Ominous October - Night Teeth (2021)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Night Teeth
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Length: 107 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Production/Distribution: Netflix, 42, Unique Features
Director: Adam Randall
Writer: Brent Dillon
Actors: Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Raúl Castillo, Alfie Allen, Marlene Forte, Ash Santos, Nandy Martin
 
Blurb from IMDb: A college student moonlighting as a chauffeur picks up two mysterious women for a night of party-hopping across LA. But when he uncovers their bloodthirsty intentions - and their dangerous, shadowy underworld - he must fight to stay alive.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
I do enjoy a good vampire story. I much prefer the creatures of the night that we get from pieces like Nosferatu (1992), but I’ve watched a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992, 1997-2003) in my day. I shipped Spike and Buffy. Clearly, I’m not altogether against a bit of will they/won’t they in my bloodsucker media.
 
That’s a good thing because Night Teeth was more the later.
 
There was some meshing of genres going on. I definitely felt the weight of the crime genre sneaking into my horror/action. I enjoy when that kind of thing happens. Night Teeth managed that aspect in a successful way. Unfortunately, not all of it succeeded.
 
I’m going to stress that I didn’t fully hate it. There was some good action, some Wick-style world-building, and the acting was pretty decent. I didn’t really cringe much at the script, either. That said, there was something missing.
 

It was incredibly anti-climactic, almost like the ending was rushed. It hit every note of what I expected to happen and gave very little in the way of push back to the protagonist. You can’t take the conflict out of the climax or the whole audience winds up with cinematic blue balls. That’s what happened here. You don’t even need to start the film. You can lay out your prediction right now, just looking at the movie poster, and probably wind up correct. Someone got real lazy in the end.
 
The protagonist also made a ton of decisions that didn’t make sense. What was happening to him shouldn’t have led to the actions he took.
 
That all said, I was mostly entertained. Still, on a second watch, I think I’d wind up with a more negative view of it.
 
As it stands, I’d say it’s an ok film to have on in the background of a Halloween party. As long as no one concentrates on it for too long.
 
Don’t overthink it.
 

Cat’s Point of View:
Night Teeth took me on a literal ride through a single action-packed night in the life of a fill-in chauffeur and his passengers out to paint the town red… in more ways than one.
 
I had a lot of fun with Night Teeth. I’ll admit, my expectations weren’t very lofty for this production, but the trailer struck enough of a chord with me that I had the film listed on my personal Top 20 Movies Coming Out in October 2021 list.
 
I’ll admit right off the bat that quite a bit of my interest stems from my general love for the vampire genre, but also because I really enjoy Debbi Ryan (Insatiable, Horse Girl, The Opening Act) as an actor. I’ve watched the progression of her career from the Disney Channel fare through her more mature work now. She brings a little something extra to her parts that I can’t quite put my finger on. Night Teeth was no exception.
 
While I’m on the topic of the cast, I feel I should also mention that Lucy Fry (Mr. Church, The Darkness, Bright) was also a lot of fun. She is no stranger to playing a vampire. I enjoyed her performance in this movie a good deal more than her role in Vampire Academy (2014), however. It could be the difference in tone, but it is what it is.
 

The two ladies weren’t the only stand-outs among the cast of Night Teeth. Alfie Allen (John Wick, Game of Thrones, The Predator) played a significant part here. I wish I could see past his former character of Theon Greyjoy these days, but that’s on me and not him. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Alita: Battle Angel, Critical Thinking) stood out considerably more with this performance than in other movies I’ve seen him in. I appreciated his character growth throughout the course of the film. Needless to say, the casting team for this Netflix production was on point.
 
Night Teeth runs a bit of a predictable course, yet still managed to be entertaining on the journey so I didn’t mind that I knew exactly what was coming. The cinematography was slick and the shots were gorgeous. There wasn’t a lot of wasted time on B-roll as you sometimes get, either. The action flowed smoothly and the effects were damn good. I enjoyed the nuances of the incorporation of the SUV, as well.
 
Night Teeth would definitely be a fun pick to watch with friends, leading up to Halloween weekend, or even beyond.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 35%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 50%
Metascore – 44%
Metacritic User Score – 6.0
IMDB Score – 5.7/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5
 
Movie Trailer: