The Night Time World Review: Anthology with No Bite

The Night Time World is another installment in a long list of horror films budding with potential, but that lose their bite due to poor writing and lack of tension.

While some segments feature haunting themes and thrilling moments, The Night Time World lacks clear direction and tension, which diminishes its message and overall experience.

The opening scene features a long monologue from Nada’s podcast, which effectively sets up the film’s premise and trajectory but does not feature creative or nuanced camera work. From the outset, the limitations of centering the story on a podcaster in one room the whole night become clear. While filmmakers have done astonishing work with single-location films (such as Rear Window), the shots in The Night Time World’s main storyline get old quickly. There isn’t much exploration of the location beyond close-ups of Nada and the camera he’s using to record his episode. Some shots show his computer and sound equipment, but then the camera snaps back to him, returning to more comfortable but less creative shots.

But relief comes as viewers are launched into the first segment, which is the most engaging and well acted by far. It takes its time setting up the characters’ stories, even including great humor, which allows the frightening sequences to sink in with more intensity. The entries following this are a continual deterioration in quality, especially in storytelling and acting.

Connecting every moment in The Night Time World is the theme of eternal life, but rather than portraying the possibility of undying days positively, the stories warn that it’s a curse. Nada’s fables study the tormented lives of vampires in various contexts: a group of vampire hunters seeking to rid the world of them; a vampire in a Gotham-like city trying to keep his bloodlust at bay while freeing his kidnapped companion; a Black man wrongfully imprisoned for murdering a cop.

Some of these contexts had the potential to convey timely messages about the state of the world, but their effectiveness is diminished by a poor script and visual effects. If the writers and directors had been able to master at least the script and screenplay, then other elements constricted by a low budget (such as visual effects) would have been less glaring. Instead, the result is an unengaging story in which poor filmmaking elements become a distraction.

This lack of tension is not only a problem for the segments in the anthology, but also for the main storyline involving Nada. I kept thinking as I watched his interaction with his vampirish caller that he could simply end the podcast instead of falling victim to her whims. Certain stakes are introduced as a reason for him to stay on the phone and continue recording, but their logic compared to simply hanging up is not justifiable.

Unfortunately, this has a lasting effect on the rest of the film. Though the last story involving the man wrongfully imprisoned is a clear improvement upon the previous two, the end result is a horror anthology lacking both emotion and explanation. The Night Time World is another installment in a long list of horror films budding with potential, but that ultimately lose their bite due to poor writing and logic, and lack of tension.

The Night Time World will be released on digital and on demand on January 28, 2025.