Zombie movies are fantastic, especially apocalyptic zombie movies. When I saw the title of this film adapted from a French novel it instantly romanced me into wanting to see it. There’s just something poetic about ‘The Night Eats the World.’ Without knowing anything about it, I sought it out. At the end of the day, it’s got enough zombies in it to satiate walking-dead lovers. Check the link at the end of the review on where to watch The Night Eats the World.
Review For The Night Eats the World
The Night Eats the World movie doesn’t pretend it needs to explain what’s going on or how it all happened. The opening scenes give you the right dose of information to allow your brain to work it out.
Not only is The Night Eats the World set in a single location but it’s predominantly a single-character film too. I have no issue with movies that like to forgo blood, guts, gore, and splatter in exchange for narratives about the human condition and its will to survive. My adoration for the Australian zombie flick Cargo is proof of that. I quite like the idea of this story even though it’s been done a few times before.
The Night Eats the World Ending Explained
Instead of the common voiceover narrative, you’d expect in a film like this, it’s reliant on what’s on the screen. For the most part, this works great. There are some wonderful scenes such as Sam using a paint gun to shoot at the wandering hordes downstairs. Other sequences where he uses a big X to mark doors of other apartments housing the dead have a lot of appealing interest.
Why Didn’t Alfred Attack in The Night Eats the World?
It’s the addition of his zombie friend Alfred that drew my attention more than the lead character. For me, this hapless man trapped behind an elevator gate was more interesting than most of what was happening in the story. The fact that Sam was holding court with Alfred was what I looked forward to most means something is lacking in the rest. Quite simply, not enough happens and there just wasn’t enough guts for Sam’s character to fully flesh it out.
It’s not that I didn’t like it. It’s just that I didn’t love it as much as I loved the title. There are plenty of small nuances along the way to feed this beautifully scenic indie film. I’m amazed at the small price tag to make it as well. But I’m just not going to look back on this film and think about what happened to Sam. I’m going to wonder what happened to Alfred.
To explain the ending of The Night Eats the World, Sam eventually realizes he needs to let “Sarah” go. Sarah was never real and Sam is losing his mind. Mother of Movies thinks that Sam decides to leave and finally move on. It’s the kind of title that is reflective rather than blood, guts, and gore. The Night Eats the World is for movie lovers who enjoy the survivalist slow-burn type of film.
The Night Eats the World is rated
3 if only Sam had a cat out of 5
Where to Watch The Night Eats the World
- Director: Dominique Rocher.
- Writers: Pit Agarmen (novel), Jérémie Guez.
- The Night Eats The World cast: Anders Danielsen Lie (Personal Shopper 2016), Golshifteh Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 2017), and Denis Lavant (Holy Motors 2012).
- Release: Original French screening at Festival Premiers Plans D’Angers January 2018, Fantasia Film Festival July 2018, and VOD July 2018.
- Genre: Horror.
The Night Eats The World
Director: Dominique Rocher
Date Created: 2018-04-21 12:12
3
Pros
- Cinematography is money well spent
- Storyline that doesn't revolve around action
- Reflective survivalist horror movie
Cons
- Slow burn don't appeal to everyone
- Ending is ambigious
