User reviews

I had no idea what this film was before watching . The info button on my remote gave a brief synopsis that it was about a bunch of tourists who find themselves stuck in the remote South African veldt . Sounds exactly the premise for some torture porn along the lines of WOLF CREEK . Is this how it turned out ? Well yes and no

Certainly it's an unpleasant film in parts but where as traditional torture porn the whole selling point is the camera lingering voyeuristically on the victim trying to sicken the audience as the victims anguished , pain stricken pleas fall upon deaf ears here the camera cuts away from the on screen carnage leaving it to the audiences imagination as to the horrors befalling the hapless victim . I'm guessing this is trying to be a psychological torture porn horror rather than a traditional one but it's still very unpleasant

Another turn off are the characters . It's been mentioned by some of my peers on this page is that they've been given a lot of backstory and this is true and no doubt was done so that don't appear as mere cyphers come victims like you see n most horror movies . That said all the characters are either boring or unlikable or both and this sort of sums up the movie which is boring and unlikable at the same time

Dreary, derivative mess of a movie that looks great but is so thin on content it's script must have been written on the back of a piece of toilet paper.

It's that bad - really. Performances range from appalling to OMFG what was that???!!! When I bought the DVD from Next Entertainment it was originally an incorrect printing on the disc - some dodgy religious music - I should have trusted fate and let my subconscious know it wasn't going to lose 100 overlong self-indulgent moments of it's life to some hackneyed amateurs that really don't know the first thing about horror.

Sorry if I sound harsh to any of the film-makers who may be scanning the pages of the IMDb for reviews of their "masterpiece" but seriously guys - watch a few more of the classics from the sixties and seventies, get some decent references in there and for God's sake hire a new scriptwriter.

I'm revealing nothing by saying there's a painfully obvious twist that you can see coming about ten minutes into the film.

The reason I'm being so harsh on this film is because the ad campaign was so damn good - it didn't live up to any of the hype. The worst mistake any horror film can make is to be boring.

Watch The Unforgiving for a much better, albeit not great, example of South African horror.

Firstly, I'm reminded of my favorite now gone horror review site and a "rule" they mentioned sometimes - a horror movie shouldn't run over ninety minutes unless it has something special for audience members.

Additionally, I'm reminded of the fifty movie pack I once bought, and some among those films share the habit of padding the film with a sequence that adds little to the movie. Night Drive's was worse - it rendered the central characters as unlikable.

Apparently drugged people experience motion like a 1st-person Nintendo 64 shooter - their walking viewpoint looking like the perspective of someone sliding across the ground instead of walking.

It's also kinda like the inverse of the haunted house film Dead Birds, where the crew mixed an atmospheric film with gory scenes, here its a character-driven splatter flick, which doesn't really work because the characters aren't that endearing. The elderly couple were probably the most charismatic characters and contributed little.

Ultimately the film falls flat because the pieces, well, technically fit together, just not very well.

Turned it off in less than 5 minutes i dont why film makers think the f word is cute a few of those repeately in first couple minutes and off it went

Professionally made. Decent dialogue & acting etc. (or at least good enough for me). But the storyline/plot was just boring and wasn't interesting at all. To me, a movie worth watching only one time is a 5. This movie was okay quality, but held no value otherwise. It's not worth seeing, not even once. So, I gave it a 4. I would certainly consider seeing a movie made by the same people or with the same actors, hopefully with a better storyline.

NIGHT DRIVE is one of two English language contributions to the horror genre from South African film makers and it was also refreshing to see a South African film that didn't revolve around Apartheid or racism and for the life of me I still don't know why there has to be so many films that are about Apartheid and racism, they're like a dozen remakes of one film about a subject that's been exploited up to a point where you need to tell script writers to find a new hobby.

Anyway I really enjoyed NIGHT DRIVE, it was very much along the lines of WRONG TURN and a not so well known but very good horror movie called BORDERLAND that revolved around three young people taking a trip to Mexico and becoming potential victims of a cult sacrificing people in their rituals and its based on true events.

