This Euro-horror is very fun to watch but for those fans who like a guessing game, the climax is ruined in the opening scene. You don't even have to be an astute film watcher to catch the casual unveiling of the twist ending when Serge reads Martine's letter. The screenwriter gave too much away which is why I believe they introduced the almost needless "Needle Killer" as a subplot.
Night of Death! follows sweet-as-pie Martine (Isabelle Goguey) who after eight months of unemployment lands a job at a retirement home. The headmaster, Betty Buckels, is a bit on the stern side but Martine has known hardship all her life as an orphan so she can handle it. However, her first night there the other nurse on duty disappears and Martine is informed that she quit--we know otherwise but poor Martine doesn't. The fun of the film is watching Martine piece things together before the 28th of the month, which all the geriatrics have marked on their calendar as some sort of great event.
STORY: $$ (Far too much is revealed in the first scene of the film which diminishes the shock value of the climax. If you don't see it coming than you have really got to be from another planet. Also, there is a lack of follow through on the tension part. Martine is well-liked and becomes close with Jules and Pascal--two old men at the home--but their friendship, which could have made for some inner turmoil, is forgotten once the 28th rolls around. Jules' fascination with revolutions was great, though!)
ACTING: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey was terrific in the lead role. Her work as Martine makes the character easy to like and thus easy to root for. Too many horror films made nowadays just don't have likable leads so they are strictly body count flicks with little value, but this is different. Betty Buckels does a fine job as the headmaster and the wiry ol' fellow that played Jules was great).
NUDITY: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey, who easily fits into the buxom bracket, has a brief topless scene while the group of oldtimers stare at her through a window. Her fellow nurse is stripped naked and eaten in a graphic cannibalism scene).
Night of Death! follows sweet-as-pie Martine (Isabelle Goguey) who after eight months of unemployment lands a job at a retirement home. The headmaster, Betty Buckels, is a bit on the stern side but Martine has known hardship all her life as an orphan so she can handle it. However, her first night there the other nurse on duty disappears and Martine is informed that she quit--we know otherwise but poor Martine doesn't. The fun of the film is watching Martine piece things together before the 28th of the month, which all the geriatrics have marked on their calendar as some sort of great event.
STORY: $$ (Far too much is revealed in the first scene of the film which diminishes the shock value of the climax. If you don't see it coming than you have really got to be from another planet. Also, there is a lack of follow through on the tension part. Martine is well-liked and becomes close with Jules and Pascal--two old men at the home--but their friendship, which could have made for some inner turmoil, is forgotten once the 28th rolls around. Jules' fascination with revolutions was great, though!)
ACTING: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey was terrific in the lead role. Her work as Martine makes the character easy to like and thus easy to root for. Too many horror films made nowadays just don't have likable leads so they are strictly body count flicks with little value, but this is different. Betty Buckels does a fine job as the headmaster and the wiry ol' fellow that played Jules was great).
NUDITY: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey, who easily fits into the buxom bracket, has a brief topless scene while the group of oldtimers stare at her through a window. Her fellow nurse is stripped naked and eaten in a graphic cannibalism scene).