What actually happens
A key worn around the neck
A contagious disease has spread worldwide. Travis is the teenage son of Paul and Sarah, and the three of them live in a house far out in the woods, and the location is never given. Sarah's father Bud catches the disease, and the family euthanises him and burns the body. That night they catch a man trying to break in. Paul ties him to a tree with a bag over his head and leaves him overnight to see whether he is sick. The stranger, Will, says he was searching for water for his wife and small son, and offers to trade food for it. Sarah argues that more people would make the house easier to defend, and Paul reluctantly agrees. He drives Will to fetch his family, and two men ambush them along the way. Paul kills both men and blames Will for setting him up, and Will talks him down.
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Two families and a house rule
Paul brings back Will, his wife Kim and their son Andrew. The two families set ground rules, including a locked single entrance whose key hangs around the neck of Paul or Sarah. After that they settle into something close to normal life and get friendlier. One day Travis's dog Stanley starts barking aggressively at something unseen and chases it into the woods. Travis follows and insists he heard something out there. That night Will appears to contradict a story he told Paul earlier, and Paul begins to trust him even less.
Someone left the front door open
That evening Travis finds Andrew asleep on the floor of Bud's old room, in the middle of a nightmare, and notices the front door standing open. The families search the house and find Stanley on the floor, bleeding and gravely sick. They euthanise him and burn his body. This is the scene people warn each other about, and it happens once the two families have settled in. After Travis tells everyone about the open door, Sarah suggests that Andrew opened it while sleepwalking, which makes the mistrust worse. Paul suspects Andrew is infected and decides each family should quarantine in separate rooms. That night Travis is woken by a nightmare about his grandfather.
A dispute over a fair share of the water
In the morning Travis hears Andrew crying nonstop and Kim telling Will that they have to go. Travis tells his parents that he may be infected too. Paul and Sarah put on protective masks and gloves, take weapons, and go to face Kim and Will. Will pulls a gun and holds Paul hostage. He insists his family is healthy, keeps telling Andrew to close his eyes, and tells Paul to take off the mask. Will wants a fair portion of the food and water, and then his family will go. Sarah and Paul overwhelm him and force the family outside. Will attacks Paul, trying to kill him, until Sarah shoots Will dead. Kim runs into the woods with Andrew, and Paul fires at them.
The ending, explained
Paul's shots kill Andrew first and then Kim. Later, Travis wakes in bed, visibly sick, and Sarah holds him while he dies. Paul and Sarah, who now show signs of the disease as well, sit at the dinner table in silence and share a shattered, devastated look. Bud, Stanley, Will, Andrew, Kim and Travis are all dead by then.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
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Questions people ask at 1am
Is It Comes at Night scary?
Yes, It Comes at Night is a 6 out of 10. The dread level is high: it is a bleak, slow paranoia story with nightmare sequences and jump scares, and the ending is grim.
How does It Comes at Night end?
Paul kills Andrew and Kim after Sarah shoots Will. Travis then falls sick and dies, and Paul and Sarah sit at the dinner table, visibly infected.
Does the dog die in It Comes at Night?
Yes, the dog dies in It Comes at Night. Stanley, Travis's dog, is found bleeding and gravely sick on the floor, and he is euthanised and burned. The camera avoids his head but shows red fur.
Is there a post-credits scene in It Comes at Night?
Nobody has confirmed whether It Comes at Night has a scene after the credits.
Who is infected at the end of It Comes at Night?
Travis is visibly sick and dies, and Paul and Sarah are visibly infected too. In It Comes at Night, the last shot is the two of them at the dinner table.
