Nightkill (1980)

(In French, On Cable TV, February 2022) Many Classic Hollywood stars ended their filmography with lower-end horror films, and it’s Robert Mitchum’s turn in the wringer in Nightkill, as he plays a gruff police officer whose role in the film only comes into focus rather late in the story. He’s obviously the box-office draw here in a film more concerned about cheap mean last-minute twists than anything else. There’s some promise to the initial premise, as two lovers plot the demise of her husband and then must deal with his body. But that’s far from the end of the murders and twists, all the way to a mean-spirited finale that shifts the film closer to horror than thriller. Murkily shot in dark grainy 1970 style, Nightkill was a German production that only saw release in the United States as a TV movie-of-the-week: The lack of good technical qualities shows up in slack editing, a meandering script (even at 97 minutes) and a failure to capitalize on the elements at its disposal. Mitchum’s gruffness is used effectively, but it’s clear that he’s slumming in a short easy role made to make the film more financially attractive to the production side. Nightkill is not much of a movie, but the sadistic ending helps (if that’s the word) make it more memorable than it should be. The premise could be used for a much better film, but in the world of low-budget films, in 1980 as of now, sometimes a bankable name and a quick shooting schedule are really all the producers are looking for.