Detective Mike Jericho (John Hardy) is in a bit of a pickle; you see he’s become a blood lappin’ fang banger after inadvertently turning a comely lass into so much Swiss cheese with his pistol (as one does). How did that happen you may ask? Well, even if ya didn’t ask I’ll tell you! The woman was a vampire, so dying by bullet wound wasn’t really her “thing”, and she turns Mike into one as well. So with Mike’s nocturnal pursuits keeping him from his day job, his co-worker Jimi Cannon (Shawn LeTang) begins searching for his chum, which of course puts him in direct opposition of the creatures of the night who have no intention of giving Mike back to the land of the living!
Shot on a shoestring by multi-talented filmmaker/musician Byron C. Miller (who wrote the fright flick as well), Night represents an impressive, if low-tech debut from someone that continues to work in the horror biz to this day. Of course with the benefit of hindsight it has many hints of what was to come with the videos Miller shot for his band Ghosts in the Graveyard while displaying an awesome almost S.O.V. style that brings to mind the work of J.R. Bookwalter and Roberta Findlay…in particular her urban masterpiece Tenement…hell I see Henelotter in here as well with the street level griminess and threadbare sets…and for those of you that know this column and my tastes well, is high praise indeed!
With this being a micro-budget affair you can definitely see the seems showing here and there; but, it’s important to note this is from lack of budget not talent…and as I always say right here in this creepy column; as long as a flick has creativity, heart, and passion (which Night clearly does) the technical shit is just the glamour.
I should also mention that this version of Night differs from the one released commercially years back. This version has been cut together from square one by Miller, and things definitely flow smoother in this particular version as Miller has grown has an artist since this film’s early 2000’s production.
Speaking of Miller’s evolution, he and those sexy devils at SRS Cinema have also provided us with one of the best bits of bonus material on this Blu-ray release that yours cruelly has laid eerie eyeballs on in a damn sight; namely a selection of early… and I mean early (we’re talkin’ Kidsville, ya dig?) films by Miller!
Why is this so fuckin’ cool you may or may not ask? Well, I love process, and through these films we get to see an artist evolving before breaking out with this picture, his feature film debut… plus where else can ya find demonic possession, slashers, monsters, and kids going apeshit with a camcorder all under one revoltin’ roof!
If you dig on street level horror, vamp action, or just dig seeing what someone with ambition can do with next to nothing, then give Night a go; it’s a good time in the horror biz boils n’ ghouls, and if you don’t believe me, just head here and grab a copy for yourself!
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