Night Raiders

Directed by Danis Goulet, Night Raiders follows a mother (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ Niska) and daughter (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart’s Waseese) as they attempt to survive within a desolate, violent post-apocalyptic landscape. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that Night Raiders fares best in its deliberate yet mostly compelling first half, as the movie, which kicks off with a promising opening stretch detailing the protagonists’ surreptitious comings and goings, benefits rather substantially from its gritty, mysterious atmosphere and solid performances by its two talented leads. It’s clear, then, that the picture slowly-but-surely loses its hold on the viewer as it moves into a meandering, repetitive midsection, with the hit-and-miss atmosphere compounded by Goulet’s odd (and progressively distracting) reluctance to provide much in the way of context or world building – which, in turn, ensures that one’s efforts at working up much interest in or enthusiasm for the heroes’ perilous exploits fall increasingly flat. By the time the action-heavy yet hopelessly underwhelming finale rolls around, Night Raiders has cemented its place as an earnest misfire that is, for the most part, unable to make the exciting, affecting impact for which Goulet is obviously striving.

** out of ****