Movie Review: "Night of the Tommyknockers" (2022)
Night of the Tommyknockers Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Mahal Empire and Gravitas Ventures
Directed by Michael Su
Written by Rolfe Kanefsky, Adrian Milnes, Michael and Sonny Mahal
2022, 86 minutes, Not Rated
Released on November 25th, 2022
Starring:
Richard Grieco as Dirk
Tom Sizemore as Marshal Steed
Robert LaSardo as Lucky
Jessica Morris as Julia Ann Swift
Angela Cole as Betsy
BJ Mezek as Fred Rudolph
Robert Donovan as Jim Jonas
Michael Beran as Tobin Horn
Wesley Cannon as Clay
Review:
I’m journeying back into the Mahal Empire again as Sonny, Michael, and company pump out another genre-diverse selection from their rapidly expanding catalogue. This time it’s the Western Horror film, a genre explored less frequently but with some serious high water marks. While Night of the Tommyknockers is no Bone Tomahawk, it does have that Mahal Special Sauce and a winning formula. It also has Richard Grieco (If Looks Could Kill), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), and Robert LaSardo (Death Count, Bridge of the Doomed), and that automatically equals double style points.
The Dirk Gang are a greedy and violent lot that make their living robbing banks from inside and out. After their latest score, they find themselves in search of the “sure thing”- a hoard of gold just sitting in the bank vault of sleepy Deer Creek, Nevada. It’s the last score they’ll ever need. However, when they arrive in Deer Creek, they find a virtually deserted town full of monsters hungry for flesh and blood. Taking refuge in the local saloon with a motley crew of fellow survivors, the Dirk Gang come face to face with the Tommyknockers, monsters from “too deep” in the mines that are kin to leprechauns. The night of siege horror comes with a moral survival dilemma: do they give them the gold or just try and kill them all?
On the human side of things, the ensemble cast is headlined by Richard Grieco as the relatively silent and intense gentleman gang leader, Dirk. This is some of the best work from Grieco in a long time; you can tell he’s really enjoying the part. He may not be enjoying the part as much as Robert LaSardo as Lucky, the death defying outlaw who can’t be killed. That man chews up scene after scene, especially once he’s turned loose on the creatures out in the streets. Then you have Tom Sizemore doing Tom Sizemore shit as the town sheriff while aging like a fine cinematic wine.
Speaking of the titular creatures, they’re a cross between an undead Morlock and the beast from 1988 H.P. Lovecraft flick, The Unnamable. The combination is quite effective. Director Michael Su even goes so far as to keep you from getting a solid, steady look at them until the reveal of their cave lair in a seriously wonderful piece of SFX work and mounting horror. The design and execution make Night of the Tommyknockers work as well as it does, elevating a formulaic Western with inspired horror and gut ripping gore to make a memorable film that hits the right notes.
As usual, there’s brutally efficient pacing and action that’s better than it has any right to be given the relative budget. The Mahal formula works: strong SFX out front, veteran leads and passionate players, a script that doesn’t devolve into parody, and a solid sense of when to be humorous. The folks at Mahal Empire aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. They’re simply trying to make sure that you’re enjoying the ride.
Grade:
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
