Part home invasion movie, sort of slasher, and part thriller, Mischief Night hasn’t so much faded into obscurity. In all likelihood, most horror fans haven’t heard of this 2013 release. Image Entertainment gave it a limited theatrical release before dumping it onto VOD platforms. Three years later, Mike Flanagan’s Hush would eclipse this release with a similar premise and much better execution. It also didn’t help that another movie released a year later with the same title. Despite no one seeing it, however, Mischief Night delivers a better-than-expected little home invasion thriller.
Synopsis
After she loses her mother in a car accident, Emily Watson develops a psychosomatic condition. Though she’s clinically able to see, she suffers from blindness as a result of trauma. Year later, as her dad moves forward with his life, Emily struggles to reconcile her guilt over surviving. Left alone in the family home the night before Halloween – ‘Mischief Night’ – Emily finds herself fighting for her life against a masked intruder.
Mischief Night Scores a Bit of Suspense, Delivers a Handful of Brutal Kills
Though it’s initially modeled after slasher movies, Mischief Night feels more like a straightforward thriller. Writer and director Richard Schenkman, whose only other major credit is the dreadful I Spit On Your Grave: Vengeance is Mine, actually offers up a genre swerve. On one hand, the opening scene feels familiar and standard recalling better movies like You’re Next. It’s a mildly effective opening kill that may surprise seasoned horror fans with the surprise exit of genre regular Erica Leerhsen (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Schenkman delivers a few more kills along the way. And some characters probably only exist to up the body count. But there’s less focus on jump scares and the death scenes lack the flair of the standard slasher.
But there’s an effective amount of suspense generated, particularly in the thriller’s middle act.
Instead, Mischief Night feels like something of a precursor to Mike Flanagan’s Hush. Both movies share the premise of a seemingly vulnerable character who must overcome the lack of a sense to fight back against home invaders. The premise itself wasn’t new in 2013 – the 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark featured Audrey Hepburn playing a blind woman fight off three intruders. Arguably, Mischief Night fires on all cylinders when its exploiting Emily’s inability to see her masked stalker. No, Schenkman doesn’t do anything innovative – no one’s re-inventing the wheel here. But there’s an effective amount of suspense generated, particularly in the thriller’s middle act.
Mischief Night Benefits From a Likeable Protagonist, But Lacks a Compelling Killer
For the most part, Mischief Night is a fairly workmanlike thriller. As mentioned above, there’s no one particular scene that feels innovative or shocking. Nevertheless, Schenkman knows how to use the screen and the editing adds a handful of white-knuckle moments. In addition, Mischief Night may not boast creative or elaborate kill scenes. Yet there’s a brutality to some scenes that elevates this one above other middle-of-the-road thrillers. It also helps that Schenman doesn’t allow his movie to overstay its welcome. This is a fairly well-paced thriller that doesn’t waste too much time. Perhaps some of ‘surprises’ feel telegraphed, but they still stick their landing.
Nevertheless, Schenkman knows how to use the screen and the editing adds a handful of white-knuckle moments.
What also helps propel Mischief Night past other standard thrillers is the performance of newcomer Noell Coet as ‘Emily’. Over the course of her career, Coet hasn’t appeared in anything of note. Still she’s well cast for her role here as she exudes a natural charisma and feels very much like a 17-year-old teenage girl. There’s emotional range to the performance and she instantly evokes empathy for the character. Conversely, Mischief Night lacks a compelling villain to up the stakes. Yes, the masked intruders’ appearance – including the mask and yellow rain jacket – looks sufficiently creepy. Yet there’s no personality to the killer – he’s an empty slate and, as a result, lacks some menace.
Mischief Night a Straightforward, If Not Mostly Satisfying, Little Thriller
There isn’t much to Mischief Night, which hangs its action and scares on a thin premise. By and large, however, Schenkman gets it right and maintains a consistent level of suspense. While there’s no real jump scares, Schenkman delivers a certain amount of shocks and fairly brutal kills that fit fairly well into a slasher subgenre. Subsequent thrillers would better exploit the idea of a protagonist unable to see or hear their stalker. But Mischief Night still gets its best mileage from those scenes where the masked intruders drift in and out of plain sight. A likeable main character compensates for a dull villain just enough to elevate this one above other run-of-the-mill fare.