‘NIGHT’S End‘ is a really atmospheric horror film with a very interesting concept but the precision and execution of its delivery is far from perfect.
This is an intriguing old school haunted house tale with a hallucinatory ‘Jacob’s Ladder‘ quality from director Jennifer Reeder, who previously made surreal mystery thriller ‘Knives and Skin‘.
Reeder is a filmmaker to watch out for but a limited budget has clearly restricted her vision with this sub-par feature.
‘Night’s End‘, now showing on Shudder, tells the tale of Ken (Geno Walker), a man out of time, stuck in a rut and unable to face the world outside after it all goes pear-shaped. Set entirely in Ken’s apartment, we get up close and personal as he struggles with his own personal demons.
A few years earlier, Ken’s alcohol problems caused him to suffer a nervous breakdown, ultimately leading to him losing his job and family. He has now relocated to a new city and lives in a rundown building where he is the only tenant. He has the windows blacked out, he won’t leave the building to find work or to see his children, and his diet consists solely of coffee, tomato soup and Pepto-Bismol.
Ken has taken to posting videos on YouTube in the hope of making enough money to remain shut away from the world and save him from having to get a “real job”.
But then his old friend Terry (Felonious Munk) notices in one of Ken’s videos, a spooky occurrence. A stuffed bird that was one of his subjects as an amateur taxidermist falls from a shelf it was resting on for no apparent reason, which sets them to further explore the possibilities of Ken’s apartment being haunted.
Reeder’s film is well crafted and produces moments with real supernatural thrills, but overall, the limitations of a small budget are all too transparent, and it all quickly comes apart at the seams.
(2/5)
Goblins Be Thine 