Noite das Travessuras

MISCHIEF NIGHT is a pretty lacklustre movie that feels entirely derivative of previous, better films in the genre. There are elements of THE STRANGERS here in the presence of masked villains who say very little and creep around houses, alongside throwbacks to the classic 'blind woman' thrillers like WAIT UNTIL DARK. Another blind woman thriller I saw recently was the Michael Keaton-starring PENTHOUSE NORTH, which is about on par with this one.

After a fairly confused and irrelevant opening sequence, we're introduced to the usual type of premise: there's a young blind woman in a house on her own at night, on "mischief night" of all things, which is when houses get egged and the like (it's sort of a tamer version of THE PURGE). Inevitably the bad guys show up with murder in mind, and there's a lot of tiptoeing back and forth and suspense scenes involving broken glass, poor mobile phone signals, and the like.

Sadly this is the type of film where we've seen it all before, and it doesn't help that the lead character is completely unsympathetic so I had no particular desire to see her make it through the night. The filmmakers try very hard to make this frightening and suspenseful, but if I'm honest I was bored by it all.

This movie so much like "The Purge", or otherwise it is pale copy of it.

Also this movie "Mischief Night" does not show the real connection of the first event (the lovers who are killed in the beginning) with the second event (father and daughter who are struggling for their survival) about how come father and daughter in the same house without first being aware what happened before; which is the real reason for doing this intruders, whether for fun, revenge or something else? Are they the same intruders from the beginning? Who are they really? - because you are constantly expecting an epilogue at the end and like many other movies comes to smaller or larger disappointment.

'Mischief Night' did intrigue me first hearing of it, when it appeared in my recommended for you section. This was when reviewing another low-budget horror recently as part of one of my many completest quests. The concept was pretty great and could have been quite creative and the cover looked very creepy.

Unfortunately, the potential 'Mischief Night' had was not lived up to. There are definitely far worse films, at least 'Mischief Night' didn't insult my intelligence or make me regret even watching it. It did leave me feel frustrated because it could have been good, was not expecting originality but was sort of hoping that it would be engaging, entertaining and scary, neither of which were there enough. There are moments, but we don't want moments, consistency in my mind is preferable. This is not coming from somebody with a bias against low-budget, far from it, there are some good ones out there that overcome budget limitations. Nor is it coming from somebody who wanted to hate it, would never do that with any film.

As said, 'Mischief Night' has its moments and good points. It doesn't look too bad, some atmospheric lighting, an unsettling setting and some style in the photography. There is some creepiness and a sense of unease, a few did make me jump or bite my nails.

Nor is the acting a complete disgrace. Not incredible certainly, but they at least try. Noell Coet and underused Ally Walker come off best. The music has some eeriness.

However, the story does lack tension and suspense on the most part and suffers from a generally dull pace, too many easily foreseeable moments and that a potentially creative premise has very ordinary execution. The kills, which are not many, are not scary or innovative and they are also pretty tame, lack build up and treated indifferently. Things don't make sense either, something that is apparent as early on as the confused and far from relevant opening, everything just comes over as vague and the conclusion feels unfinished.

Script is full of awkwardness and cheese, the direction is lethargic and the characters are underdeveloped and in some cases annoying. The editing can lack cohesion, with continuity errors and inconsistencies to fill a novel the size of the longest Stephen King book, and limitations show in the cheap effects. Didn't get any threat out of the villains.

Overall, far from a complete mess but the severely lacking execution of the story ruins it. 4/10 Bethany Cox

It's a movie either watch it and like it or don't. Also seems to be lots of use of the word derivative in these reviews, people just discovered it or something?

Further what is it with the endless film critic wannabees posting reviews, I want to see what non overly analytical people think of movies (you know us "normals").

If I want to read boring arty "I work in the profession, can you tell by how I talk about lighting and it being derivative etc" critic reviews then I would (which is why IMDb gives both choices of reviews to read).

Anyway, the film is a bit useless and has been done better before, but if a cheap horror flick is your thing give it a whirl, yes there are worse movies than this!

"Mischief Night" was actually a nice surprise. I hadn't initially expected much from this movie, but still decided to watch it. And it turned out to be a rather good movie actually.

The story is about a teenage girl, Emily (played by Noell Coet), who is rendered blind after a tragic car accident with her mother. Now on October 30th, what is known as Mischief Night, where youngsters play physical pranks on people and houses alike, Emily is about to stay at home all by herself, as her father (played by Daniel Hugh Kelly) is about to head out on a date after 9 years of solitude after his wife died. However, things quickly turn to horror as Emily is terrorized by an unknown assailant, who eventually gets inside the house.

Storywise, then "Mischief Night" was entertaining and thrilling, with just the right amount of thrills and twists of events to keep the movie fresh and interesting. If you are here for a slasher movie, then you will be sorely disappointed.

The acting was quite good, despite the relative small ensemble of cast members. Noell Coet was nicely cast for the lead role, and she carried the movie quite nicely.

The movie cover says "the lucky ones die quickly", well that is sort of misleading as this movie isn't particularly high on body count. So don't get your hopes up on that account.

"Mischief Night" is entertaining and should be on your to-watch-list if you enjoy thrillers.