Frightfest London 2025: ‘Night of Violence’ Review
Stars: Kit Land, Vince Benvenuto, Russ Russo, Abria Jackson, Gigi Gustin, John Schaub, Caitlin Borek, Davon McClinton | Written by Illya Konstantin, Christopher Lang | Directed by Illya Konstantin
“I don’t feel a thing!”
Ambitiously, Night of Violence opens with a bizarre triplet of occurrences: one office employee, Elliot (Kit Land), doing his best sweaty impression of Hugh Grant in Love Actually; a co-worker, Rudy (Vince Benvenuto), finding another office to masturbate in; and the most outrageously satirical Big Pharma video ad that one could imagine. Of course, this can only be taking place at a party, led by the cocaine-driven boss/manager, Blake (Russ Russo), of the pharmaceutical firm, Alzepta, to celebrate their recent vulgar success.
What initially seems like a harmless, yet generic office party to celebrate, the celebrations quickly go from popping champagne to popping limbs, as the event – and office building – is taken over by a group destined to commit bloody horror. The presence of the anti-Alzepta killer group not only forces any survivors to flee amongst the various rooms in the building, but they also immediately inject an aggressive tonal change in Night of Violence.
Night of Violence is viewed as a film of two halves. Whether that was intentional by its creative team is another question. The introduction to the world of this film really pushes the Big Pharma narrative, but it is aggressively satirical at first. When, pardon the pun, the film becomes a showcase of a night of violence, the tonal change has a complete effect in having the initial satire seem completely out of place. A different film altogether.
As a potential commentary on Big Pharma, the initial satirical tone is hilarious until it stops. Having employees of a Big Pharma outfit be gleefully dismembered is a separate conversation. The transition into being a full-blown and bloody horror film, however, is an intense one. Night of Violence does an excellent job of embracing location and presenting isolation. Aided by the intensity of the characters, the no-escape vibe, and the individual room locations, this is a horror that wants to be more than just blood and guts.
From director Illya Konstantin, Night of Violence is quite the ambitious horror, even if it doesn’t completely work. The initial satire at the forefront of the film is never quite replicated or returned, thus ultimately feeling slightly mismatched or out of place with the rest of the film, but the rest of the film is good as a horror in its own right – plenty of atmospheric grotesque violence takes place, much to satisfy sadistic lovers of blood and gore.
*** 3/5
Night of Violence closed the opening night of this year’s London Frightfest.
