Poker Night (I) (2014) User Reviews

Well worth watching.

[stemal-1 · 7/10 · 2 January 2015]

An intriguing story, told stylishly and in an interesting way.

Add to that a cast of character actors that everyone must enjoy watching, and this couldn't really go wrong.

Saying that, it was a bit messy early on, giving the distinct impression it was going to be a headache to stick with, style over substance perhaps.

I feared the worst, but it began to fall together nicely. Despite a nagging feeling it should have been even better given the premise, it was a good-looking and enjoyable film.

And I loved the killer's flashback to his old life. A funny interlude in a generally grim movie.

I'll look forward to the writer/director's future work.

stupid characters and too many cliches ruined it

[foxtografo · 5/10 · 22 March 2019]

Someone wrote exactly what I think on the reviews, but as he wrote spoilers I'll do the no-spoiler version. So, the movie has potential, has an interesting story, good cinematography and a good bunch of cool old actors playing the veteran cops teaching the rookie their stories in a poker night. So far it's OK, but as we see the rookie being so stupid all the time, even if it was the point at some level, he'll fall into every teenager horror movie cliche situation you can think of and never learn. At least me, not interested in watching a movie whit the main character being that lame. A few other plot holes and things (a patched wound over a shirt was so funny) add up to the stupidity of situations through the whole movie, you'll be eye-rolling a lot here. The movie has quite a lot of dark humour and doesn't pretend to be too serious, but this silliness is just lazy writing. It's not awful, but don't expect too much form it.

Great flick

[unclet-30169 · 7/10 · 3 September 2020]

So, so surprised. Not what I was expecting, and not disappointed either. Once you're let in on the gist of the story, it's a wild, fun ride. 👍😱

Worth watching just for the scene of a masked serial killer at work in his cubicle (yes, wearing the mask)

[rooprect · 17 September 2019]

Yes, what I mentioned in the my title is true. As far as I know in the history of cinema, there has never been a scene of a vicious, bloody serial killer wearing his grotesque mask while he goes to the office and sits in his cubicle with all the other 9-5 schleps. So, love it or hate it, ya gotta give this film props for that.

"Poker Night" blends horror, crime, comedy and surrealism to bring us a wild ride like I haven't seen since the Christopher Walken masterpiece "Suicide Kings" (a flick you need to watch asap if you haven't already). This film takes a very similar approach, so similar that I had to check if the director of Poker Night also directed Suicide Kings but he did not. Both films are extremely non-linear, meaning they jump back & forth in time, from different perspectives, telling different stories which all come together in the end. Well sort of. Therein lies my only criticism, but first let's talk about the good.

This film is a standard serial killer cat-and-mouse game, much like Saw, but it throws in a concurrent flashback to a cops' poker night where they are each telling stories of their careers. The stories relate to the main character's predicament as he's trying to outwit the killer. At the same time we're all trying to piece together who the killer is and what is the motivation behind all of this. It's definitely a film that you need to pay attention to, otherwise you might get lost in all the interweaving episodes & flashbacks, especially when they get surreal and the main character gets superimposed in the stories being told by others.

It's also a very dark film, literally dark, where we are intentionally not shown what's happening until the end of a scene. The director took a gamble on whether this would be suspenseful or annoying, and my opinion is that it worked. Others may not agree.

Another gamble was that hilarious serial killer fantasy I mentioned at the beginning. If I haven't been clear enough, I LOVED IT. That playful approach was exactly what was needed to break up the tension and disturbing nature of the story.

Ok now the bad. The film frequently crosses over into unbelievable territory, as in people getting shot multiple times or mutilated in violent ways but they still get up and manage to pull off an action packed fight scene. There's one scene in particular where a character basically gets half his skin ripped off, but 5 minutes later it's barely a scratch. Maybe they threw in stuff like that to keep the audience awake, but at the risk of boring people they should've kept things more realistic all the way through. Also in the last 20 minutes there are several crazy plot leaps crammed together for the sake of giving us a bunch of twists, and I felt that these also undermined the core strength of the film which was a slow battle of wits. But those are really minor nitpicks which shouldn't dissuade you from checking out this movie.

If you enjoy non-linear, flashback-based, bizarre & quirky crime thrillers such as "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" or the aforementioned "Suicide Kings" then definitely give this a go. Also if, like me, you are interested in this film only because the amazing Ron Perlman is in it, then you won't be disappointed. Although he's a somewhat minor character, his scenes are fantastic and easily raise the calibre of the film a few notches.

6.5 would be bang on

[nathanmanson · 7/10 · 6 October 2019]

Firstly I thought it was a good film and was better then I expected. I have a few problems with it though. Why didn't he just leave the house when he escaped the first time he could've just escaped then called the cops. And when the killer pulled up to the house why was he wearing the mask that makes literally no sense. Also the films ending was pretty lacklustre, the film could've just ended with him killing the killer that would've been good enough for me. However everything else was really good and I really enjoyed it.

Compilation of detective stories in one torturous ordeal.

[quincytheodore · 6/10 · 1 June 2015]

Poker Night is not your ordinary thriller or cop movie. It takes a lot of liberty in telling its many subplots by tweaking the timeline as each detective delivers their respective story. With the lineup of actors the movie has, it presents suspense and occasional humor aptly. However, the constant whirl of flashbacks and abrupt pacing change might be exhausting to audience as it veers too many times throughout the movie.

