Mischief Night (2013) User Reviews

A Very Weak Endeavor at Being Scary With a Painfully Derivative Script

[DareDevilKid · 4/10 · 6 November 2013]

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 1.5/5 stars

A mediocre, run-of-the-mill horror film, with a done-to-death plot, flimsy back-story, and completely derivative scare elements, which we can now conjure up ourselves even in a state of slumber.

This weak endeavor at chilling our senses might have encountered some moderate success 10 to 15 years ago, but now with the gargantuan influx of myriad horror films that have flooded our cinema halls and DVD shelves, such a derivative film must at least be treated uniquely and the characters need to be given some depth to make it enjoyable for the viewers.

Another 'blind woman in peril' movie

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 20 April 2015]

MISCHIEF NIGHT is a pretty lacklustre movie that feels entirely derivative of previous, better films in the genre. There are elements of THE STRANGERS here in the presence of masked villains who say very little and creep around houses, alongside throwbacks to the classic 'blind woman' thrillers like WAIT UNTIL DARK. Another blind woman thriller I saw recently was the Michael Keaton-starring PENTHOUSE NORTH, which is about on par with this one.

After a fairly confused and irrelevant opening sequence, we're introduced to the usual type of premise: there's a young blind woman in a house on her own at night, on "mischief night" of all things, which is when houses get egged and the like (it's sort of a tamer version of THE PURGE). Inevitably the bad guys show up with murder in mind, and there's a lot of tiptoeing back and forth and suspense scenes involving broken glass, poor mobile phone signals, and the like.

Sadly this is the type of film where we've seen it all before, and it doesn't help that the lead character is completely unsympathetic so I had no particular desire to see her make it through the night. The filmmakers try very hard to make this frightening and suspenseful, but if I'm honest I was bored by it all.

Hmm

[tipsyjess · 4/10 · 28 May 2014]

It's a movie either watch it and like it or don't. Also seems to be lots of use of the word derivative in these reviews, people just discovered it or something?

Further what is it with the endless film critic wannabees posting reviews, I want to see what non overly analytical people think of movies (you know us "normals").

If I want to read boring arty "I work in the profession, can you tell by how I talk about lighting and it being derivative etc" critic reviews then I would (which is why IMDb gives both choices of reviews to read).

Anyway, the film is a bit useless and has been done better before, but if a cheap horror flick is your thing give it a whirl, yes there are worse movies than this!

Shameful movie! Don't get near it!

[Patient444 · 3/10 · 3 December 2013]

I see people criticizing the fact that it looks a lot like The Purge, and I got to say, it's false! Only people that aren't too much into horror could say this, because let's face it, are all haunted houses movies the same?!? And if you wanna find some similarities, trust me, it goes a lot better hand in hand with When a stranger calls, the remake. Same atmosphere, same idea and other things that lookalike.

Anyway, Mischief Night is one bad movie, and it all starts with the scrip. How could they pass this and send it on the big screens? If you wanna talk about all the things you've seen a million times in other horrors, well, all the bad parts are right here. I really think they focused on this, trying to relate to others, and they did, sure, they managed to make another horrible movie. Think about "Prom night" (the remake) and then imagine something worse than that. You get this one!

So, try When a stranger calls, try The purge, Try funny games, even try The Strangers, but NOT, Mischief Night. Don't ruin yours! Cheers!

Mischief night wishes it was as bad as The Purge.

[face-819-933726 · 1/10 · 20 November 2013]

From the start this movie is just not serious enough not to be the complete joke that it is, and this is no comedy. The only mischief this movie gets up to is an over indulgence in add-libs, and a real lack of a good story. If you watched any of the "large number" of Gene Simmons wife's movies from the 90's or Halloween you have already seen this twice. A question asked by O'Connor in the movie is "what is mischief night?" No one ever gives a real answer, and we are just supposed to believe that it is a night that has always just been around. Don't waste any time with this movie, you want a good scare find a Rob Zombie movie with numbers in the title. You won't Enjoy this, I know I sure didn't.

