Take Back The Night — Take Back The Night(Blu Ray)

Take Back The Night is a post-modern mix of unreliable narrator-led thriller, low-key creature feature, and trauma drama. It tells of an LA-based edgy female artists-come-influencer, who may or may not have been raped by a shadow creature. Here from Arrow Video is a Blu-Ray release of the film, featuring a commentary and a good selection of extras.

Take Back The Night is a 2021 film. It’s the debut feature-length from NYC-born Gia Elliot- who directed and co-wrote the film with Emma Fitzpatrick, who also plays the lead in the film. The film is captured in a decidedly stark, at times shadow-bound manner- and at points has a flat/ dull quality that suggests it could have been shot on a mobile phone.
 
The film centres on a thirty-something artist/online influencer Jane (Fitzpatrick)- she has a decidedly edgy and at times brash persona. One night after boozing ‘n’ drug it up at a launch party, she stumbles down a LA alleyway- something jumps out from the piles of rubbish, and we see her battered, bruised, and cut stumbling into A&E. She claims she has been attacked by some sort of shadowy, brutal, and flies buzzing around it beast.
 
Sent in to take her statement/ track down the rapist is The Detective(Jennifer Lafleur)- who is in a relationship The Reporter(Sibongile Mlambo), who is keen to get an exclusive on the story. Also added into the mix is The Sister(Angela Gulner) who is seemingly more strait-laced/ career-focused than her sister Jane.
 
The film is told in a jump back and forth in time structure- and when we first meet Jane, she is stumbling emotionally drained down into the LA subway, as her police interview is played in the background. She heads towards the line, seemingly readying herself to jump in front of the next train. As the film unfolds, one shifts between believing Janes's Story, and thinking she is just a troubled-if-at-times obnoxious artist/ influencer who either imagined or made up the whole attack.
 
Fitzpatrick portrayal of Jane is fairly good- and one does switch between caring/ feeling for her, and rather disliking her. Lafleur is ok as the doubting detective, though her relationship with Mlambo feels somewhat contrived/ unbelievable. The film runs at the one hour and thirty-minute mark, and for the most part, you feel held by the suspense/uncertainty of it all. It features a subtle, largely moody electronic beats ‘n’ synth drone-bound soundtracking, which works well with the look/ feel of the film.
 
On the whole Take Back The Night is a competent enough debut film-and it makes some interesting comments on trauma, how some women are still seen by society, and focused self-belief. With a suspenseful enough story wrapped around it, which brings together elements of drama, suspense, and low-key through at times quite intense horror.
 
 

This region B Blu-Ray, as we’ve come to expect from Arrow Video, gets a nice selection of extras. We get a commentary track featuring writer-director Gia Elliot and Australian genre commentary/author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. I’ve now heard a few tracks Ms Heller-Nicholas has been part of and once again she does a great job here- with a good balance of observations, great questions for the director, and a general entertaining/ knowledgeable track. The pair start off discussing how it took five years for the film to be made- moving from being an experimental project, to a more fully formed feature- and how they approached the process in a very organic manner. They talk about the film's influences- which take in chick picks, feminist literature, and violent sexual crimes- as Elliot worked in the American court system for a time. They discuss the film's grimmer locations, waiting for some time to capture a shot of mice, and how the on-location shots have a raw energy. We find out the film had four or five openings, get the low down on the ‘monster’ back story, and more. All making for a most interesting track.  
Otherwise, on the extra front, we have the following visual essays: Please Don’t Say the Word ‘Monster’ on National Television (12.26) with film critic Emma Westwood. Trauma and Space (6.06) which finds film critic Cerise Howard exploring the idea of ‘safe spaces’, sanctuary and vulnerability in the film. What is a Body? (5.06) critic Justine Smith examines bodily autonomy and perception in the digital age. #MonstersAreReal (5.06) critic BJ Colangelo looks at survivor unity, sexual violence, and social media. We lastly get an image gallery and original trailer. The first pressing of the film features an illustrated booklet taking in a round table discussion of the film by Anna Bogutskaya, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Valeria Villegas Lindvall, plus a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nicole Rifkin.
 
 

Take Back The Night is certainly trying to do something rather different with the subject of rape, its impact and its aftermath. And for the most part it succeeds-so it will most certainly be interesting to see what writer/ director Gia Elliot will go onto next. I wanted to give this a two and a half mark, but as we only do full marks here, I've gone for a two.