In Brief: So bad that I saw it on Monday and by Wednesday I had to go to Google and enter the movie’s name to remember what I saw.
It’s October. That month always brings a plethora of horror movies to theaters. These days it’s more via streaming sources than theaters. No matter the source, they come in bunches in October.
One of this year’s “bunch” is Nocturne.
To be kind, it’s awful. I saw the movie on Monday of this week. It was so awful, and so forgettable that on Wednesday I had to Google the plot to remember what I saw. That’s embarrassing. But for who? Me? Since I’m a critic and ought to remember these things. However, some blame has to sit with writer/director Zu Quirke.
This movie is a boring mess. By the way, Quirke hasn’t done anything you’ve ever heard of and, judging by the outcome of Nocturne, won’t likely be heard from again.
Twin girls are both pianists. One is better than the other. Sibling two discovers the book of a young woman who was to get the spotlight in the music school’s annual wing-ding. Instead, she commits suicide.
She got caught up in some sort of demonic thing. Sibling two ends up in the same bind. Though she isn’t as good at piano as her sister who is a shoo-in for the spotlight, she’ll do anything to win that place. Evil happens.
Sydney Sweeney (Handmaiden’s Tale) and Madison Iseman (Annabelle Comes Home) star as the sisters. The two actresses are very good in a film that doesn’t come close to being worthy of their acting skill.
Nocturne is horrifyingly horrible.
Director: Zu Quirke
Stars: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jaques Colimon, John Rothman, Brandon Keener
Not rated but probably is a PG-13 for mature themes and some violence. Horribly horrible and so horribly so that it picks up a 1 on the Friday Flicks with Gary o to 5 scale.
Nocturne can be found on view on demand on Amazon Prime Video.
Gary Wolcott has been reviewing movies on radio, television and newspaper since 1990. He believes — and this is an estimate only — that he’s seen something close to 10,000 movies in his lifetime. Gary is a lifelong fan of films and catches a couple of hundred movies a year. He believes movies ought to be seen on the big screen and not on the small screen in your living room or family room. While he loves movies, he also says reviewing film can be a real sacrifice and that he sees many movies so you don’t have to.
He is one of KXL 101.1 FM’s film critics and joined the news staff in 2014. Gary is also the film critic for Tri-Cities, Washington’s Tri-City Herald.