‘Fear the Night’ Review: Maggie Q Shines In Violent New Home Invasion Thriller
The genre impact of You’re Next is as considerable as Michael Myers’ William Shatner mask. For better or worse, the horror genre has shifted away from the conventional final girl for Sharni Vinson lite. Broadly, there’s a conversation to be had around the vulnerability of women and the often regressive perspective that fear innately equals weakness (it does not), though the horror du jour remains firmly committed to women above the horror. Don’t Fear the Night; fear Maggie Q.
Riotously funny and deliciously gruesome, Fear the Night is Neil LaBute’s answer to Adam Wingard’s cult classic. While it isn’t anywhere near as culturally subversive or socially probing, the rough sketch of Fear the Night operatives within the same basic frameworks—it’s fools against fools. Lumbering masked maniacs with bows and arrows lay siege to a rural, desert homestead, seeking a large cache of drugs (and, well, cash) hidden within. Unfortunately for Maggie Q’s Tess and her sister Beth (Kat Foster), it’s their parents’ home, and that’s the night they’ve chosen to host younger sister Rose’s (Highdee Kuan) bachelorette party.
Neither the women nor the men outside are capable of much at all. Instead, it’s Q’s recovering addict and combat veteran who immediately takes charge. Aided by a script with unconventional naturalism, Q effortlessly resumes her Nikita persona, leading her frightened charges to survival in a calculated, blood-soaked trek through the night.
The remaining party-goers are a nondescript bunch, with only friends Noelle (Ito Aghayere) and Mia (Gia Crovatin) distinguishing themselves among the screams and bloodshed. By design, that leaves Tess to delineate their plan for survival—when to run, when to fight—with aplomb. Fear the Night never leans quite as far as You’re Next—there are no booby traps or subterfuge here—though Q is nothing short of phenomenal, maintaining interest even as the script lags in the latter half.
Brief interludes of racism and sexual violence are at odds with the lighthearted nature of LaBute’s script, imbuing Fear the Night’s climax with a dour disposition it hasn’t quite earned. That it all amounts to very little—there is no message, no larger meaning to expound upon—is a shame, with a conclusion that incredulously invalidates Tess’ history with addiction.
As a showcase for Maggie Q, however, Fear the Night is exactly what it needs to be. The action is compellingly staged, with time stamps as title cards maintaining consistent tension as the night unfurls and the threat grows ever larger. Bouts of humor keep things light, even if the dark shadows of Fear the Night’s desert home no doubt hide the ghosts of home invasions past.
Unlike last year’s LaBute feature House of Darkness, Fear the Night is almost exclusively action. Insights are cast aside in favor of potato peeler deaths and knives to throats. Parallel with his last feature, however, audiences will likely wonder whether this story of female rage is really LaBute’s to tell— at times, the laissez-faire approach to sexual and racial trauma suggests otherwise.
As a collective whole, Fear the Night is a thrilling, blood-soaked home invasion thriller anchored by fantastic dialogue and a remarkable (and expected) turn from Maggie Q. While it won’t yield the same cultural efficacy its conspicuous inspiration did, it’s one of the year’s most thrilling surprises. There are a lot of things worth fearing in the dark of night—this movie isn’t one of them.
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Fear the Night
Summary
Bloody, funny, and cathartic, Fear the Night is a wickedly violent showcase for Maggie Q.
