Night Hunter (2018 film)
Night Hunter | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | David Raymond |
Written by | David Raymond |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Michael Barrett |
Edited by | Jim Page |
Music by | Alex Lu |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Saban Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Night Hunter[1][2] (original working title Nomis) is a 2018 Canadian-American psychological thriller film written and directed by David Raymond. The film stars Henry Cavill, Ben Kingsley, Alexandra Daddario, and Stanley Tucci, with Brendan Fletcher, Minka Kelly, and Nathan Fillion in supporting roles.[3] It premiered at the LA Film Festival on September 28, 2018 and was released on August 8, 2019 by DirecTV on video on demand and theatrically on September 6, 2019 by Saban Films.
Plot
When the body of a young woman is found on a lumber truck, Detective Walter Marshall suspects that the victim leapt to her death to escape from a captor. A breakthrough is inadvertently made in the case when former judge Michael Cooper's vigilante sting to capture a child predator results in his ward Lara being kidnapped. Through a tracker in Lara's earrings, Marshall finds her and other captive young women in a mansion owned by Simon Stulls, a seemingly-mentally disabled man. Simon is arrested and the police attempt to determine if he is responsible for the abductions. In investigating Simon's background, they discover that he was born from rape and his mother attempted suicide before giving birth to him.
While Simon is in custody, the police force finds themselves being targeted by another attacker. Technician Matthew Quinn is killed in a car bombing and fellow technician Glasow is forced to free Simon when the life of his infant daughter is threatened. The police recapture Simon after he has killed his father, just as Cooper discovers that Lara is missing. Believing Simon to be responsible, Cooper ambushes his police transport when he is surprised by another man who looks exactly like Simon. It is then revealed that Simon is in fact a pair of identical twins, with one being behind the kidnappings and the other truly being mentally disabled. The twins kill Cooper and kidnap police profiler Rachel Chase before escaping.
Using a tracker that Simon left in the police station, a team led by Marshall locates the twins by an icy lake where they are holding Rachel and Lara. Lara escapes and Marshall takes the mentally disabled brother hostage to convince the malevolent brother to release Rachel. After Rachel is freed, Marshall tells the mentally disabled twin to hug his brother. The mentally disabled twin complies, causing both brothers to fall through the ice and drown.
Afterwards, Lara reads a letter from Cooper thanking her for all that she has done. Marshall visits his daughter Faye accompanied by Rachel, implying that Marshall and Rachel have entered into a relationship.
Cast
- Henry Cavill as Walter Marshall
- Ben Kingsley as Michael Cooper
- Alexandra Daddario as Rachel Chase
- Stanley Tucci as Commissioner Harper
- Brendan Fletcher as Simon Stulls / Simon's Twin
- Minka Kelly as Angie
- Nathan Fillion as Matthew Quinn
- Mpho Koaho as Glasow
- Emma Tremblay as Faye
- Eliana Jones as Lara
- Daniela Lavender as Dickerman
- Beverly Noukwu as Biggs
- Dylan Penn as Sophia
- Carlyn Burchell as Amy Stulls
Production
Fortitude International introduced the film Night Hunter to buyers at the Berlin International Film Festival. David Raymond wrote and directed the film and was also a producer alongside Fortitude’s Robert Ogden Barnum, Arise Pictures’ Chris Pettit and Buffalo Gals’ Jeff Beesley. Rick Dugdale was also a producer and Fortitudes’ Nadine De Barros was executive producer.[4]
Casting
Henry Cavill, Ben Kingsley and Alexandra Daddario were announced to star on February 10, 2017.[4] Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion and Brendan Fletcher were announced on March 7, 2017 after filming had commenced.[5]
Filming
Principal photography began on February 25, 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba[4][6] and was completed on April 3, 2017.[7]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 4.02/10.[8] On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100 based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]
Roger Moore of Movie Nation described the film as "cracked and incoherent" and criticized it for "[having] a lot of clutter, convoluted craziness and head-slappingly illogical turns in here, too", concluding that "whatever coherence the players saw on the screenplay page was lost in the trip from page to the shoot on set, and from the set to the editing bay". He gave the film 1.5/4 stars.[10] Justin Lowe, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, described the film's plot as "overly complicated", further stating that "Narrative and stylistic references to Se7en, Split, The Silence of the Lambs and other serial-killer thrillers only manage to demonstrate how inadequately Nomis rates by comparison."[11]
References
- ^ Ames, Jeff (July 16, 2019). "Night Hunter Trailer Starring Henry Cavill and Alexandra Daddario". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Parlevliet, Mirko (July 15, 2019). "Night Hunter Trailer and Poster Featuring Henry Cavill". Vital Thrills. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Henry Cavill's 'Nomis' to Close L.A. Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ a b c Lodderhose, Diana (February 10, 2017). "Henry Cavill, Ben Kingsley & Alexandra Daddario Head To 'Nomis' — Berlin". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ Ford, Rebecca (March 7, 2017). "Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion, Minka Kelly Join 'Nomis' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "David Raymond on Instagram: "Day 1.... #Nomis #henrycavill #sirbenkingsley #alexandradaddario"". Instagram.
- ^ "David Raymond on Instagram: "A sunset and a sunrise and that's a wrap on Nomis... A huge thank you to my crew who busted their arse everyday. My incredibly generous and…"". Instagram.
- ^ "Night Hunter (Nomis) (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Night Hunter Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Roger, Moore (August 18, 2019). "Movie Review: Henry Cavill, from Superman to "Night Hunter"". Movie Nation. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lowe, Justin (October 1, 2018). "'Nomis': Film Review | LAFF 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)