Although IMDb lists horror among the genres of this picture, it's more of a psychological thriller. There is little violence, and nobody dies, tho that doesn't prevent a horror classification. The R rating appears to be entirely for swearing. Still, it at least hints at horrific premises. An immediate sequel, if there were one, might just delve into them.
Ohio construction worker Curtis (Michael Shannon) is under a lot of stress lately. He keeps getting nightmares that produce rare physical symptoms, perhaps as a result of inordinate fear. These dreams are consistent enough in theme -- a storm provoking maniacally hostile behavior in people and animals -- that he starts to take them as prophecy. Moreover, when awake, he keeps sensing signs of an intense if not bizarre imminent storm that nobody else senses. Not daring to ignore these, he seeks to expand an old storm shelter. In doing so, he defies employer rules, financial wisdom, and the convention of being honest and candid with one's wife, in this case Samantha (Jessica Chastain).
Curtis' mom was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when she was about his age, so he doesn't immediately discount the possibility that he has it too. But after determining that he exhibits only a couple symptoms, he concludes otherwise. He's unwilling to spend much money on psychiatric help, partly, I suppose, because of how much he's spending already on the project.
Frankly, I'm a little surprised how long it takes Sam to slap Curtis. He's hard to like when he's so uncommunicative (and prone to mumbling), denies that much of anything is wrong, and leaves a lot of behavior unexplained. Pretty much everyone he interacts with, except maybe his young daughter, thinks he's either not all there or just becoming an irresponsible jerk.
Oh yeah: The daughter is deaf. Unlike in A Quiet Place, this isn't crucial to the plot. It serves mainly to further the strains. Curtis badly wants to protect her, and Sam badly wants the money to do so in the usual way. I suppose some viewers will see this as an argument for universal health care, but it wasn't exactly framed as such.
The movie ultimately keeps us guessing whether Curtis had the right idea about the storm. Ordinarily, I don't mind storyteller ambiguity of this sort, but here I worry that it'll inspire real delusional, panicky people to feel vindicated. Then again, maybe those people would behave the same regardless.
TS works best as a drama. It wasn't my best choice for Halloween. Nevertheless, there's enough skill involved for me not to regret watching.
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