Shudder Original review: ‘Night’s End’ is a creepy and campy crowd-pleaser.

NIGHT’S END

An anxious shut-in moves into a haunted apartment, hiring a stranger to perform an exorcism which quickly takes a horrific turn.


Director Jennifer Reeder and screenwriter Brett Neveu bring us the Shudder Original Night’s End. Anxiety-ridden Ken is apartment-bound and attempting to get his life back on track. In doing so, he accidentally records a strange occurrence while filming his amateur YouTube videos. Things get weirder when he’s encouraged to pursue the building’s history and provoke whatever entity might be lurking in his domain. Night’s End is the perfect marriage of creepy and campy. Shudder audiences will love it. 

Every single performance adds to the overall arc of Night’s End. Dark Corners host Daniel Kyrie, and Lyden Knight, played by Theo Germaine, give that YouTube clout appearance. Their distinct personalities up the anty for the finale. The camp enters the arena officially with the introduction of author Colin Albertson, played by Lawrence Grimm, a famous paranormal expert guiding Ken on his journey. Grimm, whose name evokes perfect casting, represents every talking head in any SyFy channel show. He will make you smirk with familiarity. 

Comic relief comes in the form of Michael Shannon. Yes, Michael Shannon! He plays Isaac, Ken’s marital replacement. Donning Hawaiian shirts and giving us an honest-to-goodness stepdad goofiness, Shannon is effortlessly hilarious.

Felonious Munk is Ken’s best friend, Terry. He’s encouraging and genuinely interested in getting Ken well. Walker and Munk’s banter is essential to Jen’s backstory. Kate Arrington, as ex-wife Kelsey, is down-to-earth and loveable. The chemistry with Walker has a closeness that feels grounded. Keep in mind, every single interaction Ken experiences is through Zoom. Bravo to the editor Mike OlenikGeno Walker plays Ken with a super natural (two words) energy. His paranoia is palpable as frustration and confusion pour off the screen. Walker is a commanding lead. 

Night’s End uses horror tropes to tackle mental health uniquely. Fran Bittakis‘ set dressing, cleverly disguised in draped plastic, serves a dual purpose. The apartment appears amid repair, but it also allows for some ghostly apparition moments. Zoom works perfectly, considering Ken suffers from crippling anxiety and agoraphobia throughout the film. The significance hits home in the finale. The creepy factor will turn your knuckles white, even if the film’s climax begets an eye roll. Know what you’re going into with Night’s End, and you’ll undoubtedly have a good time. I still think there is sequel potential. That’s a character journey I want to explore. 


Premieres March 31 on Shudder


Shudder Original Review: ‘V/H/S/94’ is another fantastic gore-soaked addition to the franchise with a killer nostalgic twist.

V/H/S/94

Synopsis

A Shudder Original Film, V/H/S/94 is the fourth installment in the hit horror anthology franchise and marks the return of the infamous found footage anthology with segments from franchise alumni Simon Barrett (Séance) and Timo Tjahjanto (May the Devil Take You Too) in addition to acclaimed directors Jennifer Reeder (Knives & Skin), Ryan Prows (Lowlife) and Chloe Okuno (Slut). In V/H/S/94, after the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police swat team launch a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.


Boasting unbelievable practical FX, the scares in V/H/S/94 are brilliant. I’m talking legitimate, meticulously timed jump scares from every single director. The quality of the film forces you to sit up and pay closer attention, sometimes squinting over the tracking adjustments as they crowd the screen. The V/H/S franchise has been able to capture something glorious beyond the found footage genre. It’s the mystery behind the overall arch that keeps you creeped out and engaged on top of the fantastic individual stories. It’s a double whammy of horror goodness. You’ll shiver and gag and think, “Damn, this is good shit.”

The grand scheme of V/H/S 94, or “Holy Hell,” has the audience following a SWAT team into an industrial building filled with monitors and plenty of body parts. They don’t know who or what they’re searching for, exactly. As they sweep the rooms a new tape begins to play. Each one is completely different and spectacularly twisted. Tape 1, titled “Storm Drain” features a local legend of Ratman. An ambitious reporter and her cameraman get in over their heads. Tape 2, “The Empty Wake,” sees a young woman left to record the wake of a recently deceased man. Alone with a dead body during a storm? No thanks. This segment was my personal favorite. It’s old-school scary meets nuts visuals. I couldn’t help but yell NOPE at the screen, again and again.

Tape 3 “The Subject,” tells the tale of a mad doctor attempting to improve humans with technology. If you ever wanted a live first-person shooter game experience, now you’ve got one. Tape 4 “Terror” takes aim at domestic terrorism with a group of militiamen planning to cleanse America with s monstrous weapon. I also have to mention, director Steven Kostanski’s infomercial “The Veggie Masher.” It’s totally maniacal and random as hell. But at the same time, perfectly harkens back to those 3 am hour-long commercials for ridiculous kitchen gadgets. The finale actually gives you answers. As the 4th installment of the franchise, V/H/S94 makes it clear that these films are alive and well and ready to fuck you up.


V/H/S/94 WILL BE RELEASED

EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER ON OCTOBER 6TH

Available on Shudder US, Shudder CA, Shudder UK, and Shudder ANZ


Directed by Chloe Okuno, Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto,

Ryan Prows & Jennifer Reeder


Runtime: 100 minutes

Country: U.S. / Indonesia

Language: English / Indonesian