Mischief Night

I can appreciate the attempt to do something new with the serial killer/slasher/stalker/home invasion film, but this flick doesn't quite pull it off.

Film begins with Kaylie, a teenager who is covering a babysitting gig because her friend is sick. It is the night before Halloween, and after dealing with kids playing pranks, girl-talk with her friend, a visit from a boy she likes, and a cameo from Malcolm McDowell, she settles in for the night. Then, a masked man breaks in with a knife and comes after her.

At that point, the movie completely shifts. The masked man is not your typical killer and the girl is not your typical victim, and the movie grinds to a complete halt and becomes incredibly boring and talky while the two of them start to "bond" and develop sort of a relationship.

The movie picks up again at the very end, but ends up with an ending that is so totally obvious that anyone paying attention probably figured it out very early on (I know I did). And to make things a little more annoying, based on the very last shot, the filmmakers think they are WAY more clever than they actually are.

There are a couple of gory murders, but no real scares and, as I said, the middle of the film is a snooze-fest. Couple that with the predictable ending, and it's hard to recommend for a horror fan. Which sucks because I really wanted this film to be good since it's a noble attempt.

What a weird and awesomely different movie this was! Saw the trailer and was very intrigued. Never heard of any of the actors involved (except Malcolm McDowell) and it seemed pretty low- budget but the fact that it also seemed to have this strange twist to it was enough to get me to want to watch. And I'm glad I did. This movie was wacky! First the killer is trying to hack up the dumb blonde girl who is always making stupid moves like swimming almost naked in the pool, then it turns out the blonde girl is way smarter than we thought and maybe the guy doesn't want to kill her, and then they start talking and opening up to each other and you don't know what to think, or what's going to happen next. It's not as funny or violent as Scream, but it has funny and violent parts, and it's overall more emotional. Loved all the performances, but Brooke Anne Smith and Marc Valera particularly. They have great chemistry. The lighting is really moody and creepy too. This one was pretty original and well done.

An intriguing premise full of potentially though falls in the middle during the characterization.

The opening credits of the movie with such montage of Halloween decoration sets the vibe straightaway.

When the film looked like it's another sluggish slasher the plot shifts and changes its tone.

Though the plot could have been improvised in many ways in the middle that is the only moment I believe the film tests your patience. It's not the best film but with low budget it's a very clever direction.

The cinematography is very vivid the color used here shifting from orange to blue is very striking and pretty good.

The acting is acceptable neither so awful nor so incredible all things considered.

The dialogues are genuinely where the film falls short and misses the mark.

This isn't the film for everyone, it's not really a scary film with a lot of jump-scares rather it's more about the craft of film making.

If, movies like Hush and Don't Breathe attract you then this is something you would like otherwise it's just another horror/slasher movie as mentioned.

i have to admit that i didn't expect much going into this. thought it would just be a cheesy bad night at the movies kind of slasher with lots of gore and ridiculous one-liners. but whoa, this really surprised me. it's an interesting movie and has all kinds of stuff you never expect to see in a horror movie…like good acting! and writing! and camera work! there's lots of twists and surprises and even some decent gore. but it's much more about the characters. the two leads are really good together. and Malcolm McDowell is AMAZING of course! and i love the way they portrayed Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. you should watch it if you're looking for something different and fun.

Just all around bad, and I'm a fan of terrible horror movies. It just wasn't quite bad enough to reach that so bad it's good again mark.