Night of the Bastard – Frightfest Movie Review
Director: Erik Boccio
Writer: Christian Ackerman, Bhuck Foster (Screenplay)
Writer: Erik Boccio (Story)
Cast
- London May (The Dark Knight Rises)
- Mya Hudson
- Hannah Pierce
- Henry Mortensen (Crimson Tide)
- Victoria Goodhart (Incubus)
Plot: After an injured young woman takes refuge in his secluded home, a gruff recluse must fight off a bloodthirsty cult and an insatiable sorceress to save both of their lives. A battle to survive becomes a gripping race against the clock to escape a perverse ritual of blood and flesh.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Night of the Bastard starts when Kiera (Hudson) is camping in the remote desert with two friends. They stumble across reclusive Reed (May) who chases them off his land, only to send them straight into the path of a bloodthirsty cult.
After the leader of the cult Claire (Pierce) attacks Kiera and her friends, Kiera takes refuge with Reed. The unlikely pair must work together to fight through the night to survive the attack, as Kiera learns what the group want.
Verdict on Night of the Bastard
Characters
Reed is a reclusive man living in the desert away from the world. he chases Kiera and her friends off his land as well as hating blood. When his home comes under attack, he does reluctantly help Kiera fight back. We don’t seem to learn much about why he is so reclusive though.
Kiera is camping with her friends when the trip gets interrupted. She gets hurt and seeks refuge from Reed. Kiera has a bigger reason to fight to survive, wanting to get back to her son, despite being wounded, she will not give up fighting.
Claire is a high priestess that has planned for tonight to be the big moment for her following. She terrorises Reed and Kiera with her cult, as we wait to see what she has in store for the two.
In the supporting characters, we get the rest of the cult who have their own different obstacles for the pair to overcome.
Performances
London May is great in the reclusive role, he shows the weaknesses in the character, as well as his determination. We see how hard he will fight to save the people around him.
Mya Hudson as a younger character in need of help, unwilling to give up either, shines. She stands up to the cult and Reed to make sure her character is as strong as possible.
Hannah Pierce as the leader of the cult brings a seductive tone to her character that makes her dominate the surrounding area. The rest of the supporting cast do well as the different members you would expect to see in a cult.
Story
The story follows two strangers that must band together to fight back against a bloodthirsty cult who are willing to kill for what they want.
This story feels like a thrown back to the cults outnumbering the innocent who wants to escape. It never holds back on the twisted ideas the cult offers up and most importantly sees the different struggles the victims must overcome.
There are plenty of twisted ideas in play here. As an opening sequence shows us what the cult is capable of. It creates a guessing game, which the violence plays along with nicely, even if the outcome doesn’t make complete sense.
Themes
Night of the Bastard is an action horror that never holds back on the violence, despite having a character who is afraid of blood. It uses the cult numbers as the biggest threat, as it is clear they have their own beliefs. The remote location helps the cult but doesn’t really explain why Reed is out there in the first place. When it comes to seeing everything unfold, it does have a relentless nature, once everybody is unleashed to do what they want.
Final Thoughts – Night of the Bastard is a blood-soaked cult-infested movie.
