What is The Night movie (2021) and why is it compared to The Shining?

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Last week I suddenly started seeing a lot of chatter about a horror movie called The Night. It was getting a lot of buzz for a few reasons.

For one, it was history-making on several levels. It was the directorial debut for Kourosh Ahari, an Iranian American. However, what makes that most significant is that, as RogertEbert.com, “it was shot on location in Los Angeles by a crew in which every department head was Iranian American.”

Second, as Salon reported in their interview with Ahari and Shahab Hosseini (who plays the husband, Babak, in the movie), The Night was the first American movie to be released in Iran since 1979. And it’s a horror movie, which makes it even more significant because that’s not a popular genre in Iran.

Third, it was touted as being very “Kubrickian” and reminiscent of his classic, The Shining.

Well, that was intriguing. I had to find out more, including what all it was about and where could I see it. Was it streaming anywhere? Here’s what I found out.

The Night Storyline

I’m going to share brief synopses of the movie from three different sources. Because, while they’re all basically the same, they each described it a little bit differently and all made me curious to find a trailer to check out a preview.

Rotten Tomatoes

After a night out with friends, an exhausted married couple, Babak (Shahab Hosseini), Neda (Niousha Noor) and their baby take shelter in the grand, but eerie Hotel Normandie. Throughout a seemingly endless night, mysterious disturbances ruin their night’s rest as Babak and Neda soon realize they’re locked-in with a malevolent force that hungers for the dark secrets they’ve kept from one another.

IMDB

An Iranian couple living in the US become trapped inside a hotel when insidious events force them to face the secrets that have come between them, in a night that never ends.

Amazon Video

A couple becomes trapped in a hotel with their demons – real and imagined – until they can confront the secrets in their marriage in this mind-bending supernatural thriller.

Okay, trapped in a haunted hotel? (Even if it’s only in their minds.) I’m in.

The Night Trailer

Where to Watch The Night

The Night opened in theaters (in limited release) and became available on VOD on January 29, 2021.

So, if you have theaters near you that are open and you’re comfortable attending, check to see if it’s playing in your area.

If you either can’t find it in a theater near you or prefer to stay home to watch it, you can rent it on Vudu ($6.99) or Amazon Prime Video (from $5.99).

This is a good time to note that Amazon is one of our affiliates. If you click through the above links and end up buying anything, we may earn a small commission. (For which the Skeleton Crew says, “Thank you!” That helps cover our website maintenance and hosting fees!)

Is it worth renting to stream at home?

But wait. The Night was released in January. Aren’t January horror movies jinxed to be stinkers?

Not exactly, but movies released in January are historically not great.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Is The Night one of them?

I started watching it yesterday but didn’t get a chance to finish. Which is not a reflection on the movie. Chores and family obligations prevented me from finishing it.

But I don’t have much left, and I’m very curious if the ending will be satisfying, because so far the movie has not disappointed. It’s so far one of the best haunted hotel movies I’ve seen in a while.

So once I’ve had a chance to see the whole thing, I’ll write a review about The Night and whether I think it’s worth renting.

Check-In

Have you ever spent the night in a haunted hotel and experienced paranormal activity?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.

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