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★★★
Directed by: Chad Meisenheimer Starring: Tommie Vegas and Brady Bond Short Film Review by: Rachel Pullen
Now for all of you who have been loyal readers of my film reviews, you should all be aware of my thoughts on the current trend of 80’s throwbacks in film and T.V right now, and for all of those who have not...shame on you, my writing is on par with Shakespeare. Out of the goodness of my heart I shall spare you the shame of not knowing what I think about this desire to relive this terrible decade now...it’s rubbish.
So you are gonna be able to guess that Nite Nite has the styling’s of the 80’s slathered all over it, but to my surprise it was done in a manner that was easy to digest and even more surprisingly was actually appropriate, no one worn clothes that were reminiscent of Bill Cosby jumpers, people didn’t pull crisp dollar bills from bum bags...I was relieved, this time it was used to benefit this short film, for Nite Nite is the tale of a babysitter showing the child she is caring for that monsters don’t exist... wasn’t that what the 80’s was all about?
Now babysitters and the 80’s go together like lemon curd and toast [amazing combo if you have not tried it] and so director Chad Meisenheimer’s choice to employ this decade to style his work has meaning, rather than just being an opportunity to follow a trend, we are taken back to a vulnerable time in our youth that we have all experienced, alone in bed when the parents are away, with only a pubescent bigger child in charge...
This short follows a young boy as he nervously gets in to bed and with OCD like intensity, makes his babysitter check the room for monsters before she hits the lights.
Yet despite her reassurance, it’s not long before the shadows in the dark begin to terrify him and she has to come back and start the whole process over to appeal to this imaginative boy, he clearly does not care she has teenage girl things to do, like paint her nails and call the captain of the football team whose name is something like Brad or Chip, how selfish of him, Chip sounds like a real hunk.
Of course peril ensures and monsters are not just a figment of his imagination, which if our babysitter falls victim to, who will date Chip now?
This short is a professional looking piece, stylish and competent with its delivery, the audience are able to comfortably fall into the fantasy being played out before them.
Each of the actors provided an enjoyable performance, making for a richer immersion into the storyline, both Tommie Vegas and Brady Bond are able to work well together on screen, creating a good sense of tension as this short builds to the climatic ending.
Nite Nite as a story reminds me of the Goosebumps books from our youth, but is that not what Chad is going for here? This is a throwback to our youth and the things that would scare us then, and although it does not pack a punch in regards to any real terror, it certainly is an enjoyable trip down memory lane.
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