Beyond the Night is a dark slow-burning supernatural thriller set in a small coal-mining town in rural Pennsylvania. It’s the perfect setting for the movie’s mystery to be set against. The gray, frozen landscape adds to the tense atmosphere as does the fact that seemingly everyone and their grandma owns a gun — this is an important note.
A lot of the movie reminded me of Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special — down to the 80s-soaked synth score and the story of a father doing everything in his power to protect his son who is displaying supernatural abilities.
However, the movie is more grounded than it sounds. Ray (Zane Holtz — quite good here) is an army man who returns to Philadelphia after his wife is killed in a car accident leaving him to take care of their son Lawrence (Azhy Robertson) — who is marked with a port-wine stain over the left side of his face.
Ray isn’t equipped to take care of Lawrence. Granted, Lawrence has his behavioral quirks to go along with his birthmark — he often si…