When Night Falls

In a time of mindless giant robot fighting films, explosions and car chases, rendered on banks of servers, When Night Falls is a breath of fresh air.

Made for around US$10,000 and shot over 10 days (according to the Directors Commentary on the DVD), this film achieves what the mega budget films so often fail to do.

The story is a good old fashioned thriller, reminiscent of the classics. A suspect, a few red herrings thrown in and an atmospheric location all contribute to an enjoyable experience.

Director Galvin was certainly ambitious with the given budget, by placing the story in 1932 New Zealand. However, it paid off. The period costumes, cars and locations are spot on, and add to the 'classic thriller' feeling.

This film is NOT going to appeal to the teenage boys who hunger for hard bodies draped over the bonnets of alien transforming robot cars....

It WILL certainly be appreciated and enjoyed by the more discerning film goer, not only for the story, but for the work and effort Galvin has put into the film, an obvious labour of love.

When Night Falls is almost a Jekyll and Hyde kind of film.

After a great little prologue, the first half is very slow and atmospheric. Apart from getting to know the characters, not a lot else happens.

Then, in the second half, all hell breaks loose! There's lots of scares, actions, twists...everything!!

I really loved the second half, but personally did find the buildup of the first half too slow. I can see that the director wanted us to get to know and care about the characters, which is great, but a few boo moments or something would have helped to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

So: First half - 5/10 Second half - 10/10 Overall - 7/10

This was a really enjoyable psychological thriller. A nice homage to to those great suspense films of the 1930s and 1940s.

The film has a very deliberate pace and setup, which I can see wouldn't be to everyone's taste. This isn't a film for people with short attention spans. However, I found it really gripping from beginning to end.

Even though the film starts quietly, there is a real sense of dread right from the opening. There's never any doubt that bad things are going to start happening. It's just a case of when.

The middle section is all about scares, and there's plenty of them. The girls around me had their heads in their hands more often than not...

The ending was a real surprise. Perhaps not entirely believable, but I certainly didn't see it coming. And judging by the screams around me, neither did many others.

The acting, particularly by the two nurses, Tania Nolan and Rosella Hart, was excellent. They have by far the majority of screen time together and really play off each other well.

This was a really enjoyable film. It's clear that a great deal of care, craft and talent went into it, and it's a welcome addition to New Zealand's film titles.

This film was a really pleasant surprise.

An edgy, scary little thriller that left me a lot more scared than heaps of other horrors I've seen. It's definitely the best NZ film I've seen in a long time.

Set in 1930s New Zealand, it starts out as quite a simple period drama about two nurses looking after a patient at his country home. But it becomes more dark and scary as it goes along, when we begin to realise that someone may be playing some very nasty psychological games on them.

My only small criticism is that the film did take a while to get going. But once the scares start, they really keep on coming!!

Definitely worth a look if you like getting the chills!

Effective period thriller set in New Zealand about a killer on the loose murdering young nurses in the community.

After murdering three unfortunate women the murderer zeros in on young Nurse Louise Williams, who is caring for a patient in his estate outside of town. But we don't know who the killer is! From the very beginning, the suspense begins to build, while at the same time Louise's character immediately attracts and holds our concern and sympathy. The combination works very well, and while you're never sure what else is going on, or which of the other characters can be trusted, you know that Louise is in danger and that you care about her.

Some of the plot developments probably are somewhat implausible, but the story and atmosphere are crafted so effectively that you never notice while watching.

Anyone who enjoys classic thrillers should make sure to see "When Night Falls".