Interesting Premise, Poor Execution

[matt359 · 3/10 · 12 October 2019]

This movie missed an opportunity for a great twist at the end. This could've all been a messed up experimental therapy to get her to see again in order to save her dad. Instead, you get a rather aimless plot that doesn't seem to explain what mischief night is or why it matters.

Great Little Film

[innerboyka · 7/10 · 1 November 2013]

I went into this film with zero expectations and was *very* pleasantly surprised. Film is about a teenager, Emily, who becomes blind after being in a car accident that killed her mother. The actress playing Emily, Noell Coet, turns in a very strong performance. I can see her becoming a major star. The movie suggests Emily's blindness is psychosomatic. Anyhow, Emily and her father move into a house, where we see the previous occupants get slaughtered on "Mischief Night". Well, Mischief Night is back, and the miscreant who killed there before is back. Except this time, Emily's dad has left on a date and Emily is alone. The psycho killer enters the house and eventually a taut game of cat and mouse ensues between the killer and this blind girl. The killer is scary and there are some scenes that are very creepy. There are a few things in the film that are not explained (which I won't reveal), but in the end, they don't detract from the film. If you want a good suspenseful movie, check this one out!!

WALTON'S WAY

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 7 August 2018]

This is the blind person terrorized by an intruder film. There has been nearly a dozen of these made and I thought this was one of the worse. Emily Walton (Noell Coet) who is psychologically blind from an automobile accident where her mother (Shannon Makhanian) died, must defend herself against an intruder on mischief night.

There were only three characters introduced besides Emily. Two of them are victims and the third is doubtful, leaving you with a senseless meaningless film that is simply a break-in for the sake of a break-in. No twist.

Emily is blind, but watches TV and turns the lights on. Had the feel of a made for TV drama. I didn't feel the intensity or horror.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

A rather nice thriller...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 10 November 2013]

"Mischief Night" was actually a nice surprise. I hadn't initially expected much from this movie, but still decided to watch it. And it turned out to be a rather good movie actually.

The story is about a teenage girl, Emily (played by Noell Coet), who is rendered blind after a tragic car accident with her mother. Now on October 30th, what is known as Mischief Night, where youngsters play physical pranks on people and houses alike, Emily is about to stay at home all by herself, as her father (played by Daniel Hugh Kelly) is about to head out on a date after 9 years of solitude after his wife died. However, things quickly turn to horror as Emily is terrorized by an unknown assailant, who eventually gets inside the house.

Storywise, then "Mischief Night" was entertaining and thrilling, with just the right amount of thrills and twists of events to keep the movie fresh and interesting. If you are here for a slasher movie, then you will be sorely disappointed.

The acting was quite good, despite the relative small ensemble of cast members. Noell Coet was nicely cast for the lead role, and she carried the movie quite nicely.

The movie cover says "the lucky ones die quickly", well that is sort of misleading as this movie isn't particularly high on body count. So don't get your hopes up on that account.

"Mischief Night" is entertaining and should be on your to-watch-list if you enjoy thrillers.

It's just a plain Burger

[lojitsu · 5/10 · 17 July 2017]

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Mischief Night" (NR - 2013 - US)

Sub-Genre: Slasher/Home Invasion

My Score: 4.9

Cast=4 Acting=6 Plot=5 Ending=6 Story=3 Scare=5 Jump=6 F/X=4 Blood=4 Invasion=6

Young Emily Walton, who has suffered from psychosomatic blindness ever since the car accident that took her mother's life, must summon every instinct at her disposal to protect herself and her loved ones from a mysterious intruder.

This was not without it's merit...there were a couple good jumps and it made for a decent home invasion thriller. Unfortunately, the story, F/X, and blood lacked in every part of the film. The plot was good, but been done before. It's like reading a menu and seeing "chopped sirloin sandwich" and you bite into it and realize that it's just a plain burger. Don't go searching for this one...but you could do a lot worse.

