The Lower East Side scene in the 90's, that consisted of fake beat poets, musicians that usually couldn't play their instruments, and the junkies and barfly hangers on that thought they were among the most cutting edge scene since Andy Warhol's Factory, are the ones who created this pretentious film. Unlike the Warhol people, who earned attention from all over the world, the East Village scene existed, unnoticed by anyone outside of their group. But they didn't care, and "Night Owl" is a perfect example, It was a film that was made exclusively for those people, to impress them, and to include them in their project. it's a wasted opportunity, because "Night Owl" had potential. But to make it more commercial would have been a sellout. So instead of an erotic and atmospheric film, we get disgusting scenes of vomiting and of a vampire eating raw meat and licking the blood off the bottom of a refrigerator. And instead of atmosphere, we get poor lighting, rendering most of the images just too dark to see. The scenes of New York City are wasted, because so little of it can be seen in the 4x3 cropped picture frame. But at least the director made sure he included all his friends in his film, especially one "Screamin' Rachel," who gets WAY too much screen time, singing her lousy songs in the wretchedly lit bar, that could just as easily have been someones basement. Someone should have told her that she was appearing in a movie, and stopped her from staring into the camera (which isn't supposed to be there) for the entire time she is performing. The only good thing about this film, other than a few good camera angles, is John Leguizamo, who is sadly underused in this student film. If only someone with real knowledge of film making could have been involved to stop the director from making bad choices, "Night Owl" could have been a true cult gem in the tradition of "Martin," or "Fade To Black." Instead it is merely a curiosity piece to those interested in the NYC underground scene that was going on before the city was reduced to the generic, outdoor shopping center it is today. Sadly, NONE of this artistic edginess exists there today, and most of the people in this film are long gone...with the exception of Leguizamo, who went on to a successful career. The incredible Bluray label "Vinegar Syndrome" has given this thing the restoration treatment, but because the movie is so poorly made...it still looks lousy. There are so many great films that are lost. and deserve to be restored; "Night Owl" was an odd choice for them.
