I’ve talked about the resonance of the horror genre a few times in the past. This genre has had its good decades and bad. Right now, despite a few bad horror films here or there, the genre as a whole has been doing great the last ten or fifteen years. Part of that are the new visionary filmmakers and creative storytelling. That’s what you have here with The Night of The Reaper, the new Shudder Original film. It’s an idea I’ve never seen before in this genre, and that’s a good thing. I want new and interesting stories like this one. Who knows, maybe this director, Brandon Christian, and his brother Ryan, who co-wrote the film with him, will be the next Jordan Peele, James Wan, or Ari Aster. Here’s hoping they’ll be.

This film starts out with a cold opening of a teenage babysitter being stalked by a killer in a hood and skull mask. A couple of years later, a series of clues and a mystery package shows up on the sheriff’s desk, leading him to start a new murder investigation. Bodies start piling up as a girl. Deena (Jessica Clement) returns back to town. She takes a last-minute babysitting job for her friend who fell ill. She ends up babysitting for Sheriff Rod (Ryan Robbins). He’s hip deep in the investigation into the past murders as well as that of his own wife. The tapes are the proof, but he has to figure out how to prove that all of this is connected. To throw a monkey wrench in all of it, there is a massive twist in the third act of the film.

I’ve seen my share of innovative twists in horror movies in the past. Or even story elements that are very different from anything I’ve seen before. This movie has one of the best twists in any horror film in recent memory. The writer/ director turns the tables on the audience. He pulls the rug out on the viewers in a way where you or we are happy with what is going on. There is no way anybody could have predicted what happened in the third act. That’s a good thing. Unpredictable story elements when they are done right are good. That’s what I’m looking for with these kinds of films. Surprise me in ways I didn’t expect. I’m sure others will be pleasantly surprised as well.

Christianson has assembled a cast of relative newcomers with this film. I haven’t seen any of these actors before, which isn’t bad because it doesn’t give me anything to go off of. I can concentrate mainly on the story and direction of the film. As well as other elements that stand out to me. A few of the key players in the cast besides the ones I’ve mentioned are Butch (Matty Finochio), another police officer who is worried about the sheriff because of his erratic behavior. Chad (Ben Cockwell) is an early suspect in the murders because he records things on his VHS camera. Elizabeth Talbot (Keegan Conner Tracy) is a park ranger who is infatuated with the sheriff and wants to be with him. All of these characters are just a piece of the overall puzzle. They do a good job keeping their hands close to their chest, which is good in terms of the story.

With horror films, in general, there are a lot of killings or brutal/grizzly death sequences. This one has some of those sequences. They are captured on video tape, so watching the tapes is a jarring situation. Most of the deaths are captured off-screen, but the viewers get the gist of the brutality that is involved in these scenes. The blood and guts and gore are straight in line with any other horror film. Mix the grizzly death scenes with the mystery of the plot twist in the third act, and you have a very original and innovative horror film. One that will be thought of as one of the best of this generation in this genre. I’m excited to say this because I want people to feel the way I do after having watched this film.

The Christianson Brothers have created something so different that it’s hard to keep my emotions in so I don’t spoil anything. If these men can create this kind of new and original idea, what can they do in the future? They will be among others, such as the Phillipou Brothers, Zach Cregger, and Michael Shanks, who are some of the new voices in the horror genre. They did a great job of subverting expectations like I have rarely seen before. Similar to these other directors with their films Bring Her Back, Together and Weapons. Creating engaging movies that either scare me and others or shock me are what it’s all about regarding the horror genre on the whole. I can’t wait to see what they do next .

Night of the Reaper is one of the best horror films of this year bar none. It subverted my expectations almost more than any of the films I’ve seen this year. This brother duo are going to be a pair I will be looking out for in the years to come. The cast full of relative newcomers/ unknowns kept me engaged throughout the movie. The cold opening set the table perfectly for what was going to come later on. The twist in this film is one of the best I’ve seen in recent years. It’s on par with The Sixth Senses and The Usual Suspects as far as movie twists go. The writing and direction were very good. I’m going to try and recommend this to every film and horror fan for that matter that I can. It’s a breath of fresh air regarding the original and very innovative story. It’s one of the best horror films of this decade.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen