I Came By

This is an honest-to-goodness thriller that keeps you on tenterhooks.

The script is tight, and while it careens to a somewhat expected ending , the way the story is woven engages the viewer. I thought, for a while, that Hector could go on doing his ghastly acts with impunity because he seems so cool and smart that authorities cannot lay a finger on him. That's how effective the plot is to me.

It's a remarkable cast of relatively newbees headlined by Hugh Bonneville and Kelly MacDonald. I like, in particular, how Hugh Bonneville is able to conceal his fiendishness behind a cloak of aristocratic air and respectability; Kelly MacDonald's Lizzy awakens the maternal instinct in the female viewer. She portrays her effectively as the harried, worried and ordinary mom who just wants her stubborn son to succeed; George MacKay as Toby, the son who's clueless as to what he really wants in life but has a natural affinity with those who are maltreated or abused; and finally Percelle Ascott as Jay, Toby's best buddy, a young father who's torn between his love for his young family and close ties with Lizzy and Toby.

All these characters come together to produce a coherent, socially relevant and no-nonsense film.

Watch to enjoy it.

Had not heard of this movie, until my girlfriend found it on Netflix tonight. Really enjoyed this movie without knowing much about it!

It's a thriller which has a completely fresh storyline, which I don't think we've seen yet. The movie starts off following two working class graffiti artists, who break into rich peoples homes to vandalise them, to make a social statement. But one of them, breaks into a home, where the owner could possibly be a psycho.

As a thriller I think this movie has a lot of golden nuggets - unpredictable storyline, jump scares, good build up of tension and a decent level of interest in characters.

Some people might not like the ending, but personally, I think it's nice to watch a movie, where not everyone has a happy ending.

Overall, I think this is an excellent thriller, if you're not asking for too much. It does check a lot of boxes and I think 7/10 is worth the rating for the fresh storyline.

(I say fresh story, as a lot of thriller plots these days are usually along the lines of a demented ex, or demented husband, or a serial killer/police cat and mouse movie) and it's just nice to see something different!

The start of the film was slow and although George Mackay did his best, he's a good actor, his character lacks depth and so isn't hugely likeable. Hugh Bonneville makes an excellent villain as to be expected. When the film gets going the 'jumps' work well and suspenseful moments are just that. I for one enjoyed the ending, it doesn't need explanation, just a little imagination. The script was not the best. When the police woman asks Percelle Ascott's character when he last saw Toby he says 'months ago' - what does that mean? 2months? 11?? The police never ask him to be more specific..really bugged me! Some of the direction is lazy or the director thinks we are stupid (there was no need to fixate on the road name sign when we already know what the house looks like and where we are). Weirdly though time moves very quickly in this film, yet there are no landmarks, ie a Christmas or maybe Toby's birthday. When you assume it's the next day it's actually 2 months later, which is weird. Overall once it gets going it's an enjoyable watch.

I started watching this in the background. The two graffiti kids are not much to look at and you don't have a reason to care about them... until you do. This thriller was unexpected and while the ending could have been better, it was just right. I hear what other reviewers are saying about cliche themes, but I didn't feel like this tile was pandering to that. Bonneville's performance as the ex-judge living a double life was spot on. The police were once again disappointing but not for lack of trying, the bad guy does bad things well, the entire supporting cast did their job to perfection! Give it a shot.

Netflix has produced a better sort of film with I Came By. The strength of this film lies in its performances. Hugh Bonneville is terrifying and dangerous in this film. He easily transforms from the prim and proper characters he has played so well to a scary figure. The direction is not too bad. The scary music in key scenes and close ups and various camera angles sets a terrifying setting. We get this impression from the start of the film. I liked how the film was somewhat realistic as well. It would have been unrealistic and fan service to show all the main characters were alive in the end. If a person was in a situation with such a careful, paranoid and dangerous person, do you think they would be kept around? The film does not make that mistake and we see the main characters disappear because they were not prepared enough. I feel the storyline could have been stronger. Maybe there could have been a deeper motive for the retired Judge's behaviour? Why did they not explain his sociopathic tendencies for trapping and/or killing people? I feel they could have explained who the man he trapped was and why he was kept alive? These are just the gaps they could fleshed out to make a stronger thriller. Overall a captivating watch, I found it hard to put down and wanted to see how it ended. There was some form of justice but the realistic kind you could imagine in real life.