Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Screen Gems,
Eric Bana, Olivia Munn, Édgar Ramírez , Sean Harris, Joel McHale
Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) is a NYPD detective who along with his partner played by Community’s Joel McHale take the tough cases. But there are several bizarre cases that seem to be somehow related that has him in a tizzy. He runs across a priest who convinces him that it’s an evil spirit that is causing all the problems around the city, and that they need to work together to solve the problem.
This latest horror film is another “based on true events” film and you can take that with a grain of salt. There is a book called “Beware the Night” that was published in 2001 by Detective Sarchie that does bear some resemblance to this B horror film, so don’t write it off quite so quick. He was a veteran NYPD detective and a demonologist who did seek out the supernatural. The movie is a combination of a number of his cases recorded in the book. This film is not going to be a box office bonanza, as it’s got a niche audience and is really not very big budget special effects and all that, but it’s still a pretty creepy little film. The thing does a pretty decent job of building up the suspense and there’s a pretty big payoff in the end. It’s a bit longer than most, but it didn’t really get boring at any part. The priest character is a bit silly, and he’s just not very believable. I don’t want to give away the plot, but let it be enough to say that you’ll know when I mean when you watch the last half hour or so. Joel McHale does bring some real humor to the role which helps a lot to make the film more enjoyable. He really does just bring his smart-ass Jeff Winger character from Community to the film but it fits in perfectly and I felt it added a lot. There is the obligatory “cop has problems at home” and “wife and daughter in danger from the killers” plots to another film, but the little girl who plays Ralph’s daughter really pulls it off and did a great job, and having Olivia Munn as wife Jen is also a good choice. She also does a good job. So in summary, it’s derivative, low budget, camp horror that will appeal to the teens, for sure, but it’s a pretty well done scary movie and was worth watching. If you’re tired of superheroes and silly comedies, this is a decent change of pace and it’s nice to have a silly little horror film out for mid-summer for a change. I have to admit, I really enjoyed it, and I jumped a couple times.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
