Night Talkers

When I stumbled upon the 2024 movie "Night Talkers" and saw that the movie had Bill Moseley on the cast list, there was not a shadow of a doubt of me sitting down to watch it. Sure, I had never heard about the movie, but that hardly mattered, as it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

Had I known that this was a horror anthology, I might have skipped on it. Yeah, I find most horror anthologies to be dubious affairs. And I have to say that the stories in "Night Talkers" were boring and frightfully devoid of anything horror. It was a bland and boring ordeal to sit through. In fact, it was only the section that tied the stories together, which thankfully had Bill Moseley in the lead role, that turned out to be worthwhile watching.

The acting performances in the movie were good. I was only familiar with a single performer on the cast list, and that was Bill Moseley.

The special effects in "Night Talkers" were not particularly noteworthy.

My rating of writer and director Topher Chambers's 2024 movie "Night Talkers" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Three No's.

One for writing, One for directing, One for acting,

I implore and beg all the sane people in Hollywood (if any are left), to make a law or a rule to stop writers from directing and actors from writing and any combination of the three very different trades.

Please, If you act, act. Dont write, dont direct.

If you write, write. Dont act, dont direct.

If you direct, direct. Dont write, dont act.

If you trey and do more than one thing, especially writing for yourself and the character you think you can act for, the result is a disaster. It is nothing more than an homage to your ego.

Story was weak.

Sets we so so.

Sound was good.

Acting, beyond bad and over the top.

Directing, totally lacking any direction.

When Francis Ford Coppola tried his hand in writing and directing the same film, the result was Megapolis and $125 Million down the drain. He should have stuck to directing. Same to you dear man, you are not Francis but the fact that you wrote lines for a character you thought you could portray in a movie you thought you could direct, made this a sad film to watch.

Please do one thing and do it well.

Write, Act, or Direct. Do not do any more than one. It is that simple.

NIGHT TALKERS is a microbudget horror anthology featuring Bill Moseley as a late night radio host soliciting strange stories from his listeners. Like most films in its market (microbudget horror) there's a mixed bag for audiences.

"The Gruenwald House" is easily the best of the three major stories, but is hampered by a large cast and underdeveloped story. However, performances by Jenna Ruiz and Brittany Smith keep the audience engaged. In "Back Country" Scott Blake, a SFX artist and mask maker, does an excellent job portraying a inbred hillbilly reminiscent of a crypt keeper but the story is ultimately a long attempt at single jump scare.

Again, the audio and cinematography is a mixed bag. For example, the production could have used movers blankets or even heavy comforters to dampen some of the echo/reverb heard through scenes in the house.

Overall, the most effort was obviously saved for segments featuring Bill Moseley. It is in those moments we see most of the creativity from director Topher Chambers and it's why the film is frustrating even at a 7. Since the film only lists Chambers as the director the audience would expect more cohesion through out the production. Whether it's camera moves or image motifs or even just focusing on cast, each short feels as if it were done by a completely different production - especially compared to Bill Moseley's wrap around.

Still it's a slight improvement of Topher Chambers and Rutledge Productions previous anthology THE BLACK BOOK (which was created by multiple productions) and that's ultimately why it deserves a 7. Seeing an artist grow is always encouraging.