In The Dark' Review

    movie review coming home in the dark

  3. Prime Video: Coming Home in the Dark

    movie review coming home in the dark

  4. Movie Review: “Coming Home In The Dark” Features Long Waits And Brutal

    movie review coming home in the dark

  5. Movie Review: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

    movie review coming home in the dark

  6. Coming Home in the Dark

    movie review coming home in the dark

VIDEO

  1. Stratovarius

  2. Análise: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

COMMENTS

  1. Coming Home in the Dark movie review (2021)

    Powered by JustWatch "Coming Home in the Dark" initially feels like another entry in that subcategory of horror films where soft pampered city folk go out into the country to be terrorized by locals.

  2. Coming Home in the Dark

    Tomatometer 65 Reviews 45% Audience Score 100+ Ratings What to know Critics Consensus Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, Coming Home in the Dark finds first-time director James Ashcroft...

  3. 'Coming Home in the Dark' Review: No Picnic

    'Coming Home in the Dark' Review: No Picnic A family outing attracts mysterious, menacing uninvited guests in this grinding New Zealand thriller. Miriama McDowell in "Coming Home in the Dark."...

  4. 'Coming Home in the Dark' review: Edgy New Zealand thriller

    Review: New Zealand thriller 'Coming Home in the Dark' opens old wounds Daniel Gillies, left, and Matthias Luafutu in the movie "Coming Home in the Dark." (Stan Alley / Dark Sky...

  5. Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

    5.7 /10 7.5K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 2:11 1 Video 19 Photos Crime Horror Thriller A schoolteacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters take his family and him on a nightmare road trip. Director James Ashcroft Writers Eli Kent James Ashcroft Owen Marshall Stars Daniel Gillies Erik Thomson

  6. Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

    5/10 Pointless Draysan-Jennings 25 September 2021 Warning: Spoilers 132 out of 198 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Permalink So these guys are out for revenge because they were abused when they were kids. Instead of hunting down the people that actually hurt them.

  7. Coming Home in the Dark

    TOP CRITIC It's Gillies' performance that raises Coming Home in the Dark from fascinating to utterly chilling, complimenting Matt Henley's cold, angular cinematography and John Gibson's score....

  8. 'Coming Home in the Dark': Film Review

    By David Rooney February 9, 2021 8:00am From left: Daniel Gillies and Matthias Luafutu in 'Coming Home in the Dark' Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival The enormity of nature hits you like a...

  9. Coming Home in the Dark

    Directed By: James Ashcroft Written By: Eli Kent, Owen Marshall, James Ashcroft Coming Home in the Dark Metascore Generally Favorable 64 User Score Mixed or Average Based on 10 User Ratings 4.8 My Score Hover and click to give a rating Add My Review Where to Watch Netflix (Subscription required) All Watch Options Top Cast View All Daniel Gillies

  10. 'Coming Home in the Dark' Review: A Confident New Zealand ...

    'Coming Home in the Dark' Review: A Confident Kiwi Horror Debut Mixes Extremity and Ambiguity Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (online), London, Jan. 31, 2021. Running time: 93 MIN.

  11. Coming Home in the Dark

    Daniel Gillies as Mandrake Erik Thomson as Hoaggie Miriama McDowell as Jill Matthias Luafutu as Tubs Release Coming Home in the Dark premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 in the Midnight section. [5]

  12. Coming Home in the Dark Movie Review

    Parents need to know that Coming Home in the Dark is a 2021 horror-thriller in which a family outing to the countryside takes a horrific turn as the father is forced to reckon with his past. There's violence throughout -- much of it graphic and disturbing. Two kids are shot and killed at point-blank range… Videos and Photos

  13. Coming Home in the Dark (2021)

    Directed by James Ashcroft. Starring Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomsen, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Billy Paratene, and Frankie Paratene. SYNOPSIS: A school teacher is forced to confront a...

  14. Coming Home in the Dark (Movie Review)

    Andy's rating: ★ ★ ★ Director: James Ashcroft | Release Date: 2021. By Andy on January 31st, 2021. Based on a short story by acclaimed New Zealand author Owen Marshall, Coming Home in the Dark is a brutal road movie in a long tradition of pressure cooker narratives of families in peril. Jill and Hoagie (Miriama McDowell and Erik Thomson ...

  15. Coming Home in the Dark (2021) Review

    Early in the film, Coming Home in the Dark delivers a kick to the balls that will shock just about anyone watching it. It's an audacious move that risks alienating some viewers. It's also a moment that the film struggles to match, making the rest of the film seem, despite the amount of tension that builds up, somewhat of an anticlimax ...

