At Night with No Curtains (2004) User Reviews

An admirable effort...?

[r0der1ck · 4/10 · 3 February 2004]

The knowledge that this film was many of its makers' first attempt provides something of a cushion for its overall failure to realize its potential. Striving for a bit of "The Blair Witch Project" with a dab of down-home Southern Gothic feel and a shot of 1950's innocence, the film's original idea is quite interesting: that a Civil War widow who ordered the murder of her five children now haunts the crumbling remains of her mansion and can be summoned back at the command of teenagers in search of a good fright. The premise of the film is that history might repeat itself, that the teens in the movie might bite off more than they can chew by trying the trick for themselves. In the end, though, the writing is pretty awful and the delivery isn't significantly better. While all of the more abstract scenes and the camera work that accompanies them - basically anything that doesn't involve dialogue - are very impressive, they're dragged back under the surface by the poor acting, while the character development, such as there is, acts in direct contradiction to the rest of the film. The jarring disconnect between the characters' relationships and what's apparently happening around them made me wish I could edit this film myself. Somewhere in its 80+ minutes there's a terrifying half-hour short I would gladly have paid just as much to see in a third of the time.

THE MAID IS NOT DEAD!!!!!!!!

[rye8in · 10/10 · 6 April 2004]

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie at the Nevermore Film Festival in Raleigh. I LOVED IT!!! Talk about original. Every other movie I saw at the festival(with the exception of Bubba Ho-Tep) sucked. This movie is creepy. I talked to the director and the cast after the showing, and they were the coolest people. THIS LITTLE INDIE IS THE TUGBOAT THAT COULD!!!!!!! I loved the bluegrass music in it as well. Bluegrass music in a horror film? IT WORKED!!! This movie reminded me a little bit of Romero's, Night of the Living Dead. The way it was shot. The black-and-white. People stuck in a house, trying not to bite it. Another thing I liked, they didn't show alot of the ghosts. Your mind had to work, baby! I see more great horror movies from these guys coming out in the future.