Indonesian action film “The Night Comes For Us” has lived a whirlwind life in the United States, appropriate for a movie that moves like a furious, raging cyclone having an epileptic fit. Making its debut at Fantastic Fest at the end of last month (September 22), four days later it was acquired by Netflix and five days ago (October 19, 2018) the action thriller was released on the streaming service worldwide with—as per usual with international affair—little fanfare, press, or promotion.
Still, “The Night Comes For Us” is such an undeniably epic piece of dazzling action cinema the film is proving to be something impossible to ignore, even if only discoverable in the alcoves of some dim Netflix corner.
Helmed by Indonesian writer/director Timo Tjahjanto, one half of The Mo Brothers with Kimo Stamboel— Sundance film “Killers” (2014) and “Headshot”(2016) —”The Night Comes For Us” is the prolific filmmaker’s second feature-length solo effort following his other 2018 movie, the horror “May the Devil Take You” which also premiered at Fantastic Fest (Tjahjanto also directed solo segments in horror omnibus films “The ABCs of Death” and “V/H/S/2”).
“The Night Comes For Us” follows Ito (Joe Taslim from “The Raid”), an elite “Six Seas” assassin who finds his humanity and chance at redemption in a young girl. Having been an instrument of death for his Triad bosses for years, Ito has a sudden change of heart and spares a little girl’s life during a massacre — breaking a verboten code. Instantly sealing his face with this sudden act of mercy, Ito makes it his mission to escape and protect the girl while trying to evade the onslaught of his murderous former gang which sets off a violent battle on the streets of Jakarta.
Ito then enlists the assistance of his old crew (Zack Lee, Abimana Aryasatya) to help fend off the various cutthroats recruited to kill him—including a pair of deadly lesbian executioners—and save the young girl. But when the deadly Arian (Iko Uwais, star of ‘The Raid’ films), an old best friend, is conscripted to kill him, all bets are off (Julie Estelle as the mysterious operative has a fantastic presence too; all these actors are going to rule mainstream American action films before you know it).
Mayhem ensues, and oh, what glorious pandemonium it is. As a piece of action cinema, a technical, “how the fuck did they do that?” marvel, “The Night Comes For Us” is a dizzying masterpiece that will delight and leave action connoisseurs awestruck, not to mention impress the fuck out of editors, cameramen, and all kinds of onset craftsmen. However, as a story and drama, it’s a frustrating disappointment and missed opportunity given how much texture the movie gives itself to make for something even semi-meaningful (and perhaps separate itself from the similar pack of action films that are visually astonishing but have nothing to say).
A simple, but effective story—about redemptive salvations, second chances, the undying bonds of brotherhood— “The Night Comes For Us” sets up its emotional stakes early, but gets so caught up in its action havoc, one wonders if Tjahjanto ever actually cared for the little girl or Ito’s soul, the real meat of the movie, in the first place. The weary mercenary and the little girl never bond in any substantive, emotional way—this makes this action sequences all the more riveting, people!—and ultimately, after two hours of non-stop balletic fighting, the one thing that can transform “The Night Comes For Us” into more than just an action spectacle feels just like obligatory window dressing.
More importantly, ‘Night Comes’ never really tries to explain where Ito’s sudden humanity came from other than being triggered by the little girl (though we’re told he’s lorded over many, many butcheries before). You sort of glean, he’s just exhausted from all the killing, but you never really feel it and the thread goes nowhere and that’s a real shame.
But much like “The Raid,” the basic story is essentially just an excuse and skeleton to hang up, while the true fun—martial arts Pencak Silat madness—goes buck wild. Again, the action chaos is gold and a thrilling experience, at least for the first hour plus, but like “The Raid 2: Berandal,” the relentlessness of it exhausts and wears thin in the second half. Even one or two scenes that could make you care a little bit more about the characters and their goals would do wonders, but Tjahjanto ultimately appears more interested in creative and imaginative ways to gouge eyeballs, slash throats, and spray blood.
Look, the gore can be fun, but it all gets overcooked— the third act becomes off-puttingly overwrought, hollow and gruesome. The climactic final battle between Ito and Arian—what should be an emotional crescendo between divided brothers—just becomes ridiculous and aggressively unpleasant.
Originally touted as a reunion for “The Raid” team, back in 2014 via RADiUS-TWC, as “The Raid 2” was about to premiere at Sundance, most of its key members indeed return —XYZ Films, all its producers like Screen Anarchy’s Todd Brown, Uwais, Taslim, Estelle—but director Gareth Evans, initially set to be one of the film’s producers, is noticeably absent. Still, ‘Night Comes’ is very much in this same spirit.
Interestingly enough, “The Night Comes For Us” was shut down, re-envisioned as a graphic novel, and then finally brought back as a feature film thought the public details are scarce (Tjahjanto says he has a trilogy in mind and urges you to watch the film legally, FYI).
If you believe Gareth Evans is an action god (sorry about “Apostle” though), it is your sworn action-cinephile duty to follow Tjahjanto. He’s a massive, major talent, but a better script, some restraint, and the judgment to know when to say when may eventually make him an international household name. [C+]