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★★★
Directed by: Kourosh Ahari
Written by: Kourosh Ahari, Milad Jarmooz
Starring: Shahab Hosseini, Niousha Noor, Leah Oganyan, George Maguire
A family of three stay at a hotel for the night. Things take a sinister turn when supernatural forces begin tormenting them, turning the night into a nightmare.
Babak (Hosseini), his wife Neda (Noor) and their baby daughter Shabnam (Oganyan) are Iranians living in the United States. One evening, after having had dinner with friends, they drive home. Babak had too much to drink and the satnav malfunctions, so they decide it would be better to spend the night in a hotel. Once there, they seem to be the only guests and experience odd occurrences, such as footsteps coming from upstairs, even though they are at the top floor, someone standing outside their front door and disappearing, the appearance of a child and a young woman and a black cat. The night appears to go on forever and the family appears to be unable to leave the hotel.
This psychological horror film has a plot that resembles The Shining: A family of three are trapped inside a haunted hotel and witness similar occurrences to Stephen King's story, such as the spirit of a child and a dead woman in a bathtub.
The narrative does a good job in building suspense and tension. Babak and Neda's lives are well explored and both go through significant character development. As the story progresses, they become more and more desperate to escape and it becomes apparent that they both have dark secrets.
The performances are great by the two leads. Hosseini and Noor are very convincing as they become frantic and start to loose their sanity. Maguire makes an interesting contribution as the creepy hotel receptionist.
The film has the right kind of music. Nima Fakhrara's score is tense and sinister, creating a feeling of dread, which goes very well with the atmosphere.
Generally, this feature is well made, with effective directing and lighting and plenty of darkness, which is what horror films with a plot that concerns a haunted building often need.
On the minus side, the pace is too slow, with some scenes lasting longer than required and the heroes spend too much time wandering around inside the hotel. As a result, the movie's duration feels too long.
Nevertheless, the plot is intriguing enough to keep the audience's attention and make them want to know how things are going to turn out.
THE NIGHT WILL BE RELEASED ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS 2ND APRIL
Trailer:
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