Poker Night

So, so surprised. Not what I was expecting, and not disappointed either. Once you're let in on the gist of the story, it's a wild, fun ride. 👍😱

An intriguing story, told stylishly and in an interesting way.

Add to that a cast of character actors that everyone must enjoy watching, and this couldn't really go wrong.

Saying that, it was a bit messy early on, giving the distinct impression it was going to be a headache to stick with, style over substance perhaps.

I feared the worst, but it began to fall together nicely. Despite a nagging feeling it should have been even better given the premise, it was a good-looking and enjoyable film.

And I loved the killer's flashback to his old life. A funny interlude in a generally grim movie.

I'll look forward to the writer/director's future work.

Yes, what I mentioned in the my title is true. As far as I know in the history of cinema, there has never been a scene of a vicious, bloody serial killer wearing his grotesque mask while he goes to the office and sits in his cubicle with all the other 9-5 schleps. So, love it or hate it, ya gotta give this film props for that.

"Poker Night" blends horror, crime, comedy and surrealism to bring us a wild ride like I haven't seen since the Christopher Walken masterpiece "Suicide Kings" (a flick you need to watch asap if you haven't already). This film takes a very similar approach, so similar that I had to check if the director of Poker Night also directed Suicide Kings but he did not. Both films are extremely non-linear, meaning they jump back & forth in time, from different perspectives, telling different stories which all come together in the end. Well sort of. Therein lies my only criticism, but first let's talk about the good.

This film is a standard serial killer cat-and-mouse game, much like Saw, but it throws in a concurrent flashback to a cops' poker night where they are each telling stories of their careers. The stories relate to the main character's predicament as he's trying to outwit the killer. At the same time we're all trying to piece together who the killer is and what is the motivation behind all of this. It's definitely a film that you need to pay attention to, otherwise you might get lost in all the interweaving episodes & flashbacks, especially when they get surreal and the main character gets superimposed in the stories being told by others.

It's also a very dark film, literally dark, where we are intentionally not shown what's happening until the end of a scene. The director took a gamble on whether this would be suspenseful or annoying, and my opinion is that it worked. Others may not agree.

Another gamble was that hilarious serial killer fantasy I mentioned at the beginning. If I haven't been clear enough, I LOVED IT. That playful approach was exactly what was needed to break up the tension and disturbing nature of the story.

Ok now the bad. The film frequently crosses over into unbelievable territory, as in people getting shot multiple times or mutilated in violent ways but they still get up and manage to pull off an action packed fight scene. There's one scene in particular where a character basically gets half his skin ripped off, but 5 minutes later it's barely a scratch. Maybe they threw in stuff like that to keep the audience awake, but at the risk of boring people they should've kept things more realistic all the way through. Also in the last 20 minutes there are several crazy plot leaps crammed together for the sake of giving us a bunch of twists, and I felt that these also undermined the core strength of the film which was a slow battle of wits. But those are really minor nitpicks which shouldn't dissuade you from checking out this movie.

If you enjoy non-linear, flashback-based, bizarre & quirky crime thrillers such as "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" or the aforementioned "Suicide Kings" then definitely give this a go. Also if, like me, you are interested in this film only because the amazing Ron Perlman is in it, then you won't be disappointed. Although he's a somewhat minor character, his scenes are fantastic and easily raise the calibre of the film a few notches.

This film deserves more publicity than it is getting.. An impressive cast and a pretty good thriller in its own right.. The different stories that each cop puts forward on poker night are in itself pretty good. Each story is different in their own way and its really depicts how a legit detective team would handle the same case. The negatives that I have are really slight.. Maybe the plot could have been a bit more taut and focused on the killer a bit more. The acting is well handled.. I enjoyed the ending and I wish the team behind this all the best in their next venture. I went in without any expectations but the rating on IMDb (which I think it deserves at least a seven) and I liked it. If you are into thrillers, give it a try.

Watched this on Itunes the other day. After I watched it I looked up reviews and other info. I mean come on Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito? One review said flashbacks within flashbacks exhaust the viewer. I mean I get the review but I disagree. I think you get caught up in the stories. From what I can tell this didn't have a huge budget but what it lacked in money it makes up by keeping you engaged. The acting is solid. The story telling is cool. The characters and editing move it along kinda Guy Richie/David Fincheresque meets Saw type feel. I found myself yelling at the computer. Where one reviewer felt exhausted I felt I was entertained. This is one I say watch for your self and don't listen to critic reviews. Remember it is a genre film and not looking I think to win any awards. No one in the movie seemed to be trying to make a movie to change the world. If you like hip storytelling and popcorn flicks this movie is for you. Put it in your queue!