by Mark Glass
DEAD OF NIGHT is a slasher flick so reminiscent of the SCREAM movies, that a character in the opening scene even mentions them. Small Town USA. Dermot Mulroney (NOT Dylan McDermott) plays the new sheriff, who has the misfortune of taking the job just before a series of brutal murders begins. The abrasive mayor (Alex Camacho) and her obnoxious father, the ex-mayor (Miles Anderson) seem to be at the center of the killer’s motivation, but no one can figure out why. The two are cravenly ambitious, but not known to have done anything to trigger such extreme reprisals.
They learn that the costumed slayer is dressed in black with an ominous black face mask – again emulating slashers of movie lore. He/she is also quite prolific, racking up a large body count in the 110 minutes before the final fade-out. Director/co-writer Derek Sulek serves up plenty of gory visuals in the murder spree, including an unusually broad range of weapons and methods for cinematic serial killers. Most of them have a signature M.O. for their journeys through the victims’ viscera.
Mulroney (again, not McDermott) gets top billing as the biggest name in the cast, but he’s not really the “star” in terms of screen time or plot advancement. That duty is fulfilled by his bright, headstrong daughter Kelly (Kirrilee Berger), whose sleuthing is more visible and ultimately productive that her daddy’s. Badges? She don’t need no stinking badges!
On the plus side, Sulek manages to sustain the suspense about the who and why until the climax, with a handful of misdirections along the way. The downside lies in character development and dialog. There’s a whole lotta unlikable townsfolk, many of whom do and say really stupid things. There were several I hoped would be bumped off as soon as possible to unclutter their social landscape and my own screen. Some of those wishes were granted, but I ain’t tellin’ which ones they be.
DEAD OF NIGHT opens in theaters on Friday, Nov. 13, 26 and will be available On Demand on Jan. 12, 2027.
Rating: 1.5 out of 4 stars
