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Coming Home in the Dark

 Coming Home in the Dark
type
TVTItem
 Coming Home in the Dark
label
Coming Home in the Dark
 Coming Home in the Dark
page
ComingHomeInTheDark
 Coming Home in the Dark
comment
Coming Home in the Dark is a New Zealand Horror Thriller movie by James Ashcroft, based on the short story by the same name.Alan "Hoaggie" Hoaganraad (Erik Thompson) is a school teacher who's decided to take his family, consisting of his wife Jill (Miriama McDowell), and her sons Jordan (Frankie Paratene) and Maika (Billy Paratene), on a road trip and hike through the wilderness.While they're camping, the family is approached by two robbers, Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) and Tubs (Matthias Luafutu). After learning Alan's surname, the nature of their crime takes a sharp turn: Mandrake pulls a rifle out on them, shoots the kids, and the two take Hoaggie and Jill on a trip through the countryside that could be their end.The film was released on January 30th, 2021.
 Coming Home in the Dark
fetched
2024-01-19T05:00:50Z
 Coming Home in the Dark
parsed
2024-01-19T05:00:50Z
 Coming Home in the Dark
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1da5941e
type
The Quiet One
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1da5941e
comment
The Quiet One: Tubs is a man of few words, in contrast to Mandrake's chatty charisma.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1da5941e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1da5941e
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_1da5941e
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1dad7003
type
In the Hood
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1dad7003
comment
In the Hood: Tubs is wearing a filthy hoodie when he first appears with Mandrake, and he's a violent drifter.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1dad7003
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_1dad7003
featureConfidence
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_1dad7003
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_22cf536c
type
Chekhov's Gun
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Subverted. One of the boys' phones is taken away and put in the glove compartment, which seems to foreshadow its use after the criminals destroy the family's guns. However, they never manage to actually use it before Mandrake breaks it.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_22cf536c
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-0.3
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_22cf536c
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_22cf536c
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_2bfb1856
type
Beard of Evil
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_2bfb1856
comment
Beard of Evil: Mandrake has a scraggly beard, and is a psycho with no qualms about murdering people, regardless of their age.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_2bfb1856
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_2bfb1856
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_2bfb1856
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_3d90a738
type
Hero with a Unique Name
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_3d90a738
comment
Hero with a Unique Name: Played for Drama with Hoaggie, whose distinct surname in New Zealand is so memorable that Mandrake remembers it decades later.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_3d90a738
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_3d90a738
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_3d90a738
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: Mandrake's big Establishing Character Moment is casually killing both of Jill's young teenage sons with zero remorse. He also kills a number of teenagers Alan attempts to flag down for help.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_479d4e5a
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_479d4e5a
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_479d4e5a
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Almost every character introduced dies or has their fate left ambiguous. At least Tubs has found some peace and Mandrake is finally dead, but it's very, very little consolation.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_4e3d253b
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_4e3d253b
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_4e3d253b
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_648fe274
type
But for Me, It Was Tuesday
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_648fe274
comment
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Alan has few hang-ups from his time teaching at an abusive school, while the trauma following Mandrake and Tubs through their whole lives. Mandrake even points out at the end that if he personally wasn't the victim of the story of abuse that Alan retells (which affects him deeply), it would have just been some other boy.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_648fe274
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 Coming Home in the Dark / int_648fe274
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_648fe274
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_6b2b3b59
type
The Reveal
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_6b2b3b59
comment
The Reveal: Hoaggie briefly taught at an abusive correctional school. Though he insists that he didn't personally have a hand in the abuse, Mandrake and Tubs see it very differently.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_6b2b3b59
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_6b2b3b59
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_6b2b3b59
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_7870735b
type
From Bad to Worse
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_7870735b
comment
From Bad to Worse: The family encounters a pair of violent criminals while hiking, and given the early implication that they murder their victims, the fact that they're forced to lie down huddled together is a dangerous warning that they're about to be killed... only for Mandrake to spare them after hearing Alan's nickname. Only so that he can kill the boys and kidnap the surviving couple for a nightmarish road trip that makes the initial threat seem downright pleasant in retrospect.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_7870735b
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_7870735b
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_7870735b
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_80b5924
type
Left Hanging
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_80b5924
comment
Left Hanging: Jill's fate isn't revealed. She's shown floating in the river at the end of the film, but with the angle, it's impossible to tell if she's alive or not. When Mandrake kills the group of teenagers Alan encounters, one gets away, but is never shown again. It's never confirmed if Mandrake was the punished child from the story Alan is forced at gunpoint to recount. The visible tears in his eyes and his remarks during his final confrontation with Alan suggest that he was the child, while others take his statement literally and posit that he wasn't the same boy, but the trauma of witnessing it stayed with him well into adulthood.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_80b5924
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 Coming Home in the Dark / int_80b5924
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_80b5924
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_8fed141a
type
Bloody Handprint
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_8fed141a
comment
Bloody Handprint: Mandrake leaves one on the gas station door still after strangling the attendant into unconsciousness.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_8fed141a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_8fed141a
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_8fed141a
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95b7c400
type
Faux Affably Evil
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95b7c400
comment
Faux Affably Evil: Mandrake casually strikes up a cheery conversation with Jill and Alan as if he hadn't murdered their sons just hours beforehand, but it's clear that he absolutely loathes Hoaggie and is fully intending to murder him for revenge.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95b7c400
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95b7c400
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_95b7c400
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95c2a9dd
type
Outliving One's Offspring
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95c2a9dd
comment
Outliving One's Offspring: Hoaggie and Jill watch Jill's kids get shot before their eyes.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95c2a9dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_95c2a9dd
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1.0
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_95c2a9dd
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_963e36bd
