Many films succeed as a result of being more than the sum of their parts, or subverting the expectations of those settling down to watch. Night Hunter, however, is that most unfortunate of misfires: a film that achieves the inverse of this. A stellar cast, skilled musical score composers, and a solid set of inspirations combine to little beyond an uninspiring drama at best, or a leery piece of pulp deserving of eyerolls at worst.
Set up well, let down fast
Henry Cavill leads the cast as Marshall – protective father and local law enforcer on the trail of the perpetrator of a spate of murders and abductions of young woman. Helping him do so is psychological profiler Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), with the Commissioner played by Stanley Tucci in full finger-pointing, desk-bashing mode. Nathan Fillion rounds out the police cast in an underused role. Mixed in to this manhunt are the vigilante duo of Cooper (Ben Kingsley) and Lara (Eliana Jones), using Lara as bait to lure in and castrate would-be sexual abusers, who form an uneasy alliance with Marshall.
Night Hunter does itself few favours by inviting comparisons with its melange of influences. The film seemingly aspires to be some sort of mix of Primal Fear and Seven, with some of the cool-hued cinematography associated with film and television focused on the depravity of human behaviour. However, it can’t clear this lofty bar on either the technical or narrative front.
Glimmer of technical success snuffed out
In fairness to Michael Barrett, the cinematographer here, many of the shots look extremely accomplished. As a young woman runs away from an attacker, the seclusion is highlighted by the switch from the blue, snow-driven look of her locale transitioning to the sodium yellow of the lights on a quiet road. However, the blocking of director David Raymond rarely seems to add much to any of these shots.
As the investigation gathers pace, Cavill simply walks in and out of rooms in static shots, wearing a permanent scowl of concern. The music here is from Benjamin Wallfisch – of Blade Runner: 2049 and the two recent It adaptations – but although clearly of a high standard, the use of the score in Night Hunter is overwrought and pleading, as if prodding the audience to care rather than amplifying a concern that should already be present.
Questionable narratives and characters
The narrative itself also stretches to breaking point the credulity of events. It is never terribly clear why Cavill‘s Marshall forms some sort of uneasy understanding with Kingsley‘s Cooper, and thus the latter’s vigilantism. Sure – cinema is replete with uneasy alliances between vigilantes and the authorities but in none of these adaptations was Batman liable to cut off his prey’s testicles and constantly risk young women being kidnapped to achieve that. A desperate late plot maneuver centred on prime suspect Simon (Brendan Fletcher) to make jaws drop is also eye-rolling. The revelation presented has no substance behind it whatsoever, neither prompting a re-evaluation of the plot to that point nor creating drama as a result of asymmetric knowledge between the characters.
There is also a slightly leery sensibility to Night Hunter, beyond the slightly wooden blocking and acting. When Alexandra Daddario unsettles Simon during an interrogation by attempting to resemble his mother and taking her top off, the camera angles seem more intent on getting her disrobing across than any effect it might have been having on Simon. Additionally, the reasons for this being the chosen technique are opaque at best, beyond a hastily developed ‘urgency’. Given the character’s insistence mere scenes ago about the progress her approach was making – much to the frustration of the old school gumshoe types – it also seems to go against the already very thinly-drawn character.
Night Hunter: Poor use of good elements
There are glimmers of good storytelling and filmmaking in Night Hunter, but as the film progresses it becomes clear these are simply the embers of its much better inspirations and the flickering of a stellar cast. Once the story sets in and the script takes over, these are snuffed out. Night Hunter‘s opening scene ends up emblematic of the whole thing. Running around in the dark, with the faintest hope, before tossing itself to a self-imposed demise.
Have you seen Night Hunter? Do you agree? Can you think of other films with great casts that didn’t use their potential? Let us know in the comments below!
Night Hunter was released on September 6, 2019 in the USA and September 13, 2019 in the UK.
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