HORROR

Night’s End review | A Supernatural, Claustrophobic horror

Published

1 year ago

March 31, 2022

Night’s End is a creepy exorcism-gone-wrong horror flick that twists the haunted house story and mixes with it supernatural storytelling, claustrophobic atmosphere, haunting score, and a remarkable lead performance from Geno Walker, who plays Ken Barber, an anxious shut-in living alone in a small and dark apartment. With all his windows covered by newspaper, Barber lives his life in a repeated routine, with everything in his apartment organised and neatly labelled. Whilst in isolation Ken starts to make Youtube videos focusing on management and divorce tips as we discover that his relationships are not so put together.

Director Jennifer Reeder (V/H/S ’94’, Knives and Skin) brings spooky fun but ensures an eerie, suspenseful, anxiety, and panic-inducing experience as direction and cinematography are frightful in a good way as the camera is utilised perfectly as it lingers on subjects repeatedly found in Ken’s apartment such as his tomato soup, taxidermy birds, and the Pepto-Bismol he continuously puts in his coffee. The unsettling camera movements left me in suspense. The use of light specifically the neon-coloured LED grow lights, and the soft yellow/orange is phenomenal.

During one of ken’s videos, a taxidermy bird mysteriously falls off a shelf behind him, leading Ken to speculate that maybe his apartment is haunted. As ken discusses how to handle his haunting with his friend Terry (Felonious Munk) who provides some comic relief and ex-wife Kelsey (Kate Arrington) it plays out like a dark comedy but with mismatched symbols on the spirit jar, well, I’m afraid, he’s brought something unspeakable back. With a talk about Ken’s mental health, the film doesn’t linger on those topics too much and brings in occult specialist Colin Albertson (Lawerence Grimm) which offsets the tone as these moments are campy fun but hold ulterior motives.

Ken becomes tormented from behind, ghostly interactions happening when a figure appears in the hallway or walks towards him. You also see glitches and jump cuts when he’s on a video call which is to suggest that there is a disturbance. Walker does an outstanding performance when portraying Ken’s inner demons whilst confronting literal ones.

What I loved about this film is that it explores comically and curiously how real people would react to the idea they might be living in a haunted home by themselves, this elevates isolation but also its suspense and jump-scares. Night’s End presents a piece that showcases a dynamic between predator and prey and tells both sides of the story when it comes to being kept apart and quarantined. It’s a character study about a man in peril and Reeder reveals this character with her style and lens.

Verdict

Night’s end is a dark and isolating experience, especially for Ken who is desperately trying to figure out what is happening to him. This leads to the Dark Corners livestream which is wholly entertaining. We ultimately go from Ken’s dull repeated life in this bleak world we’re living in to a scene that is unbelievable. It’s an interesting twist for sure. Writer Brett Neveu has imagined a new haunted house genre of original films with compelling visuals.

FILM RATING

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HORROR

When Evil Lurks | Teaser Trailer — In Theaters October 6th, 2023

Published

4 days ago

September 18, 2023

Jacques van Zyl

When Evil Lurks Movie Poster (IFC Films)

The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Genre: Horror

Release Date: 6 October 2023 in theaters / 27 October 2023 on Shudder

Director: Demián Rugna

Writer: Demián Rugna

Distributed by: IFC Films & Shudder

Production Companies: Shudder, Aramos Cine & Machaco Films

Cast: Ezequiel Rodriguez, Demián Salomon, Luis Ziembrowski, Silvia Sabater & Marcelo Michinaux

Plot

The residents of a small rural town discover that a demon is about to be born among them. They desperately try to escape – but it may be too late…

When Evil Lurks Official Teaser Trailer (IFC Films)

FILM RATING

HORROR

Thanksgiving | Official Trailer — In Theaters November 17, 2023

After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.

Published

4 days ago

September 18, 2023

Staff

Genre:

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Release Date:

November 17, 2023

Director:

Eli Roth

Cast:

Patrick dempsey, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Addison Rae

Plot Summary:

After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.

FILM RATING

HORROR

Talk To Me Delivers A Real Scare, Hands Down!

Published

5 days ago

September 16, 2023

Jacques van Zyl

Talk to Me Movie Poster (A24)

Plot

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

Movie Review

The movie starts off with quite a shocker, leaving you with a few questions. It doesn’t take too long to get into the action and soon you realize you are in for quite a scare. In a nutshell, the movie is about a group of friends playing a timed game where the communicate with the dead using an embalmed hand, and allow the dead to speak through them, with the emphasis on timed. However, as with all rules, some end up broken, and when the game goes on a little too long things go south, resulting in far reaching consequences. The main protagonist in the story Mia plays this game of talking with the dead, while at the same time working through the loss of a loved one as well. As a viewer I experienced her feelings of grief and it felt real because her performance was just next level.

Both Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird‘s performance as Mia and Riley really grips you, making the feelings of fear on-screen real for the audience. The make-up and effects throughout the movie was really done brilliantly. The ending delivers a unique twist making you hungry for more action and story. The cast really brought life in a horror story focusing around the dead.

There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait to the end. Trailer is amazing and delivers an even greater scare and doesn’t spoil any important parts of the movie. My rating for Talk To Me is 5 out of 5. Talk To Me is a bone-chilling supernatural horror that delivers a real scare on-screen, hands down. I’m all for seeing a possible sequel of Talk To Me one day, or even a prequel where the origin of the embalmed hand is unpacked. But the movie is still brilliant as a stand-alone movie.

Make sure to catch it at a cinema near you or watch online.