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Parents' Guide to

Gone in the Night

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Some gory violence in solid thriller about getting older.

Movie R 2022 90 minutes
Gone in the Night Movie: Poster

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

In GONE IN THE NIGHT, Kath (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend, Max (John Gallagher Jr.), head to a remote Northern California cabin for a getaway. Unfortunately, when they arrive, they find the cabin already occupied, apparently double-booked. Al (Owen Teague) tries to give them the brush-off, but Greta (Brianne Tju) invites them to stay. The four characters share some beers and play a game -- but in the morning, it looks as if Max and Greta have run away together. Kath can't quite make sense of it, so she calls the cabin's owner, Nicholas (Dermot Mulroney), to look for clues about where they might have gone. She and Nicholas start spending time together, and Kath learns that he was once a successful businessman before retreating to the woods. But there are still unanswered questions -- and a darker mystery lurking.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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This deceptive thriller uses small, subtle touches and cleverly placed flashbacks to create and sustain a tense, dread-filled mood. This helps it effectively overcome the story's few small logic loopholes. The directorial debut of Eli Horowitz -- co-creator of the Julia Roberts series Homecoming -- Gone in the Night has a veneer of confidence as it unfolds. The opening sequence with Kath and Max simply driving through the woods, arguing over a playlist, and Max stopping to retrieve a lost hat, manages to create a sense of unease through seemingly innocuous events.

Horowitz drops small details -- such as a pair of green raincoats, a restaurant that only serves octopus, avocado plants, and a collector's punk rock T-shirt -- to jiggle the movie's balance, drawing viewers' attention to other places. At the center, thanks to committed performances by Ryder, Mulroney, and Tju, Gone in the Night grapples tantalizingly with questions about aging and experience and the ways those issues relate to couplehood. Max wants to go to raucous parties while Kath says "the world is so loud ... I can't hardly hear myself anymore." Most of this stuff works so well that the iffy plot setup and some of its logical fallout are easily forgiven.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Gone in the Night's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • How is drinking depicted? Why would characters plan to "get drunk" or "get s--tfaced"? Is alcohol glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

  • Would you reverse your age if you could? Why do people tend to get less adventurous as they get older?

  • How is sex depicted in the movie? What values are imparted? How are romantic relationships defined in the movie?

  • How does the movie view wealth, money, and material goods? Are the characters that value these things sympathetic? Unsympathetic?

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