Nightworld (2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Jason London, Robert Englund, Lorina Kamburova
Directed by Patricio Valladares
We as horror fans have been waiting for a little while for one of those unstoppable, unforgiving and ultimately rewarding ghost stories on film, and with the recent addition of Patricio Valladares’s latest presentation Nightworld…it appears as if we might have to wait just a little bit longer – hold on, fiends – for all is not lost however.
Starring Jason London and Robert Englund (in a somewhat oddly placed role), the film leads us in the footsteps of former police officer Brett, who is still suffering some mental trauma following the suicide of his beautiful wife. The never-ceasing nightmares and horrific images won’t allow him to grieve properly and move on, and when his best friend steps in and proposes a change of scenery, Brett takes the offer and heads to Bulgaria…wait, WHAT? Any-who, the position that Brett is accepting is for that of a live-in security specialist, keeping eye on a very mysterious tomb that has the curators on a constant sense of trepidation…ah, to hell with it -they’re scared shitless of what’s inside and would rather not deal with it themselves. His immediate contact in case anything looks suspicious is Jacob (Englund), quite the suspicious looking chap himself, complete with sunglasses and cane, his claim of blindness right off the bat appears to be a shady one, but Englund’s ability to play the role makes it work outside of a bit of awkwardness.
Brett’s nightmares begin to ramp up again, and it’s not until he meets a gorgeous young gal (Kamburova) working in a nearby coffee shop does he start to ease back a bit and let actions take their course…the beautiful woman doesn’t hurt either! Once the timing’s right and there’s a bit of “activity” behind the sealed tomb doors, the tempo of the film picks up quite rapidly – now this doesn’t mean that a whole lot of sense is made during these times, but the pace definitely quickens. The building itself becomes its own entity, and there are quite a few surprises in store for Brett and his new lady-friend. What works here for this movie is the idea behind it, and Valladares’s direction assists the plot to a point, but the overall execution and lack of real scares are what unfortunately hold this back from really blowing the scalps of our skulls. A serious overload of drab dialogue and goofy reactions from the actors are a bit of a letdown as well, but London and Englund are mildly amusing in the roles they were assigned, and a modest bit of saving grace is attached to their work. I’d love to say that Nightworld was the answer to my yearning for a fresh take on the ghost story request, but for the moment it’ll have to pass – this one’s worth a one-timer at best.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
