Devil’s Night – Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge (2020)

Directed by: Sam Logan Khaleghi | 96 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Jesi Jensen, Nathan Mathers, Sam Logan Khaleghi, Jerry Narsh, Swifty McVay, Grover McCants, Keyna Reynolds, John C. Forman, Andrew Dawe-Collins, Ammar Nemo

“Never judge a book by its cover” is a famous saying that is often referred to. After all, the appearance of something or someone says little about the content. In the case of ‘Devil’s Night’ this saying does not hold. You can safely judge this film by its first impression. A kitschy, shabby Photoshop cover immediately indicates what to expect: a well-intentioned, but very amateurish piece of shit. It soon becomes painfully clear that this production was put together for a meager budget.

‘Devil’s Night’ revolves around police officer Billie Jean Finnick. After returning from her military service abroad, she visits her hometown of Lake Orion, just outside of Detroit. What should be a warm welcome turns into a nightmare. The agent must immediately get to work to solve a number of gruesome murders. The case she is assigned is surrounded by an old urban legend.

The synopsis promises an entertaining B-movie, but director Sam Logan Khaleghi doesn’t deliver on this promise. The action is crooked and poorly portrayed and the acting is laughably bad. The special effects aren’t convincing either. The intention is to bring an atmospheric thriller with horror elements to the market, but Khaleghi lacks creativity, budget and talent to achieve a good result.

‘Devil’s Night’ is a superfluous movie. A film that you can watch in the middle of the night on a commercial channel, because it is cheaper than the repetition of a (well-watched) TV program. This is padding. Filling the bottom shelf, because unfortunately there is little positive to say about this production. With more time, preparation and casting choices, a nice film could have been here, but that is not the case.

You can judge this film with confidence on the cover.