(IMAGE: 3rd Shift Media)
3rd Shift Media, 2020. Thriller. 85 minutes.
RATING: 3 out of 4
By Night’s End is one of those projects aspiring filmmakers hope to come up with – a story shot in the director’s own home, calling in every possible favor from friends, with minimal further expenditures. Narrowly beating pandemic lockdowns that would have changed the calculus immensely, first-time feature director Walker Whited proclaims that his production budget began at a mere $26,000. Saying it doesn’t look it would be damning with faint praise – while the single-location implies a low budget, the movie otherwise needs no excuses. Blumhouse, for example, makes plenty of horror movies set in and around one house, and while By Night’s End might not be as studio-slick, it delivers more sick thrills than many equivalent cheapies.
Which isn’t to say it’s flawless. There are definitely some story issues that could have been smoothed over, had there been more than 12 days to make it. The movie has to stand apart from its backstory, though, and it certainly has enough to recommend. Whited shoots the hell out of his own home, especially the attic above and the crawlspace below. Both of which he willingly trashes, like a filmmaker serving the story rather than a homeowner being precious about his property.
Heather (Michelle Rose) and Mark (Kurt Yue) are an unlikely couple with tragedy in their past, moving into a new home in hopes of moving forward. Unfortunately and initially unbeknownst to them, months earlier a dubious character named Parker (Carlos Aviles) stashed something illegal in the then-empty home, and now he’s back to find it. Heather, a former military Sergeant, quickly disarms and disables the intruder, but not before he offers a massive bribe. The couple needs money badly, and Mark is sorely tempted. So rather than listen to his wife, who is clearly well-trained in intense situations, he insists they take an hour to search the house for the missing item before actually calling for help.
Now, if I were married to a military wife, I’d STFU about how to deal with armed assailants, unless I outranked her. Whited’s script actually does nail the character of marital arguments, but Yue and Rose don’t quite feel like a married couple with history together. That gets less and less important as the story goes on, but still, it’s clear the luxury of a chemistry read was one of the corners cut. Ironically, Yue has more acting experience of the two, though it’s primarily in small roles. Rose is a veteran stunt performer, rarely cast to emote, but the action-based character plays to her clear strengths.
Initially, the story focuses on the moral dilemma the couple faces – do they do the right thing, or try to make a profit? But as the night goes on, Parker’s associate Moody (Michael Aaron Milligan, looking like Joe Pantoliano cosplaying The Undertaker) shows up, and makes clear he has full control over the situation…and the local authorities. What Heather and Mark do next will determine whether they live or die.
And yet they still waste a lot of time talking it out and slowly making decisions. Moody may be in charge, but it takes him a while to really put the screws to them, or make any kind of ticking clock schedule clear. Once he starts pushing his advantage, though, the movie flips into action mode, and with henchmen also played by stunt performers, Whited can let the fights play out in long takes. It would be deceptive to present this as an action-packed movie, but when the action matters, it’s hard-hitting as hell, and exactly the tension-breaking catharsis that’s been effectively built.
Along with cinematographer Philip Wages, Whited creates the perfect atmosphere for things realistically going bump in the night. From dark suburban streets to bright floodlights in a local park, they create a microcosm of the sort of place that’s sleepy enough at night to let folks get away with murder. The dark hides many things, and Moody’s plans remain shrouded in enough mystery to keep us guessing what (or whom) he has hidden in shadows.
Whited’s goal with By Night’s End was to prove he could be trusted to make a movie, and potentially earn bigger budgets for his other scripts. But this is no throwaway test – on its own terms as a movie, it’s a solidly entertaining thriller-in-a-box. He has more than earned that next shot.
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