The Night Divides The Day

Rating:
Summary: Night Divides The Day, The... (2001) d: Burton, Jeff
Review: "...Fear the dark and pray for dawn." A not so original story about a group of collage kids camping in the woods, while a dangerous psychopathic killer is on the loose. Like we haven't heard that one before huh? "...A night of partying and storytelling brightens their mood, but it can't stop an escalating sense of dread that something is out there in the dark."The dreadfully slow paced plot has the college kids one by one getting lost in the woods, only to have their buddies look for them and also getting lost in the woods. Occasionally someone is killed, however the characters concern for the lost school chum is everything from "Let's get the hell out of here"... To "Oh maybe they will be back", all at once, and left me confused to which way the plot was heading? This film seemed to be caught somewhere between a slasher film with very little gore, and a Blair Witch Project (1999)... Some interesting camera ideas show promise, although faster editing, should tighten future projects. I did however like the two bonus shorts included on the disc: 911 is the twisting story of women who calls the emergency number while being attacked, "...will a young woman's emergency phone call in the dead of night save her from a brutal killer?", when the police arrive the victim is accused of being the killer. Very interesting turn of events Another short entitled The Initiation: is about a college sorority who take initiation just a little too far. "...Three friends discover the terrifying secret behind a college sorority." Both shorts have great B-type cheesy ideas that the feature was lacking.

Rating:
Summary: Night Divides The Day, The... (2001) d: Burton, Jeff
Review: "...Fear the dark and pray for dawn." A not so original story about a group of collage kids camping in the woods, while a dangerous psychopathic killer is on the loose. Like we haven't heard that one before huh? "...A night of partying and storytelling brightens their mood, but it can't stop an escalating sense of dread that something is out there in the dark."The dreadfully slow paced plot has the college kids one by one getting lost in the woods, only to have their buddies look for them and also getting lost in the woods. Occasionally someone is killed, however the characters concern for the lost school chum is everything from "Let's get the hell out of here"... To "Oh maybe they will be back", all at once, and left me confused to which way the plot was heading? This film seemed to be caught somewhere between a slasher film with very little gore, and a Blair Witch Project (1999)... Some interesting camera ideas show promise, although faster editing, should tighten future projects. I did however like the two bonus shorts included on the disc: 911 is the twisting story of women who calls the emergency number while being attacked, "...will a young woman's emergency phone call in the dead of night save her from a brutal killer?", when the police arrive the victim is accused of being the killer. Very interesting turn of events Another short entitled The Initiation: is about a college sorority who take initiation just a little too far. "...Three friends discover the terrifying secret behind a college sorority." Both shorts have great B-type cheesy ideas that the feature was lacking.

Rating:
Summary: An average slasher movie plus two good short films
Review: The Night Divides the Day is a perfectly adequate slasher film with nothing to make it stand out from the crowd. Hollows Pointe University has a serial killer running around campus, claiming four victims within a week. The group of kids in this film decides to get away for awhile and head off on a camping trip in the middle of the woods. I never got a good handle on exactly who the couples were because they seemed to change slightly over the course of the night, but there was a little sexual tension in the air at times. Sitting in front of the fire, the campers tell incredibly boring scary stories to each other, argue among themselves about the quality of those stories, and insult each other's choice of favorite authors (one is accused of ripping off H.P. Lovecraft, but I must say for the record that the trivial story referred to has absolutely nothing to do with Lovecraft). Eventually, they decide to start heading off into the woods in small groups. Three head off to smoke a little weed, another couple heads out for some unknown reason, the guy whose story was ridiculed stomps off by himself and is followed a little later by the offending party. You can see where all this is going. Everyone who wanders off does not return. Afraid that something dangerous is out in the surrounding woods, the remaining camp buddies decide-of course-to go look for the missing. Some of them are so scared they can't wait to get back to camp, but then they turn right around and go off into the dark again. You can't keep these kids from wandering out to meet their doom

There's a little blood, but there is really no gore to be found here. Of course, I could be wrong because I could hardly see any of the action in the movie's final half hour. There is basically no lighting at all during all of the wood scenes. There were many occasions upon which I watched a screen that was essentially pitch black for a significant amount of time, and my inability to follow the action became pretty annoying after awhile. I will say that the ending is not wholly predictable, but neither is it very climatic. In the end, this movie suffers from its lack of originality, although it does what it does fairly well.

I found the two short films included on the DVD much better than the featured movie. 911 is a tight, suspenseful tale of murder. A killer sneaks into a house and attacks a young woman, but she manages to call 911. By the time the cops arrive, the story has taken a nice little twist. The other film, The Initiation, is also a tale of murder. First, we see two girls attacked after running out of gas in the woods, then we join a group of stranded motorists as they hitch a ride, get stranded again, and find themselves in the middle of some type of dangerous, almost certainly unapproved sorority initiation. All in all, this DVD is worth taking a look at, although the main feature is a fairly predictable slasher film.

Rating:
Summary: An average slasher movie plus two good short films
Review: The Night Divides the Day is a perfectly adequate slasher film with nothing to make it stand out from the crowd. Hollows Pointe University has a serial killer running around campus, claiming four victims within a week. The group of kids in this film decides to get away for awhile and head off on a camping trip in the middle of the woods. I never got a good handle on exactly who the couples were because they seemed to change slightly over the course of the night, but there was a little sexual tension in the air at times. Sitting in front of the fire, the campers tell incredibly boring scary stories to each other, argue among themselves about the quality of those stories, and insult each other's choice of favorite authors (one is accused of ripping off H.P. Lovecraft, but I must say for the record that the trivial story referred to has absolutely nothing to do with Lovecraft). Eventually, they decide to start heading off into the woods in small groups. Three head off to smoke a little weed, another couple heads out for some unknown reason, the guy whose story was ridiculed stomps off by himself and is followed a little later by the offending party. You can see where all this is going. Everyone who wanders off does not return. Afraid that something dangerous is out in the surrounding woods, the remaining camp buddies decide-of course-to go look for the missing. Some of them are so scared they can't wait to get back to camp, but then they turn right around and go off into the dark again. You can't keep these kids from wandering out to meet their doom

There's a little blood, but there is really no gore to be found here. Of course, I could be wrong because I could hardly see any of the action in the movie's final half hour. There is basically no lighting at all during all of the wood scenes. There were many occasions upon which I watched a screen that was essentially pitch black for a significant amount of time, and my inability to follow the action became pretty annoying after awhile. I will say that the ending is not wholly predictable, but neither is it very climatic. In the end, this movie suffers from its lack of originality, although it does what it does fairly well.

I found the two short films included on the DVD much better than the featured movie. 911 is a tight, suspenseful tale of murder. A killer sneaks into a house and attacks a young woman, but she manages to call 911. By the time the cops arrive, the story has taken a nice little twist. The other film, The Initiation, is also a tale of murder. First, we see two girls attacked after running out of gas in the woods, then we join a group of stranded motorists as they hitch a ride, get stranded again, and find themselves in the middle of some type of dangerous, almost certainly unapproved sorority initiation. All in all, this DVD is worth taking a look at, although the main feature is a fairly predictable slasher film.