As a viewer, we know from the get-go what's going on in Night of Death! Or we like to think we do. The mystery is not much of a mystery because it's revealed early; even then its intentions are sprinkled throughout, where the horrifying visceral shake-up implodes at the end of the first act. So now we wait for the naive protagonist to catch on to what's going on behind the scenes, as she goes about her everyday work chores. The cannibalsitic elderly of a nursing home kills their newly appointed carer after every two months to feed upon their flesh and internal organs to stop the rot of aging. After the sudden disappearance of the previous employee, newly arrived nurse Martine begins her fateful two month countdown... the next cadaver on the chopping block!
Occasionally going down this path where you are leaps and bounds ahead of the situation can harm the suspense and intrigue, but here, the genuinely weird and creepy atmosphere of the secluded retirement home and its residents keeps you enthralled. Sometimes done in a darkly humorous manner of unscripted macabre heightened by the eeriely persistent music score. You won't be forgetting that score! Also helping out is having a very affable Isabella Goguey caught in the middle of this unaware nightmare. She's so well-grounded and likeable you feel every anxious step brought upon by her unusual interactions through to the growing suspicions towards the residents' unhinged actions that can cut to images of them reaching into a corpse pulling out internal organs to munch on like at an all you can eat buffet.
Then there's the lingering side-story of a deranged serial killer plaguing the nearby town, which latter on seems to be more so on her mind when she begins picking up on the clues of something shady going on around Michel Flavius' character. He really nails the role, from his mousy appearance to the intensity he brings. You begin to ride it out --- hoping she catches on sooner rather than later. The slow, and tranquil progression of genre tropes (including the frequent tap on the shoulder jump fright) hits feverish levels at the protagonist's bewildering climatic discovery of the Deadlock house's gruesome secret. What once was foreseeable, suddenly gets twisted around. The nasty practical gore hits home, everybody begins showing their true colours while openely licking their chops and it finishes on a jarring final twist. Quite unexpected, yet effectively idyllic killer blow. The shock didn't surprise, but the reveal of who's behind it did.
Occasionally going down this path where you are leaps and bounds ahead of the situation can harm the suspense and intrigue, but here, the genuinely weird and creepy atmosphere of the secluded retirement home and its residents keeps you enthralled. Sometimes done in a darkly humorous manner of unscripted macabre heightened by the eeriely persistent music score. You won't be forgetting that score! Also helping out is having a very affable Isabella Goguey caught in the middle of this unaware nightmare. She's so well-grounded and likeable you feel every anxious step brought upon by her unusual interactions through to the growing suspicions towards the residents' unhinged actions that can cut to images of them reaching into a corpse pulling out internal organs to munch on like at an all you can eat buffet.
Then there's the lingering side-story of a deranged serial killer plaguing the nearby town, which latter on seems to be more so on her mind when she begins picking up on the clues of something shady going on around Michel Flavius' character. He really nails the role, from his mousy appearance to the intensity he brings. You begin to ride it out --- hoping she catches on sooner rather than later. The slow, and tranquil progression of genre tropes (including the frequent tap on the shoulder jump fright) hits feverish levels at the protagonist's bewildering climatic discovery of the Deadlock house's gruesome secret. What once was foreseeable, suddenly gets twisted around. The nasty practical gore hits home, everybody begins showing their true colours while openely licking their chops and it finishes on a jarring final twist. Quite unexpected, yet effectively idyllic killer blow. The shock didn't surprise, but the reveal of who's behind it did.