type
Boarding School of Horrors
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_963e36bd
comment
Boarding School of Horrors: Alan is revealed to have been briefly employed at an extremely abusive school that became notorious for its extreme punishments and discipline against its student, who have more often than not turned out like Mandrake and Tubs.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_963e36bd
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_963e36bd
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_963e36bd
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_9acf0b42
type
Door Fu
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_9acf0b42
comment
Door Fu: At one point, Hoaggie kicks the backseat door open into Tubs' face when he goes to open it, and uses it as an opportunity to escape.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_9acf0b42
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_9acf0b42
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_9acf0b42
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_a8660c25
type
Soft-Spoken Sadist
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_a8660c25
comment
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Mandrake. He probably shouts once or twice, but for the most part, he never raises his voice above casual conversation, even as he commits multiple murders.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_a8660c25
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_a8660c25
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_a8660c25
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_adfd3165
type
For the Evulz
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_adfd3165
comment
For the Evulz: Mandrake brutally murders a gas station attendant whose attention Hoaggie fails to grab for seemingly no other reason than just to traumatize him.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_adfd3165
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_adfd3165
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_adfd3165
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_b4a6ae4c
type
Everyone Has Standards
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_b4a6ae4c
comment
Everyone Has Standards: Tubs has no qualms about most of the murders, but is upset when Mandrake kills the teenagers after promising to let them go.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_b4a6ae4c
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_b4a6ae4c
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_b4a6ae4c
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3585f4a
type
Boom, Headshot!
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3585f4a
comment
Boom, Headshot!: How Tubs kills Mandrake with his own gun.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3585f4a
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3585f4a
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 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3585f4a
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: Alan manages to flee the men and attempts to get help from a group of teenagers, only for Mandrake to catch up to him and kill the latter for their trouble.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3c18143
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3c18143
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_c3c18143
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: When Mandrake asks for the names of Jordan and Maika, he first guesses "Thompson and Thomson?".
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c75df49a
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_c75df49a
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c9868780
type
Playing Possum
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c9868780
comment
Playing Possum: In the abandoned school, when Mandrake thinks he killed Hoaggie, we see Hoaggie's hand clutching a rock, indicating that he's doing this.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c9868780
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_c9868780
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 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_c9868780
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d162969e
type
Rescue Equipment Attack
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d162969e
comment
Rescue Equipment Attack: Mandrake chokes a gas station attendant to unconsciousness. He then enters the gas station, comes out with a fire extinguisher, and repeatedly bashes the attendant's head with it until he crushes it.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d162969e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d162969e
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1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_d162969e
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d9cf40fa
type
Screw This, I'm Outta Here
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d9cf40fa
comment
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jill is so disgusted by Alan after the latter's confession about his role in an abusive school that when her life is threatened yet again, instead of fighting to stay alive with him, she chooses to jump off a bridge and into a river.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d9cf40fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_d9cf40fa
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 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_d9cf40fa
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f10cc97f
type
Bludgeoned to Death
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f10cc97f
comment
Bludgeoned to Death: Mandrake does this to the gas station attendant with a fire extinguisher.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f10cc97f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f10cc97f
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 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_f10cc97f
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f3626b09
type
Mercy Kill
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f3626b09
comment
Mercy Kill: Implied with Tubs to Mandrake, who by that point was hardly functional anyway.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f3626b09
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f3626b09
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 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_f3626b09
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f88f2449
type
Downer Beginning
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f88f2449
comment
Downer Beginning: The very first scene is a shot of an abandoned car with what's implied to be a corpse inside, evidently an early victim of Mandrake and Tubs. We get only a bit of time with Alan and Jill's family before they encounter the criminals, and the teenagers are suddenly killed.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f88f2449
featureApplicability
1.0
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_f88f2449
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 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Coming Home in the Dark / int_f88f2449
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_fb3576b2
type
The Dog Bites Back
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_fb3576b2
comment
The Dog Bites Back: After seeing how Tubs is aghast at the sight of Mandrake murdering the teenagers, he does his best to invoke this trope by pointing out that he's gone from one cage to another and is living under Mandrake's thumb. It doesn't totally take, but Tubs does end up killing Mandrake in the end — though even that is left ambiguous as to whether he was taking his revenge or just putting the incoherent and brain-damaged Mandrake out of his misery.
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_fb3576b2
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_fb3576b2
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_name
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ItemName
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Coming Home in the Dark / int_name
 Coming Home in the Dark / int_name
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Coming Home in the Dark

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Beard of Evil / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Bloody Handprint / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Bludgeoned to Death / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Boom, Headshot! / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Door Fu / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Films of the 2020s / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
In the Hood / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
New Zealand Media / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Playing Possum / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Rescue Equipment Attack / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Soft-Spoken Sadist / int_e61de588
 Coming Home in the Dark
hasFeature
Thriller / int_e61de588