Night of the Reaper, on Shudder

Babysitting is one of the most dangerous professions in cinema, but it somewhat counter-intuitively has a high survival rate, thanks to “final girls” like Laurie Strode. Tragically, that was not true for Deena’s sister Emily. A masked killer murders Emily in the prologue, carving the heart out of her family in the process. Nevertheless, she agrees to sub for her babysitting friend in Brandon Christensen’s Night of the Reaper, which premieres Friday on Shudder.

If you are wondering, yes, there will be Blue Oyster Cult, but you have to wait for the closing credits to hear it—but its worth the wait. Night of the Reaper starts out like a loving homage to 1980s slashers, albeit a surprisingly tight and tense one. Deena is back in town visiting from college, but she agrees to fill in sitting for Sheriff Rod Arnold’s kids, because her friend Haddie contracted a nasty stomach bug. Deena knows it must be serious, because her friend’s interest in the older Sheriff is a completely unguarded non-secret.

It has already been quite a day for Sheriff Rod. Someone has been leaving old school VHS tapes for him throughout town. Ominously, they prove several presumed accidental deaths were actually the work of a serial killer. That killer soon starts toying with Deena and the Arnold children, but the circumstances will be different this time around.

Honestly, Night of the Reaper is the horror film I’ve been waiting years for. The big twist is a doozy that upsets everything in a good way. The result is a heck of a cat-and-mouse game that Jessica Clement (playing Deena) and the other pertinent party do an excellent job of selling. The third act is clever, but grounded, avoiding hipster glibness in favor of incredibly sinister life-and-death gamesmanship. Similarly, Ryan Robbins is terrific seething for payback as Sherrif Arnold.

Frankly, Christenson’s film, co-written with his brother Ryan, deserves to replace Scream as the next big retro-slasher franchise. Instead of a meta running-commentary, the Christensen Brothers (they do horror movies instead of wine) pay tribute to the genre tradition through clever re-purposing of familiar elements, like those VHS tapes. Arguably, Scream is getting a little stale, but Reaper feels as fresh as a daisy strewn on newly filled grave. Indeed, they have been improving with each film. Their previous, The Puppetman, was quite good, but Reaper is an even greater step forward.

This film delivers the kind of fun Third Saturday in October Parts V & I promised, but failed to deliver. First and foremost, it is a horror film, rather than an ultra-ironic satire or an overly reverent recration. Very highly recommended, Night of the Reaper starts streaming Friday (9/19) on Shudder.