However, like the negative comment on NIGHT DRIVE's IMDb web page stated this film is offensive, South African critics were divided in a way I never saw before but that is what a film of this genre has always done, there is also a golden rule a film maker needs to know, if you're afraid to offend people then don't make a film like this because that's exactly what it will do, this film will rub a few people the wrong way mainly because the plot revolves around poaching and black magic but what the film isn't is thin on plot, the characters are well developed even though they're not very likable some of the fates that befall most of the victims here are acts you wouldn't even wish on your worst enemy and that automatically makes you cheer for the protagonists, that's what this film does very well, it depicts killers that are just that evil.

The acting is good all around, its not as plastic as in South Africa's favorite soap opera called 7DE LAAN, the cast here really do a good job with the material.

Overall, fans of films like WRONG TURN and THE HILLS HAVE EYES should probably like this film, the gore effects are well done as well its not that digital crap its gore that's actually there and the acting is very good too and for a South African production it doesn't look cheap at all, it has great production values for a South African film.

Released in 2010 and written/directed by Justin Head, "Night Drive" is a South African action/adventure with horror elements about an evening safari drive with a group of six tourists, two guides and the son of the head guide. They run afoul of violent poachers and their mad witchdoctor.

This is a stylish and violent flick with gore galore and a cool, unconventional opening. It eventually settles into a survival situation in the night wilderness. I don't know what the budget was, but the movie doesn't come across as low-budget; it's expertly made. Unfortunately, we don't really get to know the tourists, except for an unbelievably hostile dude, who's a turn-off. As such, it's hard to care about them and their outcome. The main protagonist is good (the son of the head guide), but the filmmakers drop the ball with the women. I suppose the white woman would've worked out, but they don't do enough with her. I did like the unexpected revelation about the witchdoctor at the end, but the second half should've been better considering the quality set-up. The script needed spruced-up to make the most of the situation, increase suspense, etc. Still, this is a very worthwhile jungle adventure with a side of horror.

The film runs 103 minutes and was shot Johannesburg and Broederstroom, North West, South Africa.

GRADE: Borderline B/B- (6.5/10)

This movie not just another South African movie like the others,it has all the potential to be a great Hollywood movie.The cinematography is just too good,the movie moves along a nice pace and also manages to explain the concept very well.The movie also manages to send chills down your spine,if you like horror movies and love to get scared then i recommend watching this movie at night.There are quite a lot of blood scenes in the movie and boy oh boy ,hats off to the camera guys,trust me this was the first time where i thought those blood and violence scenes weren't funny.Also the movie keeps you in suspense as to what is happening.And before i forget the background sound/music in this movie makes it what it is.

Final Word: Highly Recommended as i see this movie has all the elements covered up pretty nicely.

Night Drive is arguably one of the most publicized and controversial films in South Africa's history. Never before have local critics been so divided about one of this country's feature films. Most liberal critics were offended by its portrayal of the so-called 'Dark Continent', whilst others relished the country's first all-or-nothing thriller/horror flick.

The film is what is. I don't think it had any aspirations to be the country's next Oscar hopeful. It certainly doesn't give the proverbial intellectual hand-job. But if you're looking for 'bloody' good Saturday night entertainment, Night Drive delivers.

My biggest problem with Night Drive is the distinct lack of hot chicks with big boobs in wet t-shirts. Isn't there always at least one in a film like this? Or maybe this was their idea of a departure from the formula, but still...

There was something about Night Drive that did strike a chord with me though. While I've been living in the relative safety of my white middle-class suburban existence, people are being murdered daily for witchcraft purposes in SA. The victims are usually from impoverished communities where superstition is rife. Night Drive turned the tables on this one and put me in their shoes. This is a case where the truth is in fact more horrifying than fiction.