OK psycho/slasher/soap opera!
Night Warning begins as Bill (Gary Baxley) & Anna Lynch (Kay Kimler) leave their young 3 year old son Billy in the care of his Aunt, Cheryl Roberts (Susan Tyrrell) and set off for the Pacific Coast to visit their parents. While driving along a mountainside road the brakes on their car fail. Their car speeds out of control and eventually ends up over the side of the mountain and into a river, the car then explodes as a photo of Billy floats downstream. '14 Years Later', Billy (Jimmy McNichol) is now a bright happy 17 year old who lives with his Aunt Cheryl. Cheryl has raised Billy like her own child since his parents were killed, the thing is Cheryl is a little on the mad side, somewhat possessive and rather over-protective but it hasn't been a real problem until now. Now Billy is starting to develop a life of his own, Billy has a girlfriend named Julie (Julia Duffy, the IMDb listing for this character is wrong. Her name in the film is definitely Julie, not Julia) and is about to be seen by a Denver University scout and possibly win a full athlete's scholarship. Cheryl openly dislikes both Julie and the fact Billy may have to move to Denver. Having just fixed Cheryl's T.V. set Phil Brody (Caskey Swaim) is murdered by Cherly after he rejects her unwanted amorous advances towards himself. Billy comes home to find Cheryl covered in blood holding a large kitchen knife and claiming it was self defence because Brody tried to rape her. Two of Cheryl's friends also turn up, Marge (Marcia Lewis) and her husband Frank (Cooper Neal). Lieutenant Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson) & Sergeant Cook (Britt Leach) are on the case. Neither believe for a second that it was self defence, this theory appears to gain even more credibility when it turns out that Phil Brody was gay & so wouldn't be interested in raping a woman. Carlson becomes more suspicious when it turns out that Phil Brody was in a relationship with Billy's sports coach, Tom Landers (Steve Eastin) and therefore it becomes clear that there is a connection between Billy & Brody. Cheryl becomes even more possessive and resorts to drastic measures to make sure that Billy stays with her. No one will take Billy from her and live! Directed by William Asher Night Warning (I actually saw the UK version under the much better title Nightmare Maker) is a strange character driven horror film. The script by Stephen Breimer, Boon Collins & Alan Jay Glueckman concentrates on Cheryl's and Billy's relationship for most of the films running time. And a strange relationship it is too, almost incestuous, over bearing and just plain obsessive. The film tries to touch upon several issues, the weird obsessive relationship, homophobia, gay rights, teenage growing pains & all the while trying to keep the horror aspects of the story going. To be fair the film succeeds for the most part and is fascinating to watch, unfortunately it drags quite badly in places and there isn't a lot of action or violence to maintain ones interest. I wasn't impressed by the silly & slightly rushed ending, either. The acting stands up very well, Tyrrell and McNichol are fine, but it's Bo Svenson's ultra macho homophobic & racist Lieutenant that stays in the memory. I love while interrogating Tyrrell, her friend Marge says "leave her alone" to which Carlson replies "are you talking to me lady?", Marge replies "yes" and Carlson simply says "don't!". And look out for Bill Paxton (everyones favourite character in Aliens (1986)) in an early appearance as Eddie. There are some gory scenes in Night Warning, but not too many and most of them come within the last 15 odd minutes. There is a brief decapitation by tree trunk like the one in Final Destination 2 (2003), a stabbing, a cut stomach, a severed hand and a few bloody gunshot wounds. The film has a really bland, flat & made for T.V. look and feel about it. The house where most of the film takes place is dull and visually uninteresting, the music is poor and the cinematography and direction although competent both lack imagination and flair. Overall Night Warning is an interesting horror film that is certainly worth a look, just because it's a little different if nothing else.score 6/10
poolandrews 19 March 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1042293/35558
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