Mischief Night

I can appreciate the attempt to do something new with the serial killer/slasher/stalker/home invasion film, but this flick doesn't quite pull it off.

Film begins with Kaylie, a teenager who is covering a babysitting gig because her friend is sick. It is the night before Halloween, and after dealing with kids playing pranks, girl-talk with her friend, a visit from a boy she likes, and a cameo from Malcolm McDowell, she settles in for the night. Then, a masked man breaks in with a knife and comes after her.

At that point, the movie completely shifts. The masked man is not your typical killer and the girl is not your typical victim, and the movie grinds to a complete halt and becomes incredibly boring and talky while the two of them start to "bond" and develop sort of a relationship.

The movie picks up again at the very end, but ends up with an ending that is so totally obvious that anyone paying attention probably figured it out very early on (I know I did). And to make things a little more annoying, based on the very last shot, the filmmakers think they are WAY more clever than they actually are.

There are a couple of gory murders, but no real scares and, as I said, the middle of the film is a snooze-fest. Couple that with the predictable ending, and it's hard to recommend for a horror fan. Which sucks because I really wanted this film to be good since it's a noble attempt.

I like horror. I like a good scare. I love movies that others hate. I love lots of B horror movies. This is just.... lame. If they wanted a comedy, they should have gone that route, instead of inserting dumb humor where none fits. If they wanted a scare fest they should have tried for it. No trying here. Utter fail.

What a weird and awesomely different movie this was! Saw the trailer and was very intrigued. Never heard of any of the actors involved (except Malcolm McDowell) and it seemed pretty low- budget but the fact that it also seemed to have this strange twist to it was enough to get me to want to watch. And I'm glad I did. This movie was wacky! First the killer is trying to hack up the dumb blonde girl who is always making stupid moves like swimming almost naked in the pool, then it turns out the blonde girl is way smarter than we thought and maybe the guy doesn't want to kill her, and then they start talking and opening up to each other and you don't know what to think, or what's going to happen next. It's not as funny or violent as Scream, but it has funny and violent parts, and it's overall more emotional. Loved all the performances, but Brooke Anne Smith and Marc Valera particularly. They have great chemistry. The lighting is really moody and creepy too. This one was pretty original and well done.

Different, an unusual outcome, a long development, full of problematic conversations and some unfounded, I liked the old man, the nosy neighbor, who has some extra scenes at the end of the film ... It is neither good nor bad, different, regular ...

Mischief Night is a romantic film that baits audiences pretending to be a horror movie.

It is mischief night, devil's night, the one night a year where anything goes, so why can't a serial killer unexpectedly fall in love with his victim?

Mischief Night takes a risk and tries to be something different from the slasher killer horror movie typical of the genre: "The night before Halloween, a teenage babysitter is stalked by a masked killer; but in an unusual turn of events, victim and victimizer begin to develop romantic feelings for each other."

The opening sequence of the film was intriguing; shots of Halloween decorations and punk kids pulling pranks in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Mischief Night had potential for being the horror film to watch for fans of the festive night of Halloween, especially having a brief cameo by Malcolm McDowell for horror aficionados. Unfortunately twenty minutes into the movie it becomes a boring introspective talk fest that drags along between two mundane characters.

Brooke Anne Smith is the heroine Kaylie, she is strange and atypical, she has problems (sarcasm abounds). Marc Valera is The Man who unsuspectingly falls for his blonde haired victim. Both are so monotonous, so dull, that if I could I would jump into the movie just to kill both the characters and save myself sixty minutes of my life.

The film is so obviously expected and plebeian it is quite sad that writer/director Travis Baker actually thought he was making something riveting, intellectual and good.

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