Mischief Night (2014) Directed by Travis Baker

Coincidentally enough, this is the second movie today that I watch that seems like a straightforward enough horror flick but it turns out to be something completely different. And again, in this case different does not equal good or engaging.

Normally when horror movies features twists in it, it adds to the tension, mystery and originality of it. In this movie, the twists don't do any of that though. The twists actually weaken the movie and the horror in particular. I wouldn't even necessarily call this movie a horror movie. It's a movie with some horror tendencies and moments in it but other than that, it has no good suspense or mystery to it, so the movie rarely ever feels like a true horror movie.

The movie basically has no idea how to handle of built up any good tension or mystery, which is one of the foremost reasons why the movie doesn't work out very well.

I guess I can still see and understand what the movie was trying to do but the problem with it really is that its story doesn't ever works out as an engaging or solid enough one. The story really relies on the characters but the movie just can't ever seem to manage to develop the characters into some interesting and likable enough ones. The movie is doing a lot but at the same time it's also doing very little. It's trying to be subtle but it mistakes doing and telling as little as possible for subtlety at times, which even makes this movie a somewhat annoying and tiring one to watch.

It's really important to say that this may sound and look like a real typical, formulaic, slasher but it in fact really isn't. Maybe by saying that I'm spoiling things for you but I feel that it in this case nevertheless is important to tell you, since you should know what you are in for when you pick this movie up and I sincerely doubt that the lovers of the slasher genre are going to enjoy this movie very much and will probably feel cheated by it.

I admire the attempt and applaud the film-makers for trying something different but in the end, I really can't say that it works out too well, or that the movie is a good or interesting enough one to watch, despite of its originality and no doubt best of intentions.

4/10

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