ONE NIGHT IN OCTOBER **** USA 2019 Dir: Christopher M.Carter. 104 mins
If you want to take your mind of any real life apocalyptic horror out there at the moment then you’ll want to see what One Night In October holds for you.
You won’t be disappointed – unnerved, but NOT disappointed.
Here is a shock-filled showcase Halloween blood ride from Wild Eye that is laden with sad cult witch legends, revenge and many shocking moments that made my heart pound and my toes curl with interest and bloody intrigue.
Three completely separate stories run smoothly side by side and are complemented very nicely by some great lighting and sound effects by Jovany Hernandez and Lizzie Morgan, particularly the gruesomely realistic knife and axe shots in the central story of Michelle where I ended up feeling satisfied that her murderous inner demon helped her to take her horrific revenge on a small group of sick young bullies in her new neighbourhood. The two other stories are less central but no less important to the whole though, with one about a darkly weird love tangle
involving a hellish night stalker and the other one a rather tragic tale of a witch cult legend that awaits bloody resurrection in some desolate cornfields owned by a strange witch.
If you are already craving a Halloween nightmare or three then this is one film that will feed your desperate need. The cast is a fairly large and well-balanced one and Jessica Morgan as Michelle is a particularly perfect example of a deranged and demonic killer new neighbour whose bullies will live (or die?) to regret that they ever chose her as the target for their cruel practical joke.
When you take all three stories together you will see that this is a film that cleverly gives a strong sympathetic slant towards it’s ‘villains’, which proves to be a very enjoyable and original angle for it to take. Add in the effective close shots, great sound effects and some expert writing and direction from Christopher Carter and Jessica Morgan where only necessary dialogue is used and you have a perfect Halloween horror show. There is some great use of the more standard and mandatory Halloween suspense shots to savour here and also some very horrific and grisly special effects and kill strokes that really let the film come to life.
Mystery and suspense will keep you going right through a film that is pure, effective, simple and dark Halloween entertainment that tops itself off with just a splash of cruel humour for your dessert.
One night of hell, well shot and delivered to your heart and mind where bloody revenge, dark myth and brutality await you.
Review by Nathan Sandiford
ONE NIGHT IN OCTOBER is available on Amazon