Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Long Night’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘The Long Night’.
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The vast majority of us out there, have fond memories of our family and maybe some that we are not so fond of. But we have those memories none the less, because that was simply a part of growing up and good or bad… our experiences taught us a lot. Such as what it means to be a good person and how to navigate the world when the time is right, and that is why we put such value into the concept of family. Because it really does provide people with a great deal of lessons and meaning and outright direction for the future. But what we don’t think about enough when it comes to family, is that not everyone is able to experience it in the manner that the majority have or do. For some people out there, don’t know their family for various reasons and that puts them in a tough place mentally.
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For the enduring bonds that most of us enjoy, aren’t always there for those folks. Nor are all of the lessons and understandings that comes from the blood relative experience. Which is why individuals that grew up in foster care or were adopted, find themselves at a unique crossroads as they come into adulthood. One that involves either a decision to just move forward and take what they’ve learned about the world through their unique circumstances and be the best person they can be… or they can work to uncover their heritage and learn everything they can about their parents and why perhaps they were forced to let them go and well, the latter option, while enlightening, can lead to trouble. 

Since it can uncover truths that perhaps are unsettling in nature and those truths can bring about genuine emotional and psychological harm. Or… they can outright break a person. Making this a difficult decision for certain, one that is explored in an extreme manner in the new Shudder movie, The Long Night. For when we meet Grace Covington in this tale… she is preparing to head to the deep south with her boyfriend, Jack Cabot, to uncover the truth about her biological parents who didn’t raise her in the slightest. But when she arrives, she and Jack quickly come to learn… the darker side of searching for the truth about one’s past and lineage. For what she and her lover uncover about her roots and her parents, will endanger their lives and the lives of everyone on the planet… thanks to the dark secrets her family has been harboring all this time. 

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Which is a plot that does a phenomenal job of exploring the dangers of searching for the truth. Because minute by minute, as Grace begins to dig deeper into yesterday and her family’s linage, all she uncovers are horrible truths. The kind that reveals the evil that influenced her family’s world for generations on end and the horrors that come forth from uncovering that a demon worshipping cult dominated her family’s daily lives… only reinforces the potential dangers of digging into the past when we don’t know our roots. Granted, that’s handled in an extreme metaphorical fashion none the less, but the message is clear and it truly tasks folks that ready to start the search for answers, and the average viewer as well, to really ask themselves how badly they need the truth and if they genuinely need to know it… to be prepared to go through hell to get it. 
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However, while that is a unique message to drop into the midst of a movie about demon worship, one cannot forget that this is a horror film at its core, and it most certainly delivers on that front as well. Because the mystery surrounding this cult and their intentions creates a genuine sense of dread and terror, and the actions of those cult members bring about the fear and the darkness. As do some of the wild hallucinations that this cult imparts upon Grace as they try to inform her of her past. Not to mention, one can never go wrong with straight up wanton violence being injected into a horror tale and that’s present here too, and it is impactful, and really, all of these elements make this a delightful watch for certain. One that offers a great deal to the viewer.

Because in many ways, it tends to fuse together some of horror’s subgenres. Since there are hints of home invasion films here to go alongside the evil stuff. Plus, there’s also several nods to The Shining in this story since the isolation of the farmhouse is eerily reminiscent of the isolation of The Overlook Hotel. And as an added bonus, this is a story that features some quality performances from legends of the industry. Since Scout Taylor-Compton from Rob Zombie’s Halloween sells the central themes as Grace with her earnest performance of a lost soul looking for the truth, and it’s quite amazing to see Jeff Fahey, whose been in well… everything… swing by to offer up the always delightful performances he provides in a horror story. If anything, this is just a solid horror flick, one that hits all the right notes and grabs your attention with a compelling and mysterious story, and the best news of all… is that you can enjoy this story at your leisure. For it is streaming on Shudder, right now, and we certainly hope you give this delightful gem a look.

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