{"id":22065,"date":"2021-01-28T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=22065"},"modified":"2021-01-28T11:46:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:46:11","slug":"the-night-is-an-atmospheric-chiller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=22065","title":{"rendered":"THE NIGHT is An Atmospheric Chiller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This title from IFC Midnight will be released in select\ntheaters and on digital & cable VOD January 29th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horror films are typically low-budget affairs. Sometimes this\nmeans that production levels aren\u2019t quite on par with bigger Hollywood\nfeatures, but these efforts also carry a lower financial risk that can occasionally\nresult in more creative freedom and new approaches. The Night<\/em> is a\npsychological horror picture that resembles many other haunted house tales. But\nwhile the story is familiar, this project depicts an immigrant Iranian family\nand much of the dialogue is spoken in the Farsi language. Additionally, the\ncharacters\u2019 issues are also unique and specific enough to add something fresh\nto the mix. So much so that this debut title from writer\/director Kourosh Ahari\nis the first US-based production in decades to be approved for a theatrical\nrelease in Iran (which should occur shortly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story begins with Babak Naderi (Shahab Hosseini), his\nwife Neda (Niousha Noor) and their 1-year-old infant Shabnam (Leah Oganyan) at\na gathering with friends in Los Angeles. While they appear happy, there is some\nfriction between the couple that may be related to spending time apart (Babak\nimmigrated to the US some time before his spouse\u2019s arrival). On their way home,\nNeda becomes concerned about her husband driving while intoxicated. After\nlosing their way, the stubborn and exhausted Babak stops at a nearby hotel.\nAfter being checked in by a receptionist (George Maguire), the pair retreat to\ntheir room. However, they don\u2019t end up getting much rest. Each begins hearing\nstrange sounds and experiencing bizarre visions. It becomes clear that there is\nsomething sinister and even supernatural occurring, which intensifies after the\nfamily realize they are trapped inside the hotel.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, the idea of characters isolated in a\nthreatening and seemingly empty hotel environment isn\u2019t original. It has been\nused for a backdrop most famously in The Shining<\/em>, as well as flicks like\n1408<\/em>, Vacancy<\/em> and Identity<\/em>. One can certainly see the\ninfluence of the earlier famous title clearly here. The odd receptionist even\nappears at the end of a hallway and gives a sinister smile at one point in the\nstory in a way that can\u2019t help but remind one of The Shining<\/em>. A work of\nart in the lobby also receives a prominent callback later in the tale, also harkening\nback to the Stanley Kubrick ghost story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the familiar elements, once the ominous threat is\nintroduced, the cast efficiently draw viewers in and make what would otherwise\nbe a preposterous scenario convincing. It soon becomes clear that these strange\nevents have something to do with personal secrets that the husband and wife\nhave been hiding from each other during their time apart. Again, while not radical\nin execution, lead performers Hosseini (The Salesman<\/em>, A Separation<\/em>)\nand Noor do manage to convey a relatable frustration, fear (in particular, for\nthe safety of their infant) and remorse as the story progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is also helped by the sure hands of the director,\nwho effectively uses sound design involving creaks and noises coming from\noutside the room. On rare occasions when the frightened family come into\ncontact with the receptionist or another stranger within the hotel, the\ninteractions are tense and filled with unease. It\u2019s always difficult to get a\nhandle on the motivation of those who show up and whether they have appeared to\nhelp or harm the protagonists. The movie also makes great use of long takes,\nparticularly during the atmospheric climax, which features one of the leads\nventuring through the depths of the hotel and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, while the story may not offer anything revolutionary, in\nan understated way it does detail some of the unexpected trials and interior struggles\nthat each character endured during the long immigration process. And the performances,\nalong with the lighting, editing and camerawork, do create an increasingly\ncreepy and dread-filled atmosphere. In the end, The Night<\/em> presents\nenough new wrinkles on an old formula to give horror fans a sufficient chill. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This title from IFC Midnight will be released in select theaters and on digital & cable VOD January 29th. Horror films are typically low-budget affairs. Sometimes this means that production levels aren\u2019t quite on par with bigger Hollywood features, but these efforts also carry a lower financial risk that can occasionally result in more creative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,8198,8250,8931,9319,9369,11885,14928,18119,21699,21702,21705,21713],"class_list":["post-22065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-george-maguire","tag-ghost","tag-haunted","tag-horror","tag-hotel","tag-kourosh-ahari","tag-niousha-noor","tag-shahab-hosseini","tag-the-night","tag-the-night-film-review","tag-the-night-movie-review","tag-the-night-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}