Night Shoot (2024) - Horror Film Review

From the brief synopsis of the terribly titled Night Shoot I figured this was going to be a found footage movie, but it turned out to be a more traditional shot film that used elements from that sub-genre of horror. Written, directed and co-starring Taylor Katsanis, this featured a likable cast of characters, some intimidating antagonists, and some excellent pacing.

A group of art students tasked with creating a documentary have decided it will be about a homeless person encampment out in the woods near to their college. The group, made up of Elisha (Alexia Bailey - Barney & Friends TV show), newcomer Troy (Zach Ball - The Walking Dead TV series), sound operator Niko (Katsanis), leader of the group Zach (Derek Evans - The Walking Dead TV series), and actress Olivia (Andrea Vertuca) initially plan to do 'a day in the life of' style documentary about the homeless, focussing on the eccentric and likeable people they find living there. Thinking of fame and fortune, Zach decides he wants to go down a darker path, and begins to insist that they go to the encampment at night, hoping to put a dark spin on the story. Unknown to the group is the fact that three psychotic wandering homeless people (played by Eddie Davenport, Ken Jackson and Truly Magyar) happen to be in the area, and are none too impressed with the college kids intrusion.

One of the things I really liked about Night Shoot was how it was paced out. The film is full of mini-title cards, mainly detailing what day of the shoot it is. I liked how there is a definite feeling of unease when they are at the camp, but that at the end of each day they head back home to safety. You can sense the increasing tension that something bad is going to happen to them, but I was impressed with how deep into the film it gets before things really begin to fall apart for them. I'm used to annoying protagonists in films lately, so it was nice to have a cast of characters that for the most part were fun people. I thought that Troy was the best of these, the film begins following him on his first day in college, and while he is a jock, he soon integrates him well into the documentary group, I loved his interactions with them. Most interesting was Zach, who has a bit of a stereotypical super serious student director type vibe to him. He had a bit of a heel-turn due to his controlling ways, leading up to some really fun moments with his character later on. Special mention goes to Jason Francisco Blue (Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water TV mini-series) as Officer Hodges, a fun role.
Despite the three psycho characters being the root of most the horror that happens here, I thought it was cool how much of an impact they are able to make with barely any screen time. They get a few scenes at the beginning of the movie to show how murderously crazed they are, and then they only pop up a couple of times more. Even in the final twenty minutes their on-screen time is very short. They left a big impression however. The Man (Davenport) is the leader of the trio, he is full of threats and malice. Then you have The Boy (Jackson) who mainly stands around with his old style camera looking very creepy. Best of them was Thin Woman (Magyar) who looked freaky as Hell, by far the most unsettling character in the film. These were great bad guys, and being under used really worked in making them feel more of a threat than if they were constantly on camera.

While mainly shot traditionally, there was about five percent of the film that was shown via found footage captured footage. This was always great stuff, especially liked the part right towards the end of the film. There was a mild body count to be found, with victims usually dying in a way that looked good on camera, but the effects were not over the top. Favourite kill had to be someone who was stabbed while they were smoking, with the smoke they had inhaled then blowing out of the wound in their neck!
The film did a good job of keeping you guessing who would survive and who wouldn't, with some surprising moments that played with viewers expectations. It leads up to a enjoyable finale, with some entertaining scenes playing out next to the end credits.

When the worst thing about your movie is the title then you are onto something good. I thought Night Shoot was an excellent horror that took what could have been a generic story and transformed it into something really entertaining. A great cast of actors, and a neat story created something that felt that little bit special. Night Shoot was released on Vudu TVOD on 3rd April.

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