By Night's End - A Twist on the Home Invasion Sub-Genre
Coming soon to VOD from DarkCoast is a new twist on the home invasion sub-genre; By Night’s End is streaming on various platforms October 6th. Directed by Walker Whited it stars Michelle Rose, Kurt Yue, and Michael Aaron Milligan.
Premise:
Heather and Mark have had a rough go of things. Their daughter has passed away, Mark is out of work, and Heather is ex military with a bad habit of bottling up her emotions. But they’re managing. One night Heather is awakened by some noises in the house, she picks up her gun and quickly realizes a man has entered their home. He’s bloody and beaten and tells them he will given them ten thousand dollars if they just let him go. But it appears he’s reaching for a gun and Heather shoots him in defense. Before calling 911, Mark decides there must be something in their house that’s worth a lot of money if this guy is willing to hand out $10K. So the couple search. But quickly they realize that man is not their only visitor, and their delay in calling 911 may have cost them their lives.
“I think there’s money hidden in our house somewhere.”
Here’s what I loved:
The uniqueness of this home invasion flick is that it’s almost the opposite. Heather and Mark are basically trapped in their house as some lunatic wanders around outside trying to make deals with them. It’s a fun way to tell your story as our leads run from room to room planning (and failing) and you can feel the claustrophobia as you learn just how surrounded they really are.
I loved, loved, loved the characters in this flick. Heather is this complex woman who has seen some shit but refuses to let her feelings out. She spends a lot of the movie cold, serious, taking the plans step by step. But Mark finds this frustrating as he feels he’s been dealing with the death of their daughter by himself, because Heather won’t open up. There’s some really emotional moments in-between the terror where the couple figure out how to work together and accept that things are forever changed. One moment I especially loved was when Mark and Heather were in the kitchen. Mark, trying to get a rise out of Heather, throws their daughter’s photos in the garbage. Heather freaks and starts crying but she won’t let Mark comfort her. She closes in on herself, even apologizing for her output of emotion. It was just a small moment, but an important one to see on screen. A realistic look at PTSD and depression.
The villain in this flick is really great. Moody spends the whole story wearing this giant hat, patrolling around the house, his menacing voice coming through the walkie talkie. He rarely loses his temper which makes him more terrifying. But when he does snap, the true villainy comes pouring through.
There’s some genuinely shocking moments I didn’t see coming. No spoilers obviously but there were a few scenes where I gasped out loud. It’s one of those stories where as the night progresses, the couple get deeper and deeper entwined in this messy situation to the point where you have no clue how they’re going to get out of this.
“There’s something strange happening. I don’t wanna get caught up in it.”
Overall, By Night’s End was a fast-paced intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Excellent performances all around with some great action shots, especially one of the final scenes which was the coolest I’ve seen in awhile.
Highly recommend!
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