The Overnight

I must admit that I initially liked this movie's cover/poster, and it was the reason for why I took a gander at it. Now, I can't claim that I had heard about this horror movie from writers Mel Hagopian and Richard Harlost prior to sitting down to watch the movie, so I didn't have any expectations really, nor did I know what I was in for.

And the movie's synopsis sounded interesting enough, further cementing me sitting down to watch the movie and give it a fair go. And so I did, but I have to say that the movie was not an entertaining one.

Sure, the storyline starts out okay enough, but the narrative quickly comes to a stand still and then just settles into that slump and never gets back on track. And that makes for a rather monotonous and bland viewing experience. And truth be told, then the movie was suffering somewhat from having a low budget feel to it.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "The Overnight", but they did good enough jobs with bringing the story and characters to life on the screen. It was just a shame, though, that the actors and actresses didn't really have much to work with in terms of a properly entertaining storyline and script.

If you enjoy horror movies, then I would not really recommend you waste your time, money or effort on "The Overnight".

My rating of directors Bobby Francavillo and Kevin Rhoades' 2022 horror movie "The Overnight" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

'The Overnight' is about a young couple who go on vacation, but end up staying the night in an old hotel which turns out to be haunted... or full of ghosts, or demons, or something.

First of all one half of the couple (the woman) just isn't that likable. Perhaps it's me being old and grumpy, but I can't stand the younger generation who are always on their phones taking selfies, so she rubbed me up the wrong way right from the start.

Anyway, the hotel itself is nice. From what I've read online it's not a set, but a genuinely run-down hotel which was used for filming purposes, so it fits the bill for a creepy environment. But the whole thing just takes a while to get going. At least forty-five minutes of the hour and a half runtime are just taken up with the couple bickering and experiencing events which are - only slightly - spooky.

Sure, the acting isn't too bad, but there isn't much here that's either creepy or gory - which doesn't bore too well for a film that's supposed to be 'horror.' The film looks okay from a technical point of view and at least it doesn't come across as cheap, just a little unfocused. I couldn't really work out what the general threat was - it could have been ghosts, or possession, or suicidal entities seeking revenge. Who knows?

Yeah, there's the obligatory 'fight for their lives' in the final act, but it's too little too late. Plus as there's only two protagonists to begin with, you know that nothing much is going to happen to them until the absolute end. There's just not enough here to particularly recommend.

The first part of a story should have something that make the main characters likable or something we can identify with.

It is better to invest in a good makeup artist than just bying some cheap contact lenses at Amazon you see at any rave party.

Laughing children with some ketchup stains are not scary. Speaking latin is not scary. Wearing a black hoodie is not scary.

Black goo, can actually be scary, but it have to be in context and with some explanation.

Now there are actually some good nuggets in this mess.

Having 3 bad guys with different objectives is actually a really good one. This would add to the story if their different goals would clash more, how would the stalker react if he saw his lady being sacrificed ?

The house with ghosts repeating their last day as living, is also a good one - if only there were a reason to follow the clues to how that day was and what order it happened in. If the couple had found a diary, some pictures adn so on.

Moaning in a movie must be distinct enough so we understand what the characters hear, and what belongs to the soundtrack. The creaking of the floor in the beginning was very clear and effective, we heard a second creak from the left, and understood there were someone there. Why would this be dropped in the rest of the movie ?

There is more but brings me to the final nail in the coffin for me in regards of this movie, it lacks any subtlety. Any form of building suspense is soon destroyed here with some closeup, wobbling of camera or straight blurry fighting scene.

This might be ok, in your filming of the action in riding the rollercoasters at Disney, last vacation there - but is out of place in a thriller or horror.

I think it was more challenging to make this movie as bad as it is. They had to really try hard to act soo poorly. The plot and sense of direction is purely lost. The ending is so bland. Even the special effects, which consist of fake blood, black blood and contact lenses are so garbage. I had to fast forward this junk.

Look I think we all know this films not gonna win any major awards but I like the storytelling, which kept me entertained for the films entire duration.

The only negative I would say is some of the acting but unless your casting Tom Hardy or Leo Decaprio in every film then your not gonna get thespians to admire and adore their craft.

Go into the film expecting nothing. You won't be disappointed and you might even enjoy it. Have fun.