[FrightFest 2025] FILM REVIEW: Night of Violence

Night of Violence - FrightFest World Premiere Review

Director: Illya Konstantin

Starring: Kit Lang, Abria Jackson, Russ Russo, Vince Benvenuto

Written by: Illya Konstantin, Christopher Lang

Produced by: Sean D. Brewer, Pete Dancy, Christopher Lang, Graeme Dempsey, Illya Konstantin

Cinematography by: Edgar Luzanilla

Original Score by: Marco Antonio Flores Godoy

Synopsis:

Following a major legal victory a pharmaceutical corporation’s celebration is cut short when masked townspeople posing as caterers launch a brutal attack.

Thoughts:

Invasion horror is usually always a hit. It's so easy to get right. Now switch it up and make it a workplace invasion horror film and what can go wrong? If 'Die Hard' was shot on a much lower budget and was more slasher and less action, then you might be close to describing Illya Konstantin's debut feature film 'Night of Violence' . However, a high rise office building being invaded by killers instead of terrorists during a party is the only comparison I'll make to John McTiernan's classic.

Kit Lang stars as Eliott, an employee of Robinek Pharmaceuticals who like his fellow colleagues is attending a work party in their building to celebrate the company's success. They've also just recently won a huge legal case, probably one of many, and have just launched their new product Azlepta, a liquid medicine that claims to cure all sorts of chronic pain, anxiety, loss of focus, exhaustion, low self esteem and much more. You name it, Azlepta can cure it.

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But Eliott seems to be the only one who cares about the case and more than that, is leaning towards the victims rather than the company. He gets quicky shut down by his loud and brash pal Rudy (Vince Benvenuto) and his office crush Janelle (Abria Jackson) who implore him to just relax and enjoy the party. And he does. Several drinks down and stupid dances later, the group are interupted when a masked man enters the room with the boss of the company tied to a chair. After a minute of confused silence, the assailant slits the bosses throat. The masked man is then joined by his cohorts and chaos ensues. Limbs get sliced off and go flying through the air. Workers get bludgeoned and stabbed repeatedly. Blood sprays everywhere. The office building halls are filled with blood curdling screams.

Eliott and his friends manage to escape the carnage temporarily and now they must find a way to escape the building with their lives still intact.

This is a hell of a concept. I'm sure it's been done before but I really dig the premise here and there's plenty of opportunity for some commentary on big pharma, which Illya Konstantin certainly follows through on. I wasn't too fussed about his particular style. I think the film suffers from an inconsistent tone. The opening shot is very creepy as we see a body being dragged, slowly and purposefully across a blood stained and broken glass filled hallway. Very brooding and intriguing. But then we smash to a ridiculous commercial spot that lasts way too long and shifts in tone so much that it's a bit jarring. The commercial for Azlepta is actually quite funny and satirical but it doesn't quite feel right showing the entire commercial. We then move to the office where we are introduced to the main characters and there's a sequence that is attempting something similar to frathouse humour and it's very cringy. The humour just doesn't land at all.

In terms of the characters, I didn't really care for any of them. There's a bit of overracting at the beginning and maybe that put me off. When the shit hits the fan and the masked group turn up it gets interesting. The ultra violent, chaotic slaughterfest is fun and actually way more brutal than I was expecting.

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Most of the film is about the core group trying to find a safe way out of the building so they must move from floor to floor, avoiding the killers and at times having to fight back. There is a bit of tension created but there was potential for so much more. There were some editing issues during the action sequences too.

Sadly the ending didn't land for me either. One of the annoying characters, a higher up named Blake (Russ Russo) who is pumped on cocaine, ends up becoming the big bad and there's an elaborate confession to his crimes that essentially cancels out all the horror we've just witnessed at the hands of the masked killers. I appreciate the attempt at commentary here, and it hits a bit harder in the wake of some real life crimes, but it was on the nose.

There's some gorgeous shots during the film particularly under the red light that felt a bit like a Giallo and maybe even some influences from Brian De Palma's camerwork. There's a good film in here somewhere but I think the style and tonal changes hold it back.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️

'Night of Violence' received its World Premiere at FrightFest '25 on August 21st