NightThirst

NightThirst creeps forth in a manner suggestive of the great horror films of old, opening on a cold October night as thunderstorm rolls into a small rural town. A tow-truck driver, Van Roth (Jon McBride), finds himself stuck in the middle of nowhere and resolves to hiking it out to the nearest house, through several miles of forest and at least one graveyard. At the same time, a gawky teenager, Jerome (Jeff Dylan Graham), rushes outside to lock up the garage as the big storm crashes overhead. Within minutes the stranded driver is knocking on Jerome's door asking to use his phone. Hesitant at first, and worried because he's the only person in his fairly isolated residence, Jerome reluctantly agrees to let the stranger in. While waiting for his ride, Van Roth decides to share some horror stories with his averse host, stories of the NightThirst - the craving for flesh and blood.

Reminiscent of George Romero's Creepshow in both style and editing, NightThirst features four random stories, each standing as an independent narrative, with only a momentary opening and closing wraparound segment (McBride and Graham) tying the picture together.

The first segment "Terror" feels almost uncharacteristic of something directed by the Polonia Brothers, in the sense that it is much slower paced and far more stylish than what I am accustomed to seeing from the Brothers. The segment concerns a young woman, Jenny Leighton, played by Holly Harrington (Johnny Be Good), who receives a strange letter from a rich local pharmaceutical mogul requesting her to visit his sprawling mansion in the hills. In return for her undertaking, she will receive 25,000 dollars. Jenny, of course, concludes that the offer is far to enticing to pass up. Sadly, her stay at the old mansion grows stranger and stranger by the day until Jenny deduces that something very evil is happening within the walls to which is she confined. Her bizarre first night, and the realization that she's suddenly pregnant, gives way to a very eerie ending. The sequence, which isn't all that bad, is helped along by a very creepy score from John Rayl.

The second segment "Tag" also feels like a departure for the Polonia's as it incorporates both humor and horror into a very effective, albeit, short segment. A direct nod to fans of H.P. Lovecraft, the Polonia's set this segment within the darkened halls of Miskatonic University. As a thunderstorm rages outside, a young medical student, played by Brice Kennedy, studies late into the night. While traveling the hallways looking for a toilet, he hears a strange growling noise coming from one of the rooms. He ventures inside only to find a cadaver, which not only growls but sits upright. Terrified, the student stumbles into the hall, and head long into a fellow scholar, played by Kimberlee Gibson, who convinces him that such things are customary with new cadavers. Or are they? The sequence has a very creepy feel that eventually turns the corner and heads in another direction. In fact, I almost got whiplash from how fast this segment switched gears, but, in the end, it worked for the better.

The third (and weakest) segment is "Demon Forest" as it is essentially a directionless, forgettable exercise that really goes nowhere. Bob Dennis plays a journalism student who decides to take a chance by heading out to the "haunted" black forest in order to take pictures. After parking off the side of the road, the aspiring photographer stumbles into the woods looking for anything out of the ordinary to shoot. Fleeting images of strange creatures flash across the screen as he journeys deeper and deeper into the ghostly woodland, unaware that he is being followed. The sequence, which is essentially a wonderful showcase for Brett Piper's creature FX, really doesn't work as whole because it is so underwritten. We don't know enough about Dennis' character to care if he lives or dies. Not lost on me was the Biblical nuance of the segment, and what the Polonia's were obviously going for when they conceived this idea, as the forest is evidently representative of Hell, and Dennis, as the proverbial sinner, who casts doubt, while playing on his fate, until the moment he grasps that the time for atonement has long passed.

The forth (and best) segment is "Christmas in July". I have to admit, this story I found exceptionally unsettling. It opens with a little girl (Courtney Polonia) playing in a sandbox in her backyard. Through the corner of her eye she notices a strange man augmented in a Santa Claus suit standing off in the woods behind her house. He appears to be holding an axe. Terrified, the little girl rushes inside to tell her brutish father, played by Mark Polonia. "Christmas is six months away. This is July," he barks, before sending her on her way. Back outside, she detects strange movement by the tool shed, and again, her pleas for help are ignored by her father. Later that evening, the girl awakens to find the deranged Santa Claus standing over her bed, a bloody axe braced over his shoulder. What happens next, and the strange twist ending is quite disturbing, if not, clever. Kudos to Jon McBride (in a dual role) for offering up the creepiest Santa Claus since Brandon Maggart in You Better Watch Out. Everything about this segment succeeds, from the music, to the acting, to the interesting story. Plus, it's genuinely scary from beginning to end.

In the end, all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed this horror anthology from the team of the Polonia Brothers and Jon McBride. I'll admit, it had its weak spots, but as a whole, it was an entertaining film.

The Polonia Brothers and Jon McBride are significant names in the b-movie universe and for good reason, their product is second to none. NightThirst is the perfect film for a cold dark night!