Timing for this horror flick is just right with the Halloween season upon us. Nocturna the direct to DVD/Blu-ray thriller tries hard to scare up a cauldron of ghastly treats, but fails miserably in the acting and direction departments. While it does have a decent storyline however, the film is not played out compelling enough to make it frightful. The make-up artists do have a field day here, but nothing more.
The story goes something like this; longtime detective on the New Orleans Police Force Harry Ganet gets a new partner Roy Cody, the nephew of the Mayor. He’s not very happy about it because he’s fresh in from Kansas and knows nothing about Parish nocturnal lifestyle. On their first case they come across Katherine a young girl that has been held captive by a clan of vampires. Her mother Belinda Moldero (Estella Warren) want the girl back, but she currently in the hands of NOPD. She goes out looking for her with husband Carlo (Massimo Dobrovic) and things start to get dicey. In the meantime, Roy and Harry are drawn in by Brisbane, Dimitri and his lovely Lydia at the Club Nocturna. The two detectives find themselves playing one vampire clan against the other.
First time director Buz Alexander tries his best with no real experience behind the camera. He tries to bring his script up to par with other horror flicks, but there’s no scare factor only the ghoulish behavior of the bloodsuckers. The story get off center many times and the acting, except for a couple of characters, comes across as very amateurish. However the crew in charge of bringing the ghoulish characters to life does a very good job with make-up, costuming and prosthetics, but not enough to save the film.
Nocturna has not been rated by the MPAA, but does contain gore, violence, language, nudity and sex. Teens are the biggest target market for horror films, but be sure your child is old enough and mature enough for the content before allowing them to watch the DVD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Costuming and Make-up are very good, but the rest is a nightmare. (D)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Mike Doyle, Estella Warren, Dane Rhodes, Olivia Renee Dupepe, Danny Agha, Massimo Dobrovic, Jonathan Schaech, Mariana Paola Vicente, Lawrence Turner
Director and writer: Buz Alexander
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains violence, gore, nudity, language
Genre: Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min.
Video Release Date: October 6, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD (also in Blu-ray)
Audio: 5.1 Surround
Video: 16×9 Widescreen TV’s, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Alchemy
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
