The Overlook Theatre: The Overlook Theatre Reviews: Night of Something Strange

6 of 8 viewers "Liked" "Night of Something Strange" (2016, USA)

Here's what the creatures had to say:

The Ascendant (R) - "Director/Writer Jonathan Straiton's 2016 film Night of Something Strange plays like an ungodly concrescence of Evil Dead II (1987), Night of the Creeps (1986) and Teen Sex Comedies released in the 2000's. While the film woefully sputters when its cast attempts to emit nuanced emotions, it's one hell of a (hilarious) ride when it plays close to its chest, filling the screen with gooey STD-Riddled Zombies & absurd (comedic) one-liners. Be forewarned, this film oozes more fluids than a bad Tinder date. It's best enjoyed with a group of friends, a Six-Pack and a box of Trojan Ultra Ribbed." - 4 Stars

KillDozer - "If you look closely at the incredible poster art for this film, you should know exactly what kind of ride you are taking. What started off as a fun over the top gore flick quickly turned into a one a one trick dick and fart joke pony. Plenty of bro humor for the American Pie fans and a running time too long to keep the "shock humor" entertaining. This would have worked well as a short but it seems as though the plot is purely written around a long list of gags and sex humor. Again the poster should prepare you at least a little. If films like Feast are on your top ten list, then watch that because it does what this film wanted to do 🙂 " - 2 Stars (for fun gore and an imaginative list of gags)

Trash (R) - "Gross out is a really specific subgenre of horror, one that certainly turns off most casual viewers, and often is nothing more than wicked glee and shock-factor. I'm certainly a fan, but even I have to admit, a gross-out horror as accomplished as Night of Something Strange is incredibly rare. The dumb jokes are actually funny, it's actually shocking, and most of all, it's ridiculously well-made. Like, too well-made. Director Jonathan Straiton is a crazy talented filmmaker, understanding exactly how to put together a well-shot, compelling scene, and direct his cast to exemplify their talents. No one comes off as stiff, which is practically unbelievable in a low budget niche movie like that. He and his team clearly know movies and how to make one that looks amazing, and they've also got a sick sense of humor and a ton of passion. This movie will probably offend you and make you cringe! But if murderous sex zombies in a rundown motel make you smile, you're gonna love NOSS." - 4.5 Stars

Wandering Panda - "Enjoyably ridiculous good time. Not to be taken seriously. Watcher be warned, this is a stupid movie but very entertaining." - 3 Stars

Huntress - "After watching the trailer, my immediate impression was that Night of Something Strange was not going to be for me. It looked like it relied on gross comedy, rather than actually having a story and with me not being a fan of purely gross cinema was going to cause problems. Either way, that didn’t stop me from watching it. And I’m glad because I turned out to be wrong. That’s not to say Night of Something Strange isn’t gross, there are plenty of brow furrowing moments that I’d never think to put in a movie or build a prosthetic for, but there’s so much more; unique characters, very unique situations, and some good jokes, all while maintaining that indie unpredictability. I’d say it was an overall success." - 3.5 Stars

Lord Battle - "Night of Something Strange feels like an episode of Skins set in a dark house film, as a car full of the worst people from high school set off on a road trip to the beach. They abuse each other and everyone in their way until they stop for the night in an ominous motel. Night of Something Strange is a triumph of talent, as this low budget, lower brow gross out horror is executed with a style and skill that's almost more surprising than some of the shit in this movie. If possible watch Night of Something Strange with an audience, as it's always interesting to see how friends and strangers react. I mean who will be offended, turn out squeamish, or get waaay to excited by some genital mutilation?" - 4 Stars

Math Mage - "I was hoping that there would be a murder hotel in the middle of a zombie apocalypse movie, I was not disappointed. I was disappointed by most of the rest of the film." - 2 Stars

Dabbles - "There's a fine line between art and entertainment, this wasn't anywhere near it. It was fun and interesting but something I wouldn't watch again." - 4 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

(Below is for after you've seen the film)

If you're reading this now it means you've braved the likes of Night of Something Strange. Now whether you claim to have liked it or not, you're sick enough to see what kind of strange wrap up we could come up with. This week it's actually a weird combo of things. Directly below is an image of a skull affected by the STD syphilis, this image will tie in with the text about actual STD zombies. The images other than the skull however are taken for a couple different blogs documenting two particularly strange motels. This wrap up may feel a little artsy or dare I say avant-garde, if you haven't watched the film, so support indie horror and watch it!

-------------

For most people, it’s easy to dismiss zombie movies as something that we’ll never need to deal with in our real life. That’s why the not necessarily horror loving masses can watch The Walking Dead and not even flinch at reanimated bodies with sticky fingers and an insatiable crazing for flesh. That is, until they get their hands on a favored character… But what about outbreak movies? What about outbreak movies whose disease is somewhat grounded in reality?

Clown Motel

Night of Something Strange takes the ridiculous route when dealing with a widespread infection, but when you think about the fact that it started with one guy and one fetish… Well, the possibility of it happening takes several step closer to reality, especially when you realize that we are not ourselves when a degenerative disease takes effect.

Skinny Dick's Halfway INN

This excerpt from Looking Back: This Fascinating and Fatal Disease gives a bit of background on the one such disease, associated with late stage syphilis:

"Though GPI had been identified as a distinct disease earlier in the 1800s by a number of French writers – notably Antoine-Laurent Bayle and Jean-Étienne Esquirol – the accumulation of incurable cases in asylums, along with a feeling that insanity in general was increasing, led to renewed efforts in the last quarter of the century to determine the cause (and thus cure) of general paralysis. Among the exciting causes listed by William Julius Mickle in his extensive 1880 study General Paralysis of the Insane were excessive mental labour, heavy physical work, emotional strain, alcohol and sexual excess. Others suggested GPI could be brought about by a blow to the head, or as a consequence of railway accidents that injured the spine. It would be ‘wine and women’ however, that came to be seen as the most pertinent factors, based on the demographic characteristics of the disease.

The predominance of men among GPI patients was evident to all observers, with the military particularly susceptible, yet many writers noticed that the clergy tended to escape its ravages. On those occasions when the disease appeared in women, they were said to be prostitutes or innocent victims infected by their philandering husbands. R.S. Stewart, a Scottish alienist (as psychiatrists were then known), commented on the apparent increase of GPI during the 1880s and pointed to its prevalence in port and mining towns. This link between urban, industrial life and GPI was made by many writers, with the condition frequently characterised as ‘a disease of civilisation’. General paralysis spoke to wider fears about degeneration – the sense that with progress came a risk of ‘de-evolution’, a regression back to man’s primal nature. The conceptualisation of GPI as a ‘lower form’ of brain disease thus cast it as nature’s rebellion against the stresses of modernity. This didn’t mean that the patient entirely escaped censure. Stewart condemned the disease as ‘the apotheosis of selfishness’ – port and mining towns, he said, were renowned as centres of sexual and alcoholic over-indulgence."

-The Phychologist

Clown Motel

And to add to that, most of the movie takes place at an isolated motel in the middle of the night. Prime time and place for weird sex and shady people, as several articles can attest to.

The moral of this wrap up: Night of Something Strange is closer than you think.
Or not. So go ahead and stay at the Clown Motel, you'll probably be fine.