NIGHT OF THE REAPER- Shudder’s Latest Clever Slasher

AMC+/Shudder’s slasher Night of the Reaper, released September 19th and stars Jessica Clement, Ryan Robbins, Summer H. Howell, Keegan Connor Tracey, Susan Serrao, and is directed by Brandon Christensen. Set in the 80s, Jessica Clement is Deena, who is a college student returning home for the first time in a while, and gets roped into babysitting for the town Sheriff, Rodney Arnold (Ryan Robbins). Rodney begins receiving mysterious packages showcasing the string of grisly murders plaguing the town, leading him on a scavenger hunt to reveal the killer.

*Spoilers Ahead*

I love a good slasher, and when they take what we think we know about the genre and tropes and flip that on its head, I am in the bag. The film starts showcasing a babysitter on a normal night until she finds creepy love letters to which she thinks are from the son she is babysitting. Ultimately, she is murdered, and this sets the tone for the entire film. I enjoyed how, out of the gate, the film builds the suspense and sets us up, the audience, to think we know how the film is going to play out.

Deena returns home and, after reconnecting with her friend Haddie, she gets roped into babysitting since Haddie falls ill and guilts Deena into watching the Sheriff’s son, Max, so that she doesn’t lose the job, and she hopes to marry him someday. It’s at this point that I thought I knew how this would play out, and Christensen leans into this, luring the viewer into this false sense of security because we think we know how it will play out.

Rodney begins receiving mysterious boxes with things such as the garage opener to the house where the murder at the start of the film happened, as well as the videotapes where the killer tapes them stalking their victims and murdering them. Meanwhile, Deena begins to become the next victim of the Reaper, and this is where the fun begins. Deena knocks out the Reaper, and we cut to a videotape of her talking to Elizabeth (Keegan Connor Tracey). It turns out Deena set this whole night up causing Haddie to get sick so that she could trap Elizabeth who is the murderer for killing Deena’s sister Emily who turned out to be the babysitter in the beginning of the film.

I did not see this twist coming, and it’s a wonderful way to take the babysitter slasher trope and turn it upside down. The twist injects new life and flavor into the film as Deena begins a game of cat and mouse with Elizabeth. Of course, nothing goes as planned, as there is another player who enters the game that I will not spoil, but things wrap up in such a satisfying manner with this film.

I cannot recommend this film enough as the twists and turns and setup were done excellently and without warning. There are some fun and unexpected deaths, and Jessica Clement plays such a tremendous and badass final girl in this film. 9/10 from me.

Make sure to add this to your watch list and let us know in the comments what your thoughts on this film are!