One Line Review: Night Teeth is a passable horror film that doesn’t accomplish much else in terms of horror or thriller genres.
YouTube Trailer Night Teeth
Starring: Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry
Director: Adam Randall
Release Date: Oct 20, 2021
Introduction
In Night Teeth, directed by Adam Randall, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, and Lucy Fry star alongside a large ensemble cast. The film has a running time of 88 minutes.
Plot Summary
During the course of the night, a young driver picks up two mysterious women for a night of partying. However, when his passengers reveal their true nature, he finds himself fighting for his life.
Pretty obvious plot
If you haven’t already guessed, Night Teeth is a vampire film. They make it abundantly clear in the posters… and within the first minute of the movie. A long-standing pact between the Latino community in Boyle Heights and vampires has kept them safe for many years. But what happens if the pact isn’t followed through on? Benny, on the other hand, is about to find out.
We spend a significant amount of time getting to know Benny and his motivations, as well as where he comes from and what he wants to do with his life. It’s a sweet and heartfelt few minutes, but you’re really just waiting for the action to get underway. Don’t get me wrong, we need to know what’s going on in Benny’s life in order to care about him when he’s in trouble. We, on the other hand, aren’t all that concerned.
To be completely honest, this entire concept of gentrification is something that horror films have been heavily promoting for quite some time. We saw themes that were similar in a slew of horror films released in 2020 as well as Halloween releases this year. Night Teeth isn’t really doing anything to advance the agenda at this point. It makes a passing reference to the subject, but doesn’t go into detail. Boyle Heights, on the other hand, does not appear to be a place with its own agency β rather, it appears to be merely another plot device.
Horrorless
When it comes to the horror elements, Night Teeth is completely ridiculous. There’s nothing even remotely horrifying or frightening about it. Some scenes feature the vampires sucking blood, but that is about all there is to it. There is absolutely no gore or thrills in this film. At no point will you feel even a smidgeon of horror. Alfie Allen tries his hardest to appear very scary and intimidating, but he never quite manages to pull it off.
Megan Fox and Sydney Sweeney, on the other hand, appear as cameos in this film only to dress strangely and discuss breaking truces with the other characters. They serve no purpose other than to adorn themselves in glistening skimpy clothes and pretend to be frightening β which they are not. The desire to scare the audience is unquestionable, but the scare never materializes. The members of the Boyle Heights gang work extremely hard to track down vampires, but their story seemed to move at the slowest pace of the group. Being able to observe the vampires’ interactions with Benny was significantly more entertaining.
At the very least, the actors perform admirably in their roles. All of them are well-dressed, and the cinematography is excellent. Consequently, if you’re looking for a fun and exciting watch that won’t leave you with a lot of blood on your hands, this will be a great choice. The scenes are bathed in dark colors, which makes them look fantastic and provide a visual treat.
Conclusion
Night Teeth is a superficial depiction of gentrification and vampire lore that adds nothing new to the conversation about these topics. It does, however, contain some amusing moments, and Benny is a likable protagonist. His budding romance with a vampire has a lot of chemistry and is somewhat entertaining to watch. In contrast, if you’re looking for something more serious, this isn’t the film for you. A bloodbath and gory tale of severed throats are not on the agenda here. More of a love story, really β take that information however you want with it.