Above-average home invasion slasher

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 10 December 2014]

Staying home the night before Halloween, a young woman learns that a group of masked intruders have broken into her home and must try to prevent her blindness from handicapping her struggle to protect herself.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining home-invasion effort that does manage to get a few things right. One of these is the rather ingenious use of the leads' blindness which is put to great effect here in several chilling moments. The fact that this allows for a break-in earlier than expected to play off the scenes of her being unable to see the guy standing in the house or following her up stairs that any rational person would be quite easily noticed during this time so that adds a rather dark, chilling tone to the proceedings. That also helps out in the later half when the intrusion is discovered as there's plenty of suspense to be wrought from whether or not she's capable of handling the threat and must fight them off in several rather creepy encounters. The growing sense of unease it builds up before the reveal makes for a wholly enjoyable tale as this one really manages to work in some fine slasher style theatrics as it goes around bumping off the few locals around her to make it worthwhile which manages to highlight the first of a few problems here. The low body-count certainly doesn't allow for a lot of actual slicing and dicing, forcing this one to spend a lot of time not really doing anything. It gets old after a while seeing her just wander around the house as the intruder stands blankly behind her not doing anything, and this makes for quite a troubling start to this one. As well, once it gets going there's no shortage of scenes meant simply to prolong the inevitable here as the scenes of everyone going around looking for trouble manages to put them into it and carry the film along when it really doesn't have to and common sense would tell a different story than how to proceed as opposed to how this one goes about it. Lastly, the concept for this whole film is based on such retarded and ridiculous reasoning that there's hardly anything about it that comes off logically and just holds up the film for being quite lame. Otherwise, this one here isn't really all that bad.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Excellent horror film!

[petarmatic · 7/10 · 27 March 2014]

I was very surprised to find out how low grades this film received.

For a horror film I found it excellent. There were many scary moments and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Well, that is all what a horror film should be all about.

Plot is a little bit innovative, unusual for a horror film, I think there was something similar in the 1970*s, I can not remember the title. I remember it was a blind woman in the New York City apartment. Something like that. All in all I liked the plot, gave us some scares.

As far as acting goes, Noell Coet carries this film, she is so pretty and an excellent actress, I hope she gets some more roles and awards too.

All in all if you are a horror fan, please take time to watch this film, I think it is worth it.

More like predictable night

[takato0524 · 2/10 · 24 January 2021]

Terrible. Opening scene didn't tie into the movie at all. The main character showed 0 of the moxy she had in her opening scene, and the reason for the intrusion was lame.

The bf in particular bothered me and I was glad to see him die. She tells him someone is in the house. What does he do? First not believe her, then take his sweet time getting them out. There's a killer? Let's check every room instead of leaving. Wait, we need to look at this picture of your mother for no reason. Now let's go slowly downstairs to the kitchen. What, you hurt your foot? I know there's someone in the house but let's stop and bandage it even tho it doesn't hurt. What an idiot.

Not even worth background noise

This movie so much like "The Purge"

[v_stojcevski · 5/10 · 1 November 2013]

This movie so much like "The Purge", or otherwise it is pale copy of it.

Also this movie "Mischief Night" does not show the real connection of the first event (the lovers who are killed in the beginning) with the second event (father and daughter who are struggling for their survival) about how come father and daughter in the same house without first being aware what happened before; which is the real reason for doing this intruders, whether for fun, revenge or something else? Are they the same intruders from the beginning? Who are they really? - because you are constantly expecting an epilogue at the end and like many other movies comes to smaller or larger disappointment.

the acting was good. The movie had no plot.

[sgc1999 · 5/10 · 25 November 2013]

It was watchable because the acting was actually OK. it was the lack of story line that sucked. There was no explanation for anything and no twist since there was really no plot. I guess a cheap stab (pun intended), at copying the purge. Bit of a let down. poorly written, which is too bad since the directing seemed good. This review needs 10 line to be able to be posted so ill drivel on but i think the first four lines sums it up. I wouldn't buy this movie in the $1 bin but if you can watch it for free it will kill some time. I truly believe American cinema as well as some well known authors think the story solely lies on the way to the end. I however believe there should be some sort of reason and surprise to the end. I don't care how delicious orange sherbet is, if there is no gum ball at the bottom it is not a cannon ball.

I kept having to mute it

[bethlarson-58436 · 2/10 · 9 November 2019]

The female lead is the worst!!! Ugly, male features, synthetically plumped up lips, loud annoying voice, horrible over-acting, screaming and crying constantly like a freaking moron after s/he acts like a tough cookie in the beginning. There were some scary and suspenseful parts in the beginning, but this film got very old, very quickly.

