DEAD NIGHT (2018)
Label: Dark Sky Films
Region Code: 1
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 82 Minutes
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Bradford Baruh
Cast: Barbara Crampton, AJ Bowen, Brea Grant, Sophie Dalah, Joshua Hoffman, Elise Luthman
The generic, and somewhat aptly titled, Dead Night (2018) opens with a prologue set in the 60's with a young couple necking in the woods when they are interrupted by witches wrapped in moldy old bandages, it's not a bad opener at all. It then moves forward to 2015 and introduces us to the Pollack family, with ailing father James (AJ Bowen, The Rites of Spring) who has been diagnosed with early-stage cancer, he and his wife Casey (Brea Grant, Beyond the Gates) along with teen kids Jessica (Sophie Dalah, Satanic) and Jason (Joshua Hoffman) and the daughter's best-friend Becky (Elise Luthman) are driving to a remote cabin in the woods in Oregon, a cabin built above an iron deposit that is said to have miraculous healing properties, the mom has arranged the trip in hopes of staving off her husband's cancer without resorting to traditional treatments.
Early on we get some shallow family drama as they drive out to the cabin-in-the-woods, the family tension and bonding is decent but not too deep. Once they get to the cabin they quickly establish there's no phone signal or wi-fi and get that out of the way, which is always annoying. While gathering fire wood in the snow-covered forest the father discovers a woman unconscious is the snow. They bring her inside the cabin and she comes around, introducing Herself as Leslie Bison (Barbara Crampton, From Beyond). It's a bit of a mystery what the woman was doing out in the woods alone in the middle of the night, as they make inquiries about what she was up to she begins to act strangely, being both uncomfortably flirtatious and increasingly menacing. Her bizarre demeanor sets the family ill at ease, and as the night wears on things go from strange to outright demonic and witchy in a cabin-in-the-woods horror thriller with a bit too much going on for it's own good.
It's sort of a bat-shit insane movie, the narrative is fractured by the introduction of a true-crime TV show hosted by Daniel Roebuck (River's Edge) which tells the story of how the mom here is to become known as the "Axe-Mom", seemingly having murdered her whole family on this trip, which can get confusing, and then there's deadite-looking zombies, and a coven of ancient witches who live in the woods and watch TV broadcasts from the future, a strange magical rock and all sorts of weirdness that will keep you from getting a grip on it, but unfortunately the movie doesn't gain any traction, it's just loose and wandering. It's a shame because there's enough half way decent ideas (and a few bad ones) crammed into this for two or three good cabin in the woods flicks, it just can't decide which and tries to be all of them and it doesn't work, and the true-crime TV program throws it off even more.
The film is well-acted by everyone, I have loved seeing Barbara Crampton's return to horror these past few years, she always great, even if I don't necessarily love all the films. The movie is well-shot and the special effects kindly lean towards old school practical gore with some digital augmentation here and there. The issue is that there's a bit too much going on here for it to come together is a wholly satisfying way, this is not a bad movie, it's just unsatisfying in that it has a bit too much happening and it doesn't ever draw into focus, it's not a recommend but you could do worse that catching this one streaming at some point.
