Mayor Mitchell’s daughter is the first victim, and boy oh boy, her father, the former mayor, is not having it. Apparently, he wants Sheriff Weaver to form posses and go house-to-house, or something even more draconian. Weaver would rather use investigative tools to find the murderer, but neither the mayors or the media will give him much time.
Not surprisingly, the pressure on Weaver escalates as the bodies start to pile up. Awkwardly, the demon-mask killer enjoys targeting high-profile victims, like a Sheriff’s deputy and members of the Mayor’s family. Clearly, the killer is also stalking Weaver’s daughter Kelly, but she is more resourceful than the other teens getting sliced and diced.
Although clearly intended as a Scream rip-off, right down to the casting of Dermot Mulroney as Sheriff Weaver, Sulek & Eric Durham’s screenplay entirely lacks the wit of the Neve Campbell franchise. Frankly, Dead of Night comes up short in many departments, but, weirdly, it is #1 when it comes to its love for Boone: The Bounty Hunter, which is so prominently depicted in signage and displays during a video store mass murder scene, the star, John Hennigan, even gets a credit.
Honestly, the worst, most brutally honest thing one can say about Dead of Night is that if you watch it, you will largely forget it in a matter of days. It is just hopelessly mediocre. Not recommended, Dead of Night opens today (11/13) in New York, at the AMC Empire.
