I think I’m going to be in the minority when it comes to reviewing Bradford Baruh’s Dead Night, so let me just jump right into this one. Set for release this Friday by Dark Sky Films in association with M3 Creative, Dead Night is a female driven supernatural horror movie with quite the original story. The film follows a couple and their two teenage children as they head to a remote cabin for a winter retreat. When the kid’s father goes into the woods in search of firewood, he discovers a woman unconscious in the snow; quickly scooping her up and bringing her back to the family for help. Little do they know, the creepy addition to their weekend get-away is more than she appears, and her presence in the cabin sets off a series of dangerous and bloody events that will haunt the family forever…if they even survive. The directorial debut of Bradford Baruh, Dead Night stars legendary actress Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Brea Grant (Rob Zombie’s H2), AJ Bowen (You’re Next), Sophie Dalah, Elise Luthman, Joshua Hoffman, Daniel Roebuck and Joy Osmanski. A snowy, gory, out of control shockfest, Dead Night is available in theaters and on demand July 27, 2018.
Dead Night is visibly pleasing in every sense of the word. Cinematography and the lighting/camera work are on point, expertly highlighting the snowy mountain wilderness and all it has to offer. The lighting is actually some of the best I’ve seen this year when examining Dead Night as an independent production; and some of that has to do with the natural moonlight that contrasts the villains. Even the special effects were pleasing and practical; giving old school enthusiasts something to gawk in awe at. It’s no wonder to me that Dead Night is receiving a small theatrical release because it is one of those horror films where all the stops were pulled out to make sure it was a high caliber production. Congratulations to director Baruh, producer Andy Meyers, cinematographer Kenton Drew Johnson, editor Meghan Leon and special effects masters Chris Gallaher and Erik Porn for their efforts in making Dead Night look like a million bucks. It’s modern, beautiful, foreboding, intimidating and ominous all in one. I have no qualms with Dead Night as far as the behind-the-scenes work is concerned, so that leads me to the story content.
Written by Bradford Baruh and Irving Walker, Dead Night is a multi-layered mixture of The Shining and The Witches with healthy doses of Species and You’re Next. It was fascinating, at the time, and immensely creative for a horror film. I give Baruh and Walker tons of acknowledgement for thinking outside of the box and coming up with something frighteningly weird. Dead Night is jam packed with serious “what the fuck” moments. However, I had to sit on my notes after my viewing, because often times studios will send out screeners before the film is released. When I came back to my notes, I couldn’t recall some of those “what the fuck moments,” even though I remember enjoying those. For me, that’s an odd problem. It’s almost like Dead Night is going to need a second viewing for the audience to truly embrace it and say, “wow that was amazing.” If not, despite its incredible production value and off-putting plot, it risks fading into the endless catalog of horror titles on VOD. Plus, I really wasn’t a fan of how the subplot was executed. It distracted me and took away from the movie’s total package. Now, I’m sure a lot of you are going to flock to Dead Night because of Barbara Crampton’s involvement – and trust me, that’s OK!
Barbara is a legend, a powerhouse, and an incredible actress that horror fans around the world adore. Her presence in Dead Night alone will undoubtedly draw thousands of people to the movie. All of the cast members are truly wonderful, not a weak performance to be found, but Barbara is so alluring that she stands out no matter what picture she’s in. It was almost as if she was the seasoned general leading the most kick ass army, if you set up Dead Night as an army metaphor. So, all things considered, yeah, my only problem with Dead Night is the way its subplot was carried out and that maybe the story got away from them. I think they tried to do too much in such a short amount of time they needed to scale it back a notch or two. Any movie that needs to be watched twice to be fully enjoyed sets off a red flag for me. That shouldn’t take away from the fact that Dead Night is well shot, expertly produced, phenomenally acted and features top notch special effects. The story really is original and fun. It’s just… a lot to handle. Final Score: 7 out of 10.
