The long night

We are rarely surprised by a horror movie as most of them seem to follow a very defined path and often turn out to be disappointing because they lack original ideas and the vision of a director worthy of the great masters of horror Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Wes Craven and some others. However, after two first films, The Curse of El Charro (2005) and Ghost House (2017), which did not hold our attention, the new film The Long Night by Rich Ragsdale shows that this director has learned from his previous mistakes to deliver a real horror film that is both disturbing and nerve-wracking. 

Far from resorting to excesses of all kinds, The Long Night manages to create a real disturbing atmosphere worthy of the great horror films of the 70s. One thinks in particular of Rosemary's Baby (1968) but also Assault (Assault on Precinct 13) (1976). Playing permanently with the nerves of the spectators, this home invasion with supernatural elements turns out to be one of the good surprises of this month of January 2022.

The screenwriters Robert Sheppe, Mark Young seem to find their inspiration both in films about humans facing demonic forces but also in violent thrillers taking place in remote towns of the United States borrowing from many local beliefs.  Grace (Scout Taylor-Compton) and her boyfriend Jack (Nolan Gerard Funk) are an ordinary couple living in New York City. Yet Grace has little memory of her past due to a deep trauma and decides to leave, following a call from an investigator she had taken to track down her parents, to the land of her childhood. However, what was supposed to be a simple trip to a welcoming land will place them in a house for one night facing a demonic sect that has taken Grace as the main element of their apocalyptic prophecy. A fierce battle will take place in a hostile land.

Director Rich Ragsdale has a real sense for creating a real ominous atmosphere in which anything seems to be possible. He finds here the actress Scout Taylor Compton that he directed in his previous film Ghost House and undeniably knows how to bring to her character a real psychological dimension. Far from resorting to useless artifices, the script of The Long Night shows that a good horror thriller does not necessarily rely on a large budget but on a real sense of tempo and the film manages to capture our attention until the last minute despite a surprising beginning of the film and some time to set the scene of the film. 

The Long Night is a return to the horror films that really knew how to scare us and that were unpredictable in their development. While the current tendency is to put very famous actors in Hollywood horror productions thus decreasing the impact of these films (except for the excellent SCREAM), The Long Night stands out as a film that will still haunt your memory after having seen it.

The long night
Directed by Rich Ragsdale              
Produced by Vasily Bernhardt, Daemon Hillin, Ryan R. Johnson, Martin Sprock
Written by Robert Sheppe, Mark Young
Starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Nolan Gerard Funk, Deborah Kara Unger
Music by Sherri Chung
Cinematography: Pierluigi Malavasi
Edited by Jay Gartland
Distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment (United States)
Release date : February 4, 2022 (United States)
Running time : 91 minutes

Seen on January 22, 2022 (screener press)

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