  16. The Ending Of Coming Home In The Dark Explained

    Based on a short story of the same name by Owen Marshall, the New Zealand psychological thriller, "Coming Home in the Dark," was directed by James Ashcroft, who co-wrote the film's screenplay...

  17. 'Coming Home in the Dark' Movie Review: Lean and Endlessly

    Two seeming drifters abduct and terrorize a couple, but only after perpetrating heinous atrocities against the family. The tension between these - as they become - fighting spouses is always evident. Hoaggie is Pkeh, and Jill is Mori. Likewise, Mandrake and Tubs, their tormentors. The leader, Mandrake, is Caucasian, while Tubs is Pasifika/Mori.

  18. 'Coming Home in the Dark' is a perfect midnight feature

    Coming Home in the Dark is like the best of home invasion thrillers — slow-burning, shocking, and continually shifting circumstances — except it's not set in a home. The movie takes us off a hiking trail and on the road across the New Zealand landscape. If there is a perfect film to screen in the Midnight section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it is this one.

  19. Coming Home in the Dark

    Laura's Review: B. Cowriter (with Eli Kent, Owen Marshall)/director James Ashcroft makes his feature debut with a chilling, brutal tale of the root causes of sociopathy. Meticulously crafted, with cinematographer Matt Henley coupling pointed use of the unique landscape with character portraits drawn in dusk, the film leans more on psychology ...

  20. Coming Home in the Dark

    Coming Home in the Dark - Movie Review - The Austin Chronicle Home Events Movies Coming Home in the Dark 2021, NR, 93 min. Directed by James Ashcroft. Starring Erik Thomson, Miriama...

  21. Coming Home in the Dark review[spoilers] : r/horror

    Movie Review Coming Home in the Dark is the latest movie from director James Ashcroft. It is shot mainly around the Welllington region which oddly enough is also where I saw the movie. The movie revolves around a family taking a hike and picnic, when it is interrupted by 2 sinister men. It is adapted from a short story by Owen Marshall.

  22. Movie Review: COMING HOME IN THE DARK

    Coming Home in the Dark doesn't beat around the bush, and the action takes flight before the 10-minute mark. Horrifying twists await at every turn with a solid story from the get-go. While the writing maintains momentum for most of the film, the true shining light is its star players. Admittedly, I've only seen Gillies as the stoic and ...

  23. Movie Review

    Coming Home in the Dark, 2021. Directed by James Ashcroft. Starring Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomsen, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Billy Paratene, and Frankie Paratene. Synopsis: A school teacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters takes him and his family on a nightmare road-trip.

  24. What 'Orion and the Dark' Gets Right That 'Inside Out' Doesn't

    Released in 2015, Pixar's Inside Out follows the story of Riley, an 11-year-old girl forced to relocate from her home in Minnesota to adapt to a new life in San Francisco. However, Riley takes a ...

  25. Bob Marley: One Love Passes Major Box Office Milestone

    Bob Marley: One Love passed a massive milestone at the box office as the biopic rises higher and higher. The Paramount movie passed $100 million at the global box office after about 10 days. That ...

  26. Steven Spielberg Is Right About The Zone Of Interest (Though A 2015

    Among its many praises, Schindler's List is one of the greatest films of all time because it is one of the most poignant examples of a filmmaker putting a spotlight on one of history's greatest tragedies.However, 2015's Son of Saul is a close contender for the best Holocaust movie because it makes its protagonist, Saul, feel relatable by focusing purely on his experience trying to survive the ...

  27. 'The Bad Batch' Season 3 Review

    Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3, the final season of the animated series, takes a turn to the Dark Side, for the betterment of the story it tells.

  28. New K-Drama Pyramid Game: Everything You Need To Know

    WJSN member Kim Ji-Yeon, aka Bona, portrays the lead role of Seong Su-Ji in Pyramid Game. Apart from her, the main cast list for the K-drama also includes Jang Da-Ah as Baek Ha-Rin, Shin Seul-Ki ...

  29. John Wick Movies Leaving Netflix for New Streaming Home

    Coming Soon to Peacock. 9 to 5 About Last Night (2014) Alien Along Came a Nanny American Ultra Aquaman Arrival At Home in Mitford Atonement Back to The Future Back to The Future II

  30. Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths

    Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Two features returning popular voice cast members: Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys, The Winchesters) as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Emmy winner ...