3rd Night Review: A young couple are terrorised across their first nights in their new home in Australian chiller 3rd Night.
3rd Night Review
Moving house is stressful. You uproot your life and transport it from A to B; it’s hectic and hellish, but at the end of it you have a lovely new place. Sadly for Meagan (Jess McGinn) and Jonathan (Robert Hartburn), this is not to be. The day that they move into their new property their beloved moggy, Nook, goes missing. A dampener placed on their big day, the pair then find themselves the victims of an unseen presence, looming in the distance, watching the couple. They start to receive notes warning of the Watcher, a killer who murders people on the 3rd night. Can the couple be the first to make it through that fateful night?
3rd Night is loosely based on the true events, director Adam Graveley was inspired by a news story about an American family who were terrorised by an unidentified stalker whom called themselves The Watcher. It’s an unsettling tale told through three distinct sections, one for each day and night. Each chapter is titled with a quote that foreshadows what is to come. It’s a clever technique that, when accompanied by balanced and well-placed scares, works really well. 3rd Night slowly builds up the tension all the way up to a violent and disturbing crescendo.
3rd Night Review
The best horror films are those that tap into humanity’s shared fears. We can all relate to those first few uneasy nights in a new place, and the thought of someone disrupting what should be a happy time is traumatising. Added to this is the discomfort of isolation. In today’s society we are forever connected to each other through the wonder of social media such that we’re never really alone anymore. Being confronted with people so removed from everything in the film is unsettling, even before anything happens. 3rd Night does as Tyler Durdan said, it destroys something beautiful, and Meagan and Jonathan’s dream life is torn to pieces.
Meagan, Jonathan and Nook aren’t completely alone however, there are a few characters that exist around their place, so whilst the couple are removed from the likes of the city, they’re not quite in the middle of nowhere. These additional players add an extra dimension to proceedings and break up the tension without fully destroying it – who are these people? Are they connected with The Watcher, or do they have something even more sinister planned?
3rd Night Review
As well as the frights, the audience also experience a strange bout of guilt. There are a lot of point of view shots which place the viewer into the position of The Watcher. It’s an unnerving feeling being placed into the role of antagonist, you want to scream stop and have Meagan and Jonathan be safe, but this is a horror film after all.
A strong and startling debut from writer / director Adam Graveley, 3rd Night captures the anxiety, stresses and fears of moving house perfectly. Combining those feelings with horrific events keeps the viewer engaged and nervous the whole way through. The tension starts to mount from the opening moments and doesn’t break until the climax. You might want to rethink that house move after watching this one.
3rd Night review by Kat Hughes, August 2017.
3rd Night is currently playing as part of the Horror Channel Frighfest 2017 programme.
