Poker Night (film)

Last updated
Poker Night
Poker-Night-2014-movie-Greg-Francis-1.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGreg Francis
Written byGreg Francis
Produced byCorey Large
Starring Ron Eldard
Beau Mirchoff
Ron Perlman
Giancarlo Esposito
CinematographyBrandon Cox
Edited byHoward E. Smith
Music by Scott Glasgow
Production
company
Wingman Productions
Distributed byXLrator Media
Release dates
  • December 5, 2014 (2014-12-05)(VOD)
  • December 20, 2014 (2014-12-20)(theatrical release)
Running time
104 minutes
CountriesUnited States, Canada
LanguageEnglish

Poker Night, released in the UK as The Joker, is a 2014 crime thriller film that was written and directed by Greg Francis. [1] Released to video on demand on 5 December 2014, it had a limited theatrical release on 20 December. [2] [3] Filmed in British Columbia, Poker Night centers on a rookie detective who attends an annual poker night held by veteran police officers, where each one details how they captured a murder suspect. [4]

Contents

Plot

Stan Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) is a new detective invited to play a game of poker with several veteran police officers and detectives. Each tells Stan about the insights they gained from murder cases they investigated, which turns out to be invaluable when Stan is captured and imprisoned by a vicious, anonymous assailant (Michael Eklund). Imprisoned with Amy (Halston Sage), the daughter of a police officer, Stan must use the stories of his fellow poker players to find a way for them both to escape.

Cast

Release

Home media

Poker Night was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Xlrator on February 10, 2015. [5]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Poker Night holds an approval rating of 50%, based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 5.39/10. [6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews." [7]

Dennis Harvey of Variety gave Poker Night a negative review, highlighting its "near-indigestible mix of tricky Pulp Fiction -esque structural convolution, torture-porn tropes and a somewhat distasteful level of snark, making for a self-satisfied puzzle that most viewers will run out of patience trying to unravel." [8] Martin Tsai from Los Angeles Times said the film "brings to mind so many forgettable thrillers from the 1990s, films that aimed to impress stylistically but ultimately were met with indifference." [9] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter , commended the acting, and "somewhat anthology feel", but criticized the endless voiceover narration, "jumbled timeline," and reliance on genre tropes. Scheck concluded that "although it features plenty of entertaining moments along the way, in the end Poker Night feels like a cheat." [10] Patrick Cooper from Bloody Disgusting felt that the film showed promise and featured good performances, but was ruined by its nonlinear narrative, and inconsitent tone. [11]

The film was not without supporters. Matt Molgaard from HorrorFreakNews rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing, "Poker Night may not satisfy those in search of the goriest film of the year, but anyone up for a unique viewing experience, a strong cast and a damn sharp villain are going to find Poker Night to be more than simply adequate." [12] Matt Boiselle of Dread Central rated it 4 out of 5 stars, commending the film's performances, interwoven stories, and villain. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chain Letter</i> (film) 2010 film by Deon Taylor

Chain Letter is a 2010 American slasher film directed by Deon Taylor. It was written by Diana Erwin, Michael J. Pagan, and Deon Taylor. The film is about six friends who are stalked by a murderer that uses chains to kill them if they do not pass on the chain letter to five other people.

<i>The Scarehouse</i> 2014 Canadian film

The Scarehouse is a 2014 Canadian horror film directed by Gavin Michael Booth. It stars Sarah Booth and Kimberly-Sue Murray as two women who seek revenge against their former sorority.

<i>Out of the Dark</i> (2014 film) 2014 film

Out of the Dark is a 2014 English-language supernatural thriller film starring Julia Stiles, Scott Speedman, and Stephen Rea. The independent Spanish-Colombian co-production is directed by Lluís Quílez based on a screenplay by Alex Pastor, David Pastor, and Javier Gullón. Filming took place in Colombia between April 2013 and July 2013, after which it entered post-production. The film premiered at Germany's Fantasy Filmfest on August 27, 2014.

<i>Hidden in the Woods</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

Hidden in the Woods is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Patricio Valladares and starring Michael Biehn. The film also stars Jennifer Blanc and William Forsythe. It is a remake of Valladares' 2012 film of the same name. Biehn and Blanc serve as producers of the film.

<i>A Good Marriage</i> (film) 2014 film by Peter Askin

A Good Marriage is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by Peter Askin and written by Stephen King, based on King's novella of the same name, from the 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars. It stars Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Kristen Connolly and Stephen Lang. It was released on October 3, 2014, by Screen Media Films.

<i>The Scribbler</i> (film) 2014 film directed by John Suits

The Scribbler is a 2014 American science fiction thriller film directed by John Suits and written by Daniel Schaffer, based on his own graphic novel of same name. The film stars Katie Cassidy, Garret Dillahunt, Eliza Dushku, Kunal Nayyar, Michelle Trachtenberg and Sasha Grey.

<i>Exists</i> (film) 2014 American film

Exists is a 2014 American found footage monster horror film, directed by Eduardo Sánchez. The film had its world premiere on March 7, 2014 at South by Southwest and stars Chris Osborn and Samuel Davis. The story revolves around a group of friends hunted by something in the woods of East Texas. Following the darker psychological tone of Sánchez's previous film Lovely Molly, the film returns to the creature-feature horror of Altered, also written by Jamie Nash.

