REVIEW: In ‘Fear the Night,’ a party goes horribly, murderously wrong
Photo: Maggie Q stars as Tess in Fear the Night. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution / Provided by KWPR with permission.
Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night, a new thriller that was released this summer, shouldn’t work as well it does. The plot, involving a bachelorette party gone horribly wrong, is paper thin and somewhat formulaic. The performances are solid, although these actors are embodying characters who are mostly one note. Perhaps the film succeeds because it never becomes far-fetched, instead grounding itself in palpable reality and believable, saddening violence. Actions have consequences in this quick study in survivalism.
Maggie Q plays the central character of Tess, a military veteran who has reluctantly agreed to spend a weekend in the California countryside with friends and family. One can immediately tell that Tess has some history with these partygoers, not all of it good. She’s haunted by her military career, and she’s battling demons at a party that is filled with booze and a stripper.
Then the masked intruders arrive, turning Fear the Night into a heart-attack-a-moment journey that finds the partiers killed one by one. It’s up to Tess and her stellar military skills to save the day and find out exactly why these intruders chose this house and this weekend to wreak their havoc.
LaBute has had a long career in film and on stage. His plays have been celebrated regionally and off-Broadway, even transferring to Broadway, and his films have been clever, if not entirely effective, exposés of societal problems. One is reminded of the comedy Nurse Betty with Renée Zellweger and the thriller Lakeview Terrace with Samuel L. Jackson, plus his early hits In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors. He’s not able to reach those heights with Fear the Night, but he’s helped tremendously by Q’s performance, which is believable and balanced on that knife’s edge between fear and strength.
Survival thrillers and home-invasion horror flicks are par the course in Hollywood, dating back to the days of Straw Dogs, The Strangers, When a Stranger Calls, Funny Games and Panic Room. This LaBute entry doesn’t change the formula, but does keep the momentum pulsating to the surprising finale. Not much is learned, not much is changed, but this tick-tock thriller still pushes enough of the goosebump buttons to be worth a watch.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Fear the Night (2023), written and directed by by Neil LaBute, is now available on digital platforms and on demand. Starring Maggie Q. Running time: 92 minutes. Not Rated. Rating: 
