Written and co-produced by Brett Neveu and directed by Jennifer Reeder (V/H/S/94, Knives and Skins), Night's End centers on an isolated and down-on-his-luck man named Ken Barber (Geno Walker) who ends up finding a new set of problems within his haunted apartment.
In minor ways, the Shudder original film takes directing cues from screenlife movies crafted during the COVID-19 pandemic like Host or Untitled Horror Movie. Primarily, we're learning who Ken is based on how much of himself he shares or withholds from his friends over video chats. However, one major difference with this film is it's never trying to capture the authentic look of screen-based communications. While we believe that people are chatting over Zoom, the screens overall look hi-res and crisp, which is more visually pleasing to behold.
Additionally, Night's End isn't afraid to move away from screens to show who Ken is when he's alone. This gives the viewer plenty of quiet moments to watch Geno live out his mundane days watering orchids and fiddle with his taxidermy birds. The set is filled with interesting details that better develop our knowledge of who Ken is in a subtle way. For example, Ken's windows are covered in newspapers, shielding any light from getting into his apartment, and he drinks his coffee with pepto-bismol. Setting up this vicarious lens from the get-go makes it easier to believe that someone -- or something -- else might be watching Ken too.
As the haunting begins, Walker embraces the setup and believably portrays a man who is terrified that his apartment is haunted. Once his investigation into what might or might not be in his place starts, it's truly thrilling to imagine what's out to get him. However, the script takes this premise in a direction that feels out of sync with its earlier and quiet first act.
Watching Ken argue with his friend Terry and ex-wife Kelsey over how to handle his own haunting is a delight. It'd be easy to spend hours watching Felonious Munk's Terry tell Ken what to or not to do and then see how the dark comedy of errors unleashes something much worse. Or, as the film also does well, explore how Kate Arrington's Kelsey has some serious concerns about his mental health that may or may not be connected to his haunted home. Instead of lingering on these interesting character beats, however, the film brings in an occult expert and throughline to its second and final act that ends up offsetting its tone.
Although Night's End's ending moments are campy fun, they don't groove with the events that have happened before in the film that was seemingly about Ken's well-being. One of Night's End's strengths is comically and curiously exploring how real people would react to the idea that they might be living in a haunted home by themselves. That's what helps uplift its fairly successful jump-scares. The audience knows that no one but Ken is in this place, which keeps the tension high. Although this film never set out to be the next Host, it could have taken a page out of its book to explore how people often mess things up -- intentionally or not -- and that brings with its deeper levels of fear around trusting those closest to you.
That being said, Night's End is still an enjoyable run-of-the-mill thrill ride that takes some interesting risks and commits to bringing some fun and spookiness into the haunted house genre. Audiences will leave the horror film with some compelling visuals and discussions to have on how screen-based communications alter what of ourselves we truly show one another.