Unlike the most memorable entries into the horror genre, Nokturno (Evolve Studios, Viva Films, 2024) offers only the most superficial of thrills. Director Mikhail Red's Deleter (2022) utilizes the genre’s framework to not only examine its characters in a unique way, but also to interrogate our relationship to the media we consume. Through the intense voyeurism and cinema in general, Red makes us unwitting culprits in the increasingly disturbing actions of its characters, adding an uncomfortable angle to what could’ve otherwise been a fairly conventional psychological horror story. Nokturno offers little in the way of fresh twists on the stale formula and even the well-established tropes are handled poorly. It all feels painfully familiar: vague folk religion, loud shrieks, slamming doors, flickering lights — it’s basically a non-stop barrage of tired genre clichés. It even has that shot of a character violently banging his head against the wall that has inexplicably become so popular with horror films of this kind. While the relationship between Lilet (Eula Valdez) and her daughter, Jamie (Nadine Lustre) does provide rooting interest and emotional resonance, Red struggles to bridge the protagonist’s past to her present. Admittedly, Nokturno handles some of its family drama better than a lot of films of its ilk, but even that eventually devolves into cheap sentimentalism. The film’s horror elements are primarily derivative and reliant on shock, rather than nuanced or subtle sense of dread that would have ultimately made it scarier.
Other characters, such as Manu (Wilbert Ross), Jamie's sister Jo's (Bea Binene) boyfriend and Tito Jun (Ku Aquino), are undeveloped. As such, the viewer is given few reasons to emotionally invest in any of them, before they are caught up in a series of supernatural events beyond their control. Some sections can be tedious as Red keeps secrets about the curse for a long time instead of revealing them early on as an inciting incident. The use of Filipino religion and folklore lends a sense of authenticity. Nokturno explores something old and folkloric by exploiting the technology of cinema, making it immediate and visceral. Lustre is a compelling presence capable of displaying vulnerability without ever seeming naive, a derivative screenplay that can’t stick the landing doesn’t so much fail her gifts, she outshines it. The way this story unfolds and how it unpeels its protagonist is too predictable to be scary, despite a striking tableaux involving Jamie in moments of terror. It would be wrong to say that Red squandered any potentially intriguing ideas because there is nothing here that would indicate this rote and painfully unoriginal exercise could’ve ever been more than it is. Nokturno might offer some surprises for non-horror fans looking for a quick and simple scare, but everyone else is likely to be profoundly underwhelmed.
Directed By: Mikhail Red
Sound Designers: Emilio Bien Sparks, Michaela Docena, Michael Keanu Cruz
Scorer: Paul Sigua, Myka Magsaysay-Sigua
Editor: Nikolas Red
Co-Editor: Timothy Axibal
Production Designer: Ana Lou Sanchez
Director of Photography: Ian Alexander Guevara, LPS
Screenplay: Rae Red, Nikolas Red