Derivative, But Really Pretty Good

[tradeczar · 7/10 · 3 January 2014]

OK. So maybe my bar is set a bit low when it comes to movies I have never heard about that involve home invasion and murderous stalkers. But really, did anyone really expect the next Clockwork Orange? The opening set-up -- with a loving couple brutally murdered -- could have been transplanted from any one of dozens of similar movies. Then, spin forward maybe ten years to a father and daughter who (as usual) appear to have suffered from a failure by their real estate agent to fully disclose the history of the house and the strange but predictable oddity that the murderers appear to convey with the mansion from owner to owner as if they are a couple of lawnmowers in the garage. But aside from the cat and mouse and the chases through the house, I do not remember seeing any movie of this type with a better script and better performances -- particularly by Noell Coet. Ms. Coet quite simply nails the role of a young blind girl who, while suffering the loss of sight following an auto accident that took her mother's life, still has a spirit and attitude that makes her extremely fun to watch. Most believable is her talking to herself as one might if they lacked the ability to see. As with so many movies of this type, loose ends abound. But I recommend hanging with this one, particularly with the performance of Noell Coet.

Walton's Way

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 11 September 2017]

This is the blind person terrorized by an intruder film. There has been nearly a dozen of these made and I thought this was one of the worse. Emily Walton (Noell Coet) who is psychologically blind from an automobile accident where her mother (Shannon Makhanian) died, must defend herself against an intruder on mischief night.

There were only three characters introduced besides Emily. Two of them are victims and the third is doubtful, leaving you with a senseless meaningless film that is simply a break-in for the sake of a break-in. No twist.

Emily is blind, but watches TV and turns the lights on. Had the feel of a made for TV drama. I didn't feel the intensity or horror.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

Don't waste your time

[plasssaskia · 2/10 · 29 May 2020]

So based on amazon 4.5 review I thought this movie was going to be good but it was not. Some of the choices the character makes made no sense at all. First of all why is she blind and watching tv? Secondly why does the killer kill everyone else but took their precious time with Emily and her dad? Why does her phone completely malfunction after being dropped once? And my big question is why is Emily boyfriend a big idiot? She tells him someone is in the house and he sees that the phone line is cut but took time to go and look for a gauze and tape for her cut foot? Is she going to die with a foot that stop bleeding. And on top of this she moves around the house like shes not blind but been leaving there her whole life. The one thing she did that made sense in the end was the chainsaw. Then again how did she see the guy in the end to shoot him?

"Its Mischief Night"

[QueenoftheGoons · 9/10 · 5 October 2020]

Three words said by a killer, makes it worth while. I love it, loved it from the get go. Naturally I don't like anyone in it but the Killer who sexily creeps around the mansion. Oh course Charlie O'Connell gives an eye full in a towel. With Daniel Hugh Kelly, you half expect Cujo to show up.

Heroes set record for making stupid mistakes !

[floridamangosteen · 1/10 · 4 May 2021]

This one reminds me of the insurance commercial (geico, I think ?) where the narrator says "Characters in horror movies make stupid mistakes; that's what they do" ! If you enjoy constant aggrivation from this sort of thing then this movie is for you ! The worst part is that when it's all over, we are not told who the killer is or why he comes back 9 years later to stalk the same girl, who is now blind.

Dull mischief

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 11 August 2018]

'Mischief Night' did intrigue me first hearing of it, when it appeared in my recommended for you section. This was when reviewing another low-budget horror recently as part of one of my many completest quests. The concept was pretty great and could have been quite creative and the cover looked very creepy.

Unfortunately, the potential 'Mischief Night' had was not lived up to. There are definitely far worse films, at least 'Mischief Night' didn't insult my intelligence or make me regret even watching it. It did leave me feel frustrated because it could have been good, was not expecting originality but was sort of hoping that it would be engaging, entertaining and scary, neither of which were there enough. There are moments, but we don't want moments, consistency in my mind is preferable. This is not coming from somebody with a bias against low-budget, far from it, there are some good ones out there that overcome budget limitations. Nor is it coming from somebody who wanted to hate it, would never do that with any film.

As said, 'Mischief Night' has its moments and good points. It doesn't look too bad, some atmospheric lighting, an unsettling setting and some style in the photography. There is some creepiness and a sense of unease, a few did make me jump or bite my nails.

Nor is the acting a complete disgrace. Not incredible certainly, but they at least try. Noell Coet and underused Ally Walker come off best. The music has some eeriness.

However, the story does lack tension and suspense on the most part and suffers from a generally dull pace, too many easily foreseeable moments and that a potentially creative premise has very ordinary execution. The kills, which are not many, are not scary or innovative and they are also pretty tame, lack build up and treated indifferently. Things don't make sense either, something that is apparent as early on as the confused and far from relevant opening, everything just comes over as vague and the conclusion feels unfinished.

Script is full of awkwardness and cheese, the direction is lethargic and the characters are underdeveloped and in some cases annoying. The editing can lack cohesion, with continuity errors and inconsistencies to fill a novel the size of the longest Stephen King book, and limitations show in the cheap effects. Didn't get any threat out of the villains.

Overall, far from a complete mess but the severely lacking execution of the story ruins it. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Very good

[iwabo-11354 · 8/10 · 27 October 2019]

Don't listen to all of the negative reviews. In my opinion it was a pretty solid and tense thriller. A couple of plot holes here and there but otherwise not bad at all. Also, Noell Coet who plays Emily is phenomenal as well!

Predictable fun, with a twist ending

[ToppsyKretts · 9/10 · 5 November 2013]

I've been following these filmmakers (clicking on Schenkman's and Wilkinson's IMDb pages) since "The Man From Earth". I loved that film and their output since has been hit or miss. From looking at their filmographies, it appears that this is the first movie they have made together since that film and I have to say, they are much better filmmakers as a team.

For me, Mischief Night was a lot of fun. While one might consider this as just another entry into the slasher genre or the home invasion genre, at the same time they have introduced some original elements to it that separates Mischief Night from it's bigger budgeted counterparts. The story is simple... On the night before Halloween, a blind girl is left alone as her widowed father goes out on his first date in almost a decade. An intruder enters the house (returning to the scene of a grisly murder he performed at the very same house, presumably a year before) to wreak havoc. Now the blind girl must defend herself in any way possible to stay alive.

LIGHT SPOILERS: I loved the idea of having the "killer" right in front of his prey and she doesn't even know it. The other thing I enjoyed was the fact that the filmmakers didn't even give the "intruder" a motive or any back story (not unlike The Strangers or Halloween... Michael was just "pure evil"). It just made the proceedings WAY creepier. The film is more of a throwback to Halloween, than anything else (let's face it, Halloween was a "home invasion film" way before we were calling them home invasion films). And like Halloween (including the late October setting), Mischief Night is also kinda light on gore. Since it was a slasher film of sorts, I was expecting more blood and guts (it has just enough few bloody shots to satisfy fans of the genre, but nothing overtly graphic like a Saw or Hostel). LIGHT SPOILERS OVER

The acting was also surprisingly top notch with kudos going out to the relatively unknown Noell Coet (as the blind girl), Daniel Hugh "Hardcastle" Kelly as the dad and Adam Edwards (also never heard of), who actually brought some personality to the killer, despite having nothing but one line in the whole film. Yes, there was some inexplicable but typical "horror movie behavior" from the characters (going upstairs? Going BACK to the house? Really?), but I also got the sense the film was playing to the expectations of the genre but attempting to do something new at the same time.

Overall, I liked it. Its MUCH better than the typical DTV fare (It said it had a theatrical release on October 30 on iTunes but I couldn't find it... I just rented it there). Just check your brain at the door, give in to the movie and you'll have a lot of fun. If I can find it for less than $10 when it comes out on DVD, I'd add it to my collection.

It was decent

[dupontjg-278-481855 · 9/10 · 6 November 2019]

The movie kept you on your toes, although some parts were predictable, it nonetheless delivered and turned into a pretty decent thriller.