Night (2019) – Steak Hoagies Good, Hurting Kids Bad – A Fitz of Horror Review

Bob Coldicott (Gothic Bob) March 27, 2019

Synopsis– A young girl is kidnapped by a strange man, who forces her to be the star of his sick and twisted live stream.

Typically, in one of my reviews, I would start off with something ancillary about the subject matter, tie it in to the movie, go into the second paragraph giving a breakdown of the plot…sans spoiler, of course, and then finish it off with a critique of the film’s direction, acting, etc. This is a unique instance where I don’t really know where or how to start off. I can’t tell you much more than the synopsis above (without spoiling the movie), so I’ll discuss some philosophies or…my feelings about the entire thing and you can do whatever the hell you want with it.

So, the wonderful thing about movies and film is that your/my taste in any given film is objective. In fact, it’s very much like food! Someone could say “I love steak and cheese hoagies” and “This is very good.” You can’t argue the first proclamation. My love for steak and cheese hoagies is undeniable but you can debate with me over if they, a particular steak and cheese hoagie, or any other food is good or not. Because we are cultural creatures, we also tend to have a base pallet of things we’ve been accustomed to, also. If you have British-Canadian blood in you, like I do, there’s a solid chance you’ll like poutine over that of something like deep-fried insects. The opposite goes for my “far east” friends too, with all due respect. I’ve talked entirely way too much about food but I hope you’re saying “OK, makes sense, how does this relate here?” Please keep my point in mind while going forward, we live in an internet culture where people take objective opinions incredibly too hard.

The premise of this movie revolves largely around, or at least in this particular case, child predator Adam Audrey aka Fiend (played by Nicholas Michael Jacobs). You could argue “Why are you saying he’s a child predator? Maybe it’s just THIS case, and accidentally”…no, stop. Once you prey on one child, you’re a predator. Secondly he’s a sadist, as is his audience. Both indisputable. The two combined characteristics of this main protagonist (the story’s centerpiece, let’s be honest) are something I’d never care to “entertain” as an indie producer, actor or even viewer…UNLESS…there was a meaningful, intrinsic or extrinsic takeaway, achievement or…seriously I have no clue. I’m sure a counterpoint would be “but it’s horror!” I get it, I get it, but there’s people out there that love goats too much and I don’t want to make or see a movie about it. Extreme and not fair comparison that I’m not making at Mr. Jacobs’ expense, please know that. If the takeaway is the resiliency, courage, strength of a pre-teen, then great! If it’s “there’s some sick uncomfortable shit in the world and I think this is entertaining!”, then YIKES. The combination of subject matter just doesn’t appeal to me, or entertain. I know it might with some.  Just as I like trying other ethnical foods, it doesn’t mean I’ll eat duck (well, maybe I will), let alone soft-boiled fetal duck. The story isn’t a bad one, it’s actually a decent concept…it’s the details that make me uneasy. Make it a grown woman who tortures a guy or vice versa, nail the execution and details/continuity of the film…HELL YEAH! I do really dig what Jacobs had tried to do with some of the cinematography, though. Execution, pun intended, is so important.

It has to feel great that he paid the fees and got his first movie onto Amazon Prime and has so many reviews coming out but technically and artistically, there are some glaring issues I can’t overlook in my final assessment of the film. I really would like to see the same concept with better/different characterization and attention to detail but “with time will come” more movies for Mr. Jacobs, I’m sure. That usually means upgrades to everything, including a larger crew and accountability for an even better product. Getting back to the food and “taste being objective” analogy, maybe it’s just me. I love horror (you can’t argue that) but horror movies about stalked, kidnapped & tortured kids aren’t great (you can argue that if you want). 

Check out Night on Amazon and then argue with me about food and movies on our Facebook page 😉