She Came at Night

Like The Owners, She Came at Night relies on a fairly mundane theme, but one that the makers take their own way and serve up an unusual humorous piece that gives you chills, all the more so because it can relate to many of us. The film stands above all on the phenomenal, playfully theatrical performance of Simona Peková, who almost steals the whole thing for herself, and surely many a viewer recognised in her the mother of her dearly beloved half – although it is true that the film is a lethal cocktail of the most toxic qualities cumulated in one person. I was a little puzzled by why I think it’s an unfinished ending. I must not forget to praise the distinctive score. (11/26/2023)

Hell is other people. And that’s all the more true in the case of your own family, because you can never escape from it, which is also due to the fact that you carry your family inside yourself forever. Jan Vejnar and Tomáš Pavlíček have made a brilliant home-invasion horror movie in which the terrifying (and suffocating) substance of familial relationships takes the place of the usual genre elements. The reactions in the cinema, filled with heavy, painful sighs, sheer terror and desperate laughter of those longing in vain for relief, provide confirmation of how the filmmakers brilliantly captured the details of psychological terror not only of the maternal variety, but also of the general variety extending one way across the chasm between the generations. Their film’s power lies in the devastatingly accurate casting, which fills out the screenplay based on internally observed and analysed feelings and their triggers, which are embedded in the screenplay with frightening precision and devastating authenticity, whether that involves lobotomising solicitude, crushing egocentricity or merely the exhausting, overly clever wisdom of the elderly. She Came at Night also excels in how it manages to acutely thematise the core of its genre, i.e. the home itself, from the perspective of its importance for the central characters, as well as with respect to how its violation impacts the characters. Of all the elements that the filmmaking duo put into their work, the most terrifying is the fact that they don’t demonise the central monster, but rather point out that each of us has the potential to become such a monster. The fact that the monster is not capable of self-reflection and, because of that, sees herself as a misunderstood victim gives She Came at Night an additional chillingly meaningful level that goes beyond the boundaries of the microcosm of one family, revealing an unsettling general truth about the core of numerous problems in society. (10/31/2023)

You know the feeling when you watch a film that’s really well set up, with good momentum, but the final resolution isn’t worth a damn? Yeah, that’s exactly how I felt after watching She Came at Night. The first half offered a gripping dialogue-driven experience that had your blood boiling. All supported by a brilliant performance from Simona Peková, who delivered it with real skill. But the ending. Ugh. Such potential wasted. What a shame. I give it a 5/10. (03/05/2024)

She Came at Night is a black comedy that transposes family and relationship experiences into an almost horror film based on the simple anecdotal premise of your mother-in-law coming for a visit, and the joke and the surprise work perfectly. Most likely the most interesting and entertaining Czech film of the year. [KVIFF 2023] (08/30/2023)

Someone from the creators must have experienced this because it can't be invented. I say this as someone who has had a similar experience as the pair of protagonists. It's a perfect synthesis of meticulous screenwriting, confident direction, and precise casting. The trailers and media coverage during the premiere (and after the Czech Lion awards) actually hint at a horror parody, but when Valérie appears on the scene, I felt physically ill after ten minutes because Jan Vejnar and Tomáš Pavlíček embarked on a character study that is chillingly accurate. It's a pity about the dragged-out ending and the finale that fizzled out. (06/13/2024)