The Night Brings Charlie is a 1990 American slasher horror feature film directed by Tom Logan (The Hag; Shakma) from a screenplay by stunt coordinator Bruce Carson. The Quest Studios production stars Chuck Whiting, Kerry Knight, Joe Fishback and Aimee Tenaglia.
A belated sequel, The Night Brings Charlie Back, was announced in 2016 but has yet to appear.
Plot:
In the small town of Pakoe, Shannon Davis is beheaded with a tree saw by a man wearing swimming goggles and a burlap sack on his head. Investigating this homicide and a previous one are new sheriff Carl Carson (Kerry Knight), and mortician Walt Parker (Joe Fishback).
As the bodycount rises and the killer begins taunting the police, suspicion falls on Charlie Puckett (Chuck Whiting), a disfigured gardener who wears a mask similar to the serial killer…
Reviews:
“Most of the gore is shown after-the-fact, so you see no actual decapitations, just the after-effects. The acting is also sub-par. Aimee Tenalia as Jenny is particularly stiff and emotionless and wears the same sad-faced expression throughout the entire film. Everyone else isn’t much better as it all looks and sounds like some high school production…” Fred Adelman, Critical Condition
“After a series of entertainingly daft twists the film is topped off by a fiery chain saw climax (where the barn setting is clearly imitative of a couple of the Friday sequels). Sadly, despite some good cheesy touches it’s overall a trifle dull (a cardinal sin for any slasher flick, I’m sure you’ll agree).” Justin Kerswell, Hysteria Lives!
“Sure, it has a fantastic looking killer, some inventive deaths, a few spurts of really good gore, and one neat twist, but that’s about it. At times, it does feel sort of like an early-nineties version of the giallo, what with the police investigating, and one scene that happened forty-fifty minutes in was very reminiscent of just that.” James Oxyer, Obscure Cinema 101
“In reality, The Night Brings Charlie sucks, but I was strangely fond of its 80s/90s-cusp colour scheme, the constant lullaby of cicadas, and an unconscious thirst for Pepsi. The Sheriff’s sarcastic receptionist provides a few snarky one-liners too. It’s about as memorable as a night in a Travelodge, but, equally, does its job adequately enough.” Hudson Lee, Vegan Voorhees
Cast and characters:
- Chuck Whiting … Charlie Puckett
- Kerry Knight … Sheriff Carl Carson
- Joe Fishback … Walt Parker
- Aimee Tenaglia … Jenny Parker (as Aimie Tenalia) – In the Woods; Asylum of Terror
- Monica Simmons … Tanya Parker
- David Carr … Deputy Jack
- George Carter … District Attorney
- Jack Fowler … Patroller #1
- Al Arasim … Eddie
- Robin Krasny … Debbie Del Vecchio
- Dina Lynn Gross … Katie
- James O’Donnell … Bobby Snyder (as Jim O’Donnell)
- Moire Reagan … Ella
- Glenn Krasny … Chris
- Keith Hudson … Biker #1 – The Walking Dead TV series; Alien Raiders
Filming locations:
Orlando, Florida
Technical credits:
77 minutes
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