Poker Night

Yes, what I mentioned in the my title is true. As far as I know in the history of cinema, there has never been a scene of a vicious, bloody serial killer wearing his grotesque mask while he goes to the office and sits in his cubicle with all the other 9-5 schleps. So, love it or hate it, ya gotta give this film props for that.

"Poker Night" blends horror, crime, comedy and surrealism to bring us a wild ride like I haven't seen since the Christopher Walken masterpiece "Suicide Kings" (a flick you need to watch asap if you haven't already). This film takes a very similar approach, so similar that I had to check if the director of Poker Night also directed Suicide Kings but he did not. Both films are extremely non-linear, meaning they jump back & forth in time, from different perspectives, telling different stories which all come together in the end. Well sort of. Therein lies my only criticism, but first let's talk about the good.

This film is a standard serial killer cat-and-mouse game, much like Saw, but it throws in a concurrent flashback to a cops' poker night where they are each telling stories of their careers. The stories relate to the main character's predicament as he's trying to outwit the killer. At the same time we're all trying to piece together who the killer is and what is the motivation behind all of this. It's definitely a film that you need to pay attention to, otherwise you might get lost in all the interweaving episodes & flashbacks, especially when they get surreal and the main character gets superimposed in the stories being told by others.

It's also a very dark film, literally dark, where we are intentionally not shown what's happening until the end of a scene. The director took a gamble on whether this would be suspenseful or annoying, and my opinion is that it worked. Others may not agree.

Another gamble was that hilarious serial killer fantasy I mentioned at the beginning. If I haven't been clear enough, I LOVED IT. That playful approach was exactly what was needed to break up the tension and disturbing nature of the story.

Ok now the bad. The film frequently crosses over into unbelievable territory, as in people getting shot multiple times or mutilated in violent ways but they still get up and manage to pull off an action packed fight scene. There's one scene in particular where a character basically gets half his skin ripped off, but 5 minutes later it's barely a scratch. Maybe they threw in stuff like that to keep the audience awake, but at the risk of boring people they should've kept things more realistic all the way through. Also in the last 20 minutes there are several crazy plot leaps crammed together for the sake of giving us a bunch of twists, and I felt that these also undermined the core strength of the film which was a slow battle of wits. But those are really minor nitpicks which shouldn't dissuade you from checking out this movie.

If you enjoy non-linear, flashback-based, bizarre & quirky crime thrillers such as "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" or the aforementioned "Suicide Kings" then definitely give this a go. Also if, like me, you are interested in this film only because the amazing Ron Perlman is in it, then you won't be disappointed. Although he's a somewhat minor character, his scenes are fantastic and easily raise the calibre of the film a few notches.

This is.....different. I don't know how to describe it any other way.

If you're into your horror/thriller type of movie, and you're not looking for anything deep, but you do want a movie with lots of twists and turns, then this is for you.

I liked it. I liked how the different stories played out to help create the main one.

Beau Mirchoff played his character well. Halston Sage is stunning!

It's not an academy award winner, but if you want a bit of fun and horror, then this is for you. You won't pick the story and how it pans out- definitely different....

Watched this on Itunes the other day. After I watched it I looked up reviews and other info. I mean come on Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito? One review said flashbacks within flashbacks exhaust the viewer. I mean I get the review but I disagree. I think you get caught up in the stories. From what I can tell this didn't have a huge budget but what it lacked in money it makes up by keeping you engaged. The acting is solid. The story telling is cool. The characters and editing move it along kinda Guy Richie/David Fincheresque meets Saw type feel. I found myself yelling at the computer. Where one reviewer felt exhausted I felt I was entertained. This is one I say watch for your self and don't listen to critic reviews. Remember it is a genre film and not looking I think to win any awards. No one in the movie seemed to be trying to make a movie to change the world. If you like hip storytelling and popcorn flicks this movie is for you. Put it in your queue!

ridiculous, pretentious, unrealistic and unwatchable. the writer/director did a very stupid but at same time very formulaic mistake to box all the so-called cops to serve and protect the people in a indiana town. these cops under the keyboard of the writer became nothing but thugs and lowlifes, every word and sentence out of their mouth is Fxxk this or Fxxking that. they are more like addictive gamblers or gangbangers instead of well-trained, well-experienced cops. the screenplay's dialog seemed to have an intention to compete in a dirty-mouth contest among movies related to cops or gangsters. the young leading character did not convince me as a legit and believable detective; he's not even qualified to be in police uniform to patrol the street; a pretty handsome face but not a good enough, albeit a least talented actor. those who played the veteran cops in this film are not bad actors, but they were railroaded by the dialog to be just foul-mouthed guys all the time, sounded cool but turned out to be unwillingly forced to deliver their dialog. the culprit wearing a stupid and ridiculous mask in a very stupid drafted scenario and storyline, a tall skinny guy with long limbs and chicken neck. from the very beginning moment of his appearance, the movie was doomed and fatally to be a unbelievable farce. there's nothing right about this film but ridiculousness and pretentiousness.

Overall this is an interesting thriller to watch.

Its main problem is the weird narrative with the time moving back and forth while telling the story and while leaving "crucial" clues out for a later reveal.

Also there is this gimmick, where the main character (a young cop) takes the place on screen of his older colleagues who are trying through personal stories to transfer their wisdom to him.

You get the hang of it, but it is a risk and it may confuses many of the viewers.

The cast is good enough. It consists of actors who you have seen them lots of times in secondary roles. Nevertheless they do a good job around a poker table as veteran cops, telling stories.

The "solution" of what is happening it's presented in "key phrases" from the beginning so if you want to follow the movie and enjoy it I suggest to pay attention from the start! The man behind the mask it might fool you too!