By Geno McGahee
“I’ll make it snappy alright. So snappy you’ll never forget it. (Purr).” – Bartender
Christopher Ambriz is a filmmaker with horror in his heart. I just recently watched his 2000 micro-budget flick “DARK BLOOD” and now, here we are, fourteen years later and I am reviewing “THE NIGHT BEFORE,” a short film that shows the amazing progression of Ambriz as a filmmaker.
Ambriz has learned the craft, got the right people in front of and behind the camera, and has made a 27 minute horror film with some style. The editing, acting, lighting, and camerawork are very good and the story is interesting. Ambriz was criticized (by me) for the wardrobe of the “actors” in DARK BLOOD, but he has recruited a bunch of super attractive actresses that are dressed incredibly well…and they can act.
Erik (Will McCann) is having some issues with his crazy girlfriend, Liz (Jessica Golden-Matthews). She is jealous of the affair he had with Charlotte (Kevinah Botello) and the plan is to now kill her off. I really enjoyed the performance by Golden-Matthews. She was very amusing in the role and obviously took great joy in playing the part. Her eyes told the story and her smile was just icing on the cake. I could have watched her rant all night. She was very amusing.
We have a rock singer that has made a deal with the devil and he is not happy. He isn’t the rock god that he assumed he would be. He is also coping with that deal that has made him this monster. Overall, he’s just not a nice guy and treats his girlfriend, Kim (Kimberly Cardenas), like garbage. When a couple of good Samaritans, Mitch (Mitch Bryan), attempt to step in, they get the wrath and things get pretty demonic.
THE NIGHT BEFORE is an amazing improvement over DARK BLOOD. The cast was great and it was a very stylish film with some old school horror feel. I was once again reminded of vampire movies of the past like NEAR DARK. Ambriz has truly found his way. I highly recommend this one.
Rating: 7/10
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