As we learned in March 2022, it’s not Bruce Willis’ fault that he often comes across as apathetic, disinterested, or confused in virtually every title in the long line of low-budget thrillers he’s starred in over the years. This knowledge, which is sad for fans of the German-born American star, does not improve ‘Survive The Night’, which plays tonight and is written very clichéd and without surprises. At best a little sadder…
‘Survive The Night’ can be seen tonight at 12:10 on RTL 2. If the date is too late for you, you can currently watch the film in the flat-rate subscriptions WOW (formerly Sky Ticket)* and stream MagentaTV. The FSK 16 title is also available as Blu-ray, DVD or paid video on demand:
In addition to Willis, who once became a global superstar with, among others, ‘Die Hard’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘The Sixth Sense’, there are also several other, at least somewhat prominent, actors. We’re talking about Chad Michael Murray, who shot to fame with the teen TV series “One Tree Hill” in the 2000s, Lydia Hull of the tired Stallone starrer “Escape Plan 1-3” and US National Water Polo player Shea Buckner .
‘Survive The Night’ on RTL 2: that is the story
Brothers Matthias (Tyler Jon Olson) and Jamie (Buckner) lead lives as provincial criminals. When their latest coup – a gas station robbery – goes horribly wrong, Matthias is hit in the leg and seriously injured in a shootout. Yet the duo manages to escape.
While on the run, the two break into Doctor Rich’s (Murray) home and take him, his wife (Hull) and daughter (Riley Wolfe Rach) hostage. While Jamie threatens her with the gun, he now has to operate on Matthias, who is bleeding profusely.
Rich, who is obviously under a lot of pressure in this situation, does what he can, but fears that his patient will die. What will happen to him and his family then? Then Rich’s father Frank (Willis), the area’s former sheriff, happens to come to the house…
Just two days of filming for Bruce Willis
“Trauma Center” and “Wire Room” director Matt Eskandari only had ten days to film “Survive the Night” due to the tight budget. Most likely he didn’t have much time left for post-production. This fact is noticeable in every corner of the film – from the uninspired camera work and the sometimes quite sloppy editing to the wooden performances of the actors, who often seem to just recite their lines rather than really trying to convey them credibly.
And we don’t just mean the disabled Bruce Willis, who was only on set two out of ten days anyway and plays a slightly larger supporting role. The other actors clearly just didn’t have the chance to really work on their roles and delve into them. Normally, such a 90-minute feature film is shot over an average of four to six weeks.
So you can see that the project was a failure from the start and the outcome sometimes reflects this with shocking clarity. If you really want to see the hostage situation with Bruce Willis, check out “Hostage – Kidnapped” bee. It offers significantly better, not only in terms of story, but also visually and in terms of acting.
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