When Night Falls

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!

When Night Falls is definitely one of the most enjoyable, and suspenseful films I've seen in a while. It's starts out as quite a straightforward story about three women trapped in an isolated house with a possible killer lurking in the area. The type of horror setup we've all seen countless times before. But very soon it becomes a real psychological game of cat and mouse, in which you've got no idea what will happen next. Some people might find the film's first half a little slow moving, but I thought that actually worked really well in building up atmosphere and getting us to know, and care about the characters. The second half, though, is very much the film's highlight, with some really great scares, action and twists! This is a must see for those who enjoy a good scare and lots of surprises.

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.

Having read the other reviews, I decided to give this film a try....big mistake on my part.

I have seen other low budget films that were quite enjoyable but I have to say this one was pretty bad. The acting was fairly wooden, I didn't check to see if the actors have been in other movies or not, but based on what I saw, I doubt it.

The "action" sequence was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen, it looked so fake that even though the movie was almost over, I had to hold myself back from turning it off.

I think I have an idea of what the director was trying to do, but he shouldn't try a genre like this until he has more experience under his belt, Alfred Hitchcock he is not.

The premise was alright, but the director failed to inspire the actors at all.

Shot digitally on a budget, this thriller from New Zealand manages to be intriguing enough until the last 20 minutes.

The film doesn't lose any time establishing the premise. Our protagonist Louise is a nurse. She takes care of an ill patient in an isolated mansion, who will require more oxygen. This forces the groundsman to leave the mansion. The doctor has other things to attend to and this means Louise will have to spend the night there with the house Mrs. Jacobs, the housekeeper and another nurse, Martha Davis. Three women and a weak man spending a night in such a remote location shouldn't be a problem. Except there is a serial killer on the loose. And he happens to target nurses.

These events take place in 1932 and for the most part, first-time writer/director Alex Galvin goes for a nostalgic feel half way between Hitchcockian thrillers and slasher films from the late 70s and early 80s. Except he doesn't have the directorial skills of the masters of old and it shows here. The result looks more like a humorless take on the game Clue, or a murder mystery you would play out with friends, then a legitimate thriller.

The setting, it must be said, is amazing. The old mansion is truly gorgeous and very evocative. It has been pointed out to me by another user that the director actually shot the movie in several different houses, choosing rooms as suitable and as evocative as possible.

The acting on display here is pretty weak. Tania Nolan as the protagonist nurse has the pretty face and angelic look but is pretty wooden. The other main actress is the other nurse, played by Rosella Hart. The housekeeper and the ill patient have very few scenes and not much is demanded of them acting-wise.

The first two-third of When Night Falls rely on good old suspense. The night falls, there are noises, there is tension, things are not right. There's no action scene here. Just interaction between the characters and walking around this gorgeous residence while contemplating how best to spend this night, hoping the killer is not around.

Things pick up in the last third, where the tension heightens. Unfortunately, the movie becomes even more horrendous. As Galvin reveals more and more of the mystery, our reaction as the audience is "huh, that's what is going on?". The music score, which was weak and over-dramatic from the start becomes unsustainable. As the film focuses less on the unknown and the fantastic mansion, Galvin has to direct real thrilling scenes and fails. The action sequence are of the worse amateurish kind and our two main actresses may be very pretty, but become terribly unconvincing.

I'm disappointed. As I write these lines, this movie is rated a very good 7.2 with seven reviews, most of which are glowing and praising various aspects of the film which obviously deserves none of that.

When Night Falls seems like a labor of love by a group of amateurs and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm sure Galvin did his best. He established a nice air of suspense early, adopted a classic feel instead of cheap modern clichés and used a jaw-dropping film location.

But the actual direction, cinematography, music, acting and the story? It's all weak. An honest rating could hardly go above 5 and I personally feel it is worth a 3.