GONE IN THE NIGHT (2022)

Winona Ryder leads Gone in the Night as Kath, featuring a mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend after they decide to get away for the weekend in a secluded cabin in the woods. Premiering at SXSW 2022, Gone in the Night sits at a minimalistic 90 minutes, yet at moments it feels far too long – repeatedly disassembling itself and reassembling itself with brief breaks where we settle on a mysterious shipping container lodged in the woods. 

With the likes of Winona Ryder, John Gallagher Jr., Dermot Mulroney, Brianne Tju and Owen Teague filling the big shoes of the cast, I expected more out of the performances, it all seemed so tame – weird and off-putting at times but tame overall. As the story starts to unfold, things slowly get better for the plot and actually by the film’s conclusion you feel almost as though the trouble caused by the editing was worth it in the end.

However a great ending doesn’t always make up for a lackluster film but as a one time experience, Eli Horowitz’ directorial debut is worth the bumpy voyage to get to the destination but it’s almost certainly a journey you won’t likely want to revisit.