Much like the pure coincidence that occurs within the movie, Coming Home in the Dark is randomly the second film I've watched for review this week that was made in New Zealand, after Loop Track. I hated the story here, and I hated the characters, but this was well made, so despite my misgivings I can't say this bleak thriller was without any merit to it.
Jill (Miriama McDowell) and Hoaggie (Erik Thomson - Xena: Warrior Princess TV show) and their two teenage boys have gone on a day out to enjoy a picnic in the remote New Zealand countryside. Unfortunately, they are spotted by two wandering vagrant psychopaths - tall and silent Tubs (Matthias Luafutu - Ghost in the Shell) and the talkative and sadistic Mandrake (Daniel Gillies - The Vampire Diaries TV show). The family are robbed at gunpoint and then to Jill and Hoaggie's horror their two teenage boys are mercilessly gunned down in front of them and the couple taken hostage. This begins a road trip of terror for the two, with it discovered by complete chance that Hoaggie has a link to the men's past at a troubled boys orphanage.
This was a heck of a bleak movie with nothing nice happening at all past around the ten minute stage. It's a statement of intent that the most innocent characters are killed first, and made for a shocking ending to the first act. Directed by James Ashcroft, this was based on a short story of the same name written by Owen Marshall, and if this was faithful to the source material then it isn't something I would want to read. My problem with the film was how miserable it was from start to finish. I really did think the story was unpleasant and unhappy, I don't know if story beats were designed to create at least some pity for the sadistic antagonists, but I hated them and wished them ill. The same goes for the protagonists, I thought Jill was perfectly fine, but Hoaggie was someone with demons from his past, so he was hard to like. It wasn't so much due to his links to a cruelly run boys home, more that he seemed a bit of a coward. Sure it is easy to be sat at home and declare you would have acted differently in that situation, but I found his meekness (for the most part) to be annoying. Mandrake was certainly the most awful of the characters here, Tubs taking more of a back seat role due to barely having any lines of dialogue and acting as almost a slave of Mandrake, doing everything that is asked of him in a way reminiscent of Of Mice and Men.
Annoyingly the film was well made, I might not have liked it but it was paced well and had some unexpected moments to it. There was a constant feel of threat and peril for the protagonists, and while there were scenes of action the special effects were sparse, with violent actions implied rather than typically shown on screen. At times it being an adaptation of a short story felt apparent, with the ninety minute run time feeling its length. More than once I found myself looking to see how much time was left, not something that happens with a movie I am completely engaged with.
The meat of the story is more of a drama, with the slow revelations of what took place back in the orphanage that Hoaggie used to work at. I just didn't care about that story though, I felt zero pity for the antagonists, and I couldn't care less that the man used to work there. I was more wishing the antagonists harm, hoping that they would get their just desserts.
I didn't enjoy watching this film, nor did I find the story to be something that appealed to me. I didn't like the characters but I did think some of the acting was good. As much as I hated him, I thought Gillies made for a great antagonist character, and the scenes of violence involving him always came across as dramatic and almost cool looking. As I said though, Coming Home in the Dark wasn't really for me, if you do decide to check it out then make sure you're mind is in a good place beforehand!
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