Dark Side of Night

Randal Lee Smith writes and directs this tense crime thriller which stars Rene Ashton, Chris Cleveland, Megan McGillicuddy and George Nelson.

Richard (Cleveland) is a prosecutor in the United States and after winning his latest case, he decides to celebrate by taking his wife, Dawn (Ashton) and daughter, Iris (McGillicuddy) to a cabin in the mountains for the weekend. However, shortly after their arrival, two armed criminals appear, Porter (Nelson) and Garrett (Russell Rozotabi Prim) and invade the property, imprisoning the family. Iris and her parents fight back and after Richard gets shot. Now, Dawn and her daughter must run for their lives in the vast wilderness and evade their relentless pursuers.

This feature could be described as an outdoor chase survival thriller and a family drama. Most of the screenplay follows Iris and Dawn as they navigate on foot through the wooded mountains, desperately trying to reach safety while the two intruders hunt them down. Plenty of life-threatening situations ensue, along with dramatic revelations and people get killed. Among all this, Dawn and her daughter find the opportunity to reconcile their differences. Initially, this appears to be a straightforward story about home invasion and murder, however, plot twists reveal that there is more than meets the eye regarding the outlaws's motives.

The general impression is that this film intends to take itsef seriously. However, characters crack jokes during the most inappropriate of times (primarily during situations involving life and death) and that makes one wonder if this feature is also intended to be a dark comedy, which does not seem to be the case. The addition of the humour just makes the atmosphere awkward.

Ashton is the one who delivers the most convincing performance, that being a wife and mother with a drinking problem who lives in an unhappy marriage and has disconnected from her daughter. As time passes, she rekindles their relationship and becomes a stronger person. McGillicuddy does a decent job in terms of depicting Iris as a rebellious youngster but fails to do the same when her character finds herself in situations involving mortal danger. Generally, Nelson and Prim do not show good acting, although they both succeed in making their characters interesting, with Porter being a bearded crook with asthma who is the one in charge of the invasion and Garrett being less clever and naive. Finally, Cleveland does well in portraying an ambitious and seasoned prosecutor and a family man.

Analysing the themes now, this film has several. Firstly, it is about survival, betrayal, secrets and crime and it also includes the law industry and domestic violence. In terms of things involving family, mother-and-daughter issues are present, along with things about dysfunctional families.

A chase thriller that manages to be a decent viewing thanks to the plentiful tension and character development. The weak points are the parts with the poor acting and a final act that feels overlong.