by Joel Harley
The latest thriller from writer/director Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace)sees a bachelorette party invaded by a gang of gun-toting men on a violent treasure hunt. Luckily, war veteran Tess (Maggie Q) is on hand to hold the front line, giving Bart (James Carpinello) and his thugs far more than they had bargained for.
Q headlines this hybrid of action film and home invasion thriller, ably supported by Kat Foster as her more outspoken, less able sister, Beth. Between them, they manage to rise above the rote characterisation and predictable plot twists, largely thanks to Foster’s chops and Q’s action poise. There are others there too (including Highdee Kuan, as their other sister, and bride-to-be, Rose), but no one gets to shine here.
Certainly not the villains – a paper-thin gang of white trash ruffians with no sense of menace nor charisma between them. As a vehicle for Maggie Q stomping misogynist hillbillies into the ground, it’s aggressively fine (not that the choreography or special effects is particularly exciting either), but suffers in comparison to the vastly superior – and similar – You’re Next and Becky.
Offering little beyond pedestrian action sequences and surface-level observations on female empowerment, Fear the Night is a sad, limp disappointment.
Fear the Night is out now on demand in the US and will be released digitally in the UK on September 25th.