<i>Pod</i> (film) 2015 American film

Pod is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Lauren Ashley Carter, Dean Cates, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, and John Weselcouch. Carter and Cates play siblings who stage an intervention for their unstable brother, played by Morvant. As the situation spirals out of control, they begin to wonder if what they had dismissed as their brother's paranoid delusions may be true. Writing was influenced by The Twilight Zone and classic horror films of the 1970s, including the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which inspired the title. Shooting took place in Maine in winter 2014. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 16, 2015, and was released theatrically on August 28, 2015. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 67% approval rating based on six reviews.

<i>Hooked Up</i> (film) 2013 film

Hooked Up is a 2013 Spanish horror film directed by Pablo Larcuen, written by Larcuen and Eduard Sola, and starring Stephen Ohl, Jonah Ehrenreich, Natascha Wiese, and Júlia Molins. It was shot entirely on a Camera phone, iPhone 4S. The film is presented in the form of found footage. Hooked Up premiered at Sitges Film Festival on 15 October 2013 and has a video-on-demand release date in the US on 7 April 2015.

<i>The Rendlesham UFO Incident</i> 2014 British horror film by Daniel Simpson

The Rendlesham UFO Incident is a 2014 British horror film directed by Daniel Simpson. It stars Danny Shayler, Abbie Salt, and Robert Curtis as three friends who become lost in the Rendlesham Forest and discover evidence of UFO activity, decades after the Rendlesham Forest incident. It premiered at the Colchester Film Festival on 22 October 2014 and was released in the UK on 9 February 2015. It is shot in the style of found footage.

<i>Sharknado</i> (film series) American film series

Sharknado is a series of six American made-for-television science fiction action comedy horror disaster films released by Syfy between 2013 and 2018. It has since been expanded into video games and comics, including a spin-off film, Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness, that was released in 2015. The first two films received mixed to positive reviews from critics, while the others received negative reviews.

Condemned is a 2015 American horror comedy film written and directed by Eli Morgan Gesner. It stars Dylan Penn as a rich youth who moves in with her musician boyfriend at a condemned building populated by drug addicts, prostitutes, and shut-ins. After their water supply is tainted, the inhabitants become violently psychotic and attack each other. It premiered at Screamfest in October, had a limited theatrical release on November 13, 2015, and was released on VOD and DVD on January 5, 2016. It is the theatrical debut of both Gesner and Penn.

<i>The Appearing</i> 2014 American film

The Appearing is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Daric Gates and starring Will Wallace, Dean Cain, Don Swayze, Quinton Aaron, Emily Brooks and Wolfgang Bodison.

<i>Volumes of Blood</i> 2015 American film

Volumes of Blood is a 2015 American horror anthology film directed by P. J. Starks, Jakob Bilinski, Nathan Thomas Milliner, John Kenneth Muir, and Lee Vervoort. It stars Kristine Renee Farley, Jason Crowe, Jim O'Rear, and Roni Jonah.

<i>Against the Night</i> (film) 2017 American horror film

Against the Night is a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Brian Cavallaro. A limited theatrical release starring Hannah Kleeman, Tim Torre, and Frank Whaley, it is premised around a group of friends who start being killed one by one while shooting a ghost hunting video in Holmesburg Prison.

<i>Spell</i> (film) 2020 American film

Spell is a 2020 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Mark Tonderai and starring Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine. It was released in the United States through digital on October 30, 2020 by Paramount Pictures via Paramount Players.

<i>Anger of the Dead</i> 2015 film

Anger of the Dead is a 2015 Italian zombie film written and directed by Francesco Picone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Leone</span> American film director, special effects artist, writer and producer

Damien Leone is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer known for writing and directing All Hallows' Eve (2013), Terrifier (2016), and Terrifier 2 (2022), each of which feature his character Art the Clown. He is currently working on Terrifier 3 (2024).

Inheritance is a 2017 American horror-thriller film directed by Tyler Savage, starring Chase Joliet, Sara Montez, Dale Dickey and Drew Powell.

References

  1. ↑ Patten, Dominic. "'Revolution's Giancarlo Esposito Joins Indie 'Poker Night'". Deadline. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Woods, Kevin. "Trailer and key art for Greg Francis' Poker Night, starring Ron Perlman". JoBlo. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Hunter, Rob. "'Pioneer' and 'Poker Night' Both Start With 'P' and Open This Friday, But Are They Thrillers Worth Seeing?". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Harvey, Dennis. "Film Review: 'Poker Night'". Variety. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Poker Night (2014) - Greg Francis". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Poker Night (2014) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Poker Night reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. ↑ Harvey, Dennis. "'Poker Night' Review: A Losing Hand – Variety". Variety.com. Variety Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Tsai, Martin. "Review: 'Poker Night' deals a poor hand with few high cards - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. ↑ Scheck, Frank. "'Poker Night': Film Review". HollywoodReporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Cooper, Patrick. "[Review] 'Poker Night' Builds Up and Tears Itself Down - Bloody Disgusting". BloodyDisgusting.com. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. ↑ Molgaard, Matt. "Poker Night (2014) Review". HorrorFreakNews.com. Horror Freak News. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. ↑ Boiselle, Matt. "Poker Night (2014) - Dread Central". DreadCentral.com. Dread Central. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.