Movie Review: NIGHTWORLD (2017)

Hello again my fellow horror fiends! I’m back again with another piece of my mind! This time were getting into the horror/thriller NIGHTWORLD, directed by Patricio Valladares. For a plot breakdown, let’s turn to IMDB:

“When former LAPD officer Brett Anderson takes a job as head of security at an old apartment building in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, he soon begins to experience a series of bizarre and terrifying events. Once he begins to delve deeper into the building’s sinister history and investigate its shadowy owners and past employees, Brett soon uncovers a malevolent force nestled deep in the bowels of the building that will do anything to be set free into our world.”

This film begins with a genuinely terrifying recurring nightmare being dreamt up by our star, Brett, played by Jason London. I was immediately given the impression to expect the unexpected.

The setting quickly shifts as Brett moves to Bulgaria to take a security job at an old and generally creepy building. His job is to basically live in the building and monitor cameras that overlook an ancient and creepy looking door with no context as to why it’s important, which really hooked my interest. The building itself carries an overwhelming sense of darkness and dread which put me in an uncomfortable place from the beginning and it only got worse as the film progressed. One thing I appreciated is that it didn’t give you that typical haunted house vibe, but something with more depth.

The film is relatively short so the plot moves rather rapidly. Brett finds himself physically and emotionally intertwined with Zara played by Lina Kamburova basically within the first 15 minutes. Their relationship actually begins to play largely into the plot of the film because of Brett’s continuous flashbacks and nightmares of his wife taking her own life. This actually ends up being quite ironic in the long run though. We’re also Introduced to Jacob Keaton, played by Robert Englund, who was the previous security for the building and is a strange and alluring character.

As for the scares, they came quick and fast. Like I mentioned before, the movie is relatively short so there wasn’t much hesitation at throwing creepy shit at you, I mean the first five minutes have a scene that may be disturbing to most viewers. There was a lot of the typical “creepy” things that you see in a ton of horror flicks; for instance, seeing someone in a window and when you look back they’re not there anymore, or even building tension when nothing scary has happened yet. Needless to say it was fun.

In terms of the makeup effects, they were pretty entertaining and though it was mild, it was still highly noticeable. Especially when you get a glimpse of the evil on the other side of the door. There is actually quite a bit of blood, however it was tasteful and warranted but I definitely wouldn’t have called it a “splatter fest”. I think some of the cinematography also played a role into my enjoyment of the movie. There was a time lapse shot of the city I found really interesting as well as another shot of Jacob and Brett as they approach the building. The camera moves slowly along the yard and drifts behind a statue never taking complete focus off of the characters.

Overall I thought NIGHTWORLD was fun. It’s something I would share with a wider audience of friends and even family. It was creative yet carried a lot of that old familiarity you get from a typical paranormal based flick. It was also a blast to see Robert Englund playing such a different role. I think NIGHTWORLD is a bit more horror than thriller, however, don’t let this fool you as it is so jumpy it’s bound to scare most viewers.

NIGHTWORLD arrives in select theaters and On Demand October 20th

Devin March
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