What does a persistent desire to be the best mixed with a demonic deal have in store for the person willing to do whatever is necessary to be number 1? For Juliet, wanting to stand out in the spotlight has been her life’s goal, but is always overshadowed by her twin sister, born just a little earlier than her, and she doesn’t let Juliet ever forget it. Both attend a music school where they both are classically trained pianists. When they hear of an opening for a solo that was held previously by a student who committed suicide just months earlier, Juliet will learn what it will take to rise above her sister and be a star.
This film is one of the 4 part movie marathon Blumhouse and Amazon Studios are doing for October. Blumhouse has been a manufacturing giant when it comes to low-budget horror films that turn a massive profit because of the smaller spending, and they again deliver on the smaller independent feel with this film. One of my favorite suspense thrillers of 2014 was ‘Whiplash’ which has the same producer attached to this film and you feel the inspirations in its story. I liked the idea of having a ‘Whiplash’ like story mixed within the horror genre and you definitely get shades of that with ‘Nocturne’.
The cast is all fairly good, it veers from a hard-hitting suspense thriller to the more monotonous coming of age tropes like big parties and college life, so some of the dialogue and scenes can be a little generic in those moments. The other influence I think this film draws from is David Arrnofky’s ‘Black Swan’ with it’s more surreal moments that you see inside of Juliets own head, where you aren’t sure if they happened or not.
I had a good time watching ‘Nocturne’ however, I do think they could’ve done more with the horror aspects to pump some adrenaline in the more subdued moments. It feels at times like the director isn’t utilizing the genre to its fullest potential but more interested in the drama of the story than instilling real mystery and fear in it. Still, I would say it is one of my favorites of the 4 films now out on Amazon Prime and I would suggest checking it out.
I’m giving ‘Nocturne’ a 6.5/10