Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie Review

Worst family outing ever.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 8, 2021

James Ashcroft's Coming Home in the Dark adapts a terrifying 1995 short story by Owen Marshall in which a nuclear New Zealand family is all but destroyed by two psychotic drifters. Although it spans less than 24 hours, the film's brutal bursts of violence and suspenseful rhythm draw out an already-intense atmosphere to excruciating emotional lengths. It's beautifully shot and mostly well-acted, but also annoyingly manipulative and the unfortunate victim of bad timing: something like this might have fit snugly in the cinematic landscape of 15 or 20 years ago alongside The Strangers and Funny Games, but who really wants to watch hapless people get torn apart by terrorists these days?

Coming Home in the Dark opens with a visually stunning sequence that introduces Alan AKA "Hoaggie" (Erik Thomson), his wife Jill (Miriama McDowell), and teenage stepsons Jordan and Maika (Frankie Paratene and Billy Paratene) on a remote mountain retreat. Their lunch is interrupted by Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) and Tubs (Matthias Luafutu), who just wander into the picnic site Zodiac-style to demand cash and valuables. Their body language, weapons, and unsettling choice of words tell us this won't be a simple robbery and, soon enough, both sons are murdered in cold blood. Jill is knocked unconscious in the struggle (remember: in movie land, pistol-whipping just puts the victim to sleep for a few hours) and Hoaggie gets his arm broken. After Tubs is ordered to dispose of the two teenage bodies, he and Mandrake throw both parents into their own SUV for a nice little joyride through the New Zealand countryside.

As the story unfolds, though, we learn that this probably wasn't a random attack. Hoaggie and Jill are both teachers, but several decades ago the former was briefly employed at a youth institution known for the barbaric treatment of mentally unfit and neglected children... ones who, back then, would have been about the same age as Mandrake and Tubs. Hoaggie repeatedly denies any direct participation in their "treatment", but the film's refusal to confirm or deny these events subverts viewer expectations even though, unlike the original story, a certain level of revenge is achieved before the credits roll. But as with all tragic tales of loss, by random chance or otherwise, "an eye for an eye" won't put things back together again. This gives Coming Home in the Dark an undeniable air of cynicism but, then again, the film's first 20 minutes send it down a dark path that we know won't be easy to stomach. It's partially smoothed over by the stunningly beautiful opening visuals, strong performances by its key cast members, and the intrigue that gradually arises long after an initial act that will likely have sensitive viewers reaching for the "stop" button.

No matter your tolerance for the subject matter, Coming Home in the Dark has more than a few nagging holes in its story and long before that, the sudden emotional manipulation of its setup feels like a cheap way to achieve base-level investment in the fate of its "hero". The ending also kind of sputters from a narrative perspective: even though an actual conclusion is reached, it doesn't quite measure up to those intense moments that precede it. But this one's still definitely a worth once-over for interested viewers, as it's very compelling at times and the craftsmanship is obviously there. Coming Home in the Dark is a little too expensive for an impulse buy at its current price point, but MPI's Blu-ray presentation at least offers a decent amount of support including solid A/V specs and few brief extras.

Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Coming Home in the Dark largely impresses on Blu-ray thanks to the native strengths of its source material, which leads off beautifully with the mountain-lined landscapes of New Zealand that establish a stunning visual tone. Fine detail and textures on the wide shots is extremely good, as are other moments that alternate between magic-hour beauty and vaguely threatening abstraction. Colors are likewise impressive with even, punchy saturation that doesn't fall victim to bleeding or or unplanned softness; in short, most everything looks as it should and, as a whole, it's a clean and crisp presentation within format boundaries. As expected from the title, much of this film takes place under very low light and, for the most part, are perfectly readable thanks to good lighting schemes. Coming Home in the Dark's only nagging drawbacks are typical for Blu-ray, such as banding on subtle gradients and compression artifacts during fast moving sequences and on a few darker shadows. The latter proved to be slightly more regular than what I might expect from a Blu-ray with less than two hours of total content (this is a single-layered disc, despite it being mislabeled as a "BD50" on the back cover), but there's very little to complain about overall.

Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The default English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is slightly more impressive, taking charge during suspenseful moments and offering a suitably wide-open soundstage or a tightly claustrophobic one, depending on the situation. Dialogue is clean and crisp throughout, although some of the native accents -- especially that of Daniel Gillies -- will benefit from this Blu-ray's optional English (SDH) subtitles. Gunshots pack a hefty punch, while some of the more emotionally intense moments feature stylistic touches than deepen emotional resonance through discrete rear echoes and an overall enveloping presence that soon snaps back to reality. The eerie, atonal original score by minimalist composer John Gibson also manages to add a more subtle layer of intensity to the overall experience.

Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with striking cover art and no inserts. Extras are minimal.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (12:54) - Director James Ashcroft, writer Eli Kent, producers Mike Minogue and Desray Armstrong, the four key actors (Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, and Matthias Luafutu), and other participants briefly discuss the film's inception and development, expanding on the original short story, an earlier unfilmed adaptation of Owen Marshall's work, and the casting process.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:07) - This suitably intense promotional piece can also be seen here.

Coming Home in the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

James Ashcroft's Coming Home in the Dark is a consistently tense and frequently brutal psychological thriller with fine cinematography, solid performances, and an admitted layer of intrigue to back up its horrifically memorable opening. It's also very manipulative during several key moments and, in most respects, the ending is more of a disappointment than a worthy resolution. But there's some great craftsmanship on display here, and certainly enough to warrant a run-through for viewers with a high tolerance for chaos. MPI's Blu-ray offers a solid A/V presentation but the extras are minimal; combined with the film's narrow lasting appeal, this one's more of a "try before you buy" disc.