Jeter (Beau Mirchoff) is invited to a poker night by his lieutenant. This ongoing tradition is a part of initiation for new detectives. Little did he know, his first case might just need all the wisdom from these veterans. The plot shifts back and forth as Jeter tries to outwit a psychopath as he remembers the stories from the poker night one step at a time. The risk grows increasingly high as Jeter gambles with not only his life, but also the life of a girl hostage.

This unorthodox set-up has the advantage of presenting many subplots, the tone from each can be adjusted for humor purpose as well. It even displays the antagonist's perspective in ironic fashion. The actors do well, they are an eclectic bunch, representing convincing grit accumulated from years of experience. Their tales are pretty interesting, with just the right amount of noir monologue and awareness.

Not all of them are balanced though, a couple of these might feel tedious. Furthermore, the sudden shift to accommodate all stories might unintentionally derail the momentum. It has excessive amount of flashback into another flashback, which can be a convoluted viewing. Its overall theme and major plot are solid enough, often dealing with sadistic and perverse nature without getting overly gory, so it does maintain a good level of consistency.

Poker Night is different kind of crime movie, the bizarre narrative doesn't completely pay off, but it plays its hand cleverly enough to create a decent thriller.

The structure of a rudely shaped root vegetable

[begob · 6/10 · 5 January 2015]

Thanks to the other reviewers - that's the only reason I watched this.

Not a great film, but it becomes fascinating as it roller-coasts along.

First up, a lame voice over - verbose, flat, abstract. Followed by a sequence of heroic cop tales using the conceit of a poker game where each veteran has a lesson to teach the rookie. Interwoven with this is the main plot, in which the rookie is kidnapped by a serial killer and imprisoned in his lair.

The tales are uneven. The point is that each cop has to discard the system and do what he thinks is right, which results in a couple of shoot-first-ask-questions-later murders. Entertaining, but the self justification had zero irony.

The dialogue (like the VO) is not as good as it thinks it is, and there's a lot of "we're laughing because the script says LAUGHTER". Baaad writing.

But then ... we get weird humour. The serial killer explains his back story, and there are some surreal little scenes of the serial killer community. Then the rookie explains his back story, and suddenly this thing turns into an unexpected puzzle.

I thought all the cops at the poker table were already dead, reminiscing in purgatory. But no - it's a sort of Mulholland Drive trick, and the story powers on to a clear resolution.

Hectic, all over the place, but worth watching.

Ratings and reviews were misleading

[schuyler101-819-445549 · 2/10 · 3 January 2015]

Extremely disappointing film. The presence of some solid actors can't save this mess. This movie seems to try very hard to be something that it just can't pull off.

The lone bright spots were the performances of Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito and the villain (whom I won't name so as to not spoil anything.

Esposito and Perlman gave good performances but their screen time was limited, don't go into this film thinking you'll see a lot of them.

The villain was probably the brightest spot in the film. The flashbacks featuring him were very funny and he was a very menacing character.

Poker night had precious few strong elements flanked by a great deal of terrible ones, it's not worth your time.

I strongly advise others to skip this film.

A fun ride

[Raul4ever · 8/10 · 4 January 2015]

This film deserves more publicity than it is getting.. An impressive cast and a pretty good thriller in its own right.. The different stories that each cop puts forward on poker night are in itself pretty good. Each story is different in their own way and its really depicts how a legit detective team would handle the same case. The negatives that I have are really slight.. Maybe the plot could have been a bit more taut and focused on the killer a bit more. The acting is well handled.. I enjoyed the ending and I wish the team behind this all the best in their next venture. I went in without any expectations but the rating on IMDb (which I think it deserves at least a seven) and I liked it. If you are into thrillers, give it a try.

Does somethings well, others not so much however its ok movie overall.

[Brooklynsmagicmike · 6/10 · 11 March 2021]

Based off the premise and cast of the movie I thought to myself why not give it a watch. Upon conclusion of the movie. I was both impressed and dissapointed.

First the movie had a indentity crisis. It diddn't know if it wanted to be a horror, thriller, action, drama, or even comedy at times. It ended up detracting me from the movie because at times wasn't sure when to laugh, be scared, or intrigued. Second the film went with a weird direction of showing flashback on flashback on flashback. After awhile it was almost giving me headache watching so many. Lastly up to the middle-end the movie was very draggy and boring. I contemplated even turning it off at times but was glad I hung around.

With all that said there were quite few pros. The visuals were excellent for low budget film and it made you feel very engaged like you can almost feel what was going on. The acting from all parties was excellent and entertaining. Also the twist-turns towards the end without giving anything away were amazing and real reason I gave this movie a 6. Without the last half hour this film would easily got only couple stars.

Overall I would say give this one a watch if you're patient viewer. If not I would recommend avoiding this film.

Yeah it is different, but all in all bad, ruined

[mrsovicdarko · 4/10 · 14 September 2015]

Yeah it is different, That is the only thing that kept me watching it until the end. There are some things I liked, like that cool mask, or the cool villain, or that nice story that is badly written, and so badly directed. The man came up with a nice story, then he ruined it by directing it, and writing script. Honestly, he just had to tell that idea to someone and it could be great movie. Ron Pelrman is not fit to be an actor. His acting is too painful for my senses. And others could not do better because that script, that script, that script. Come on, that script. My grandmother could do better than that. Even scenery was OK (in some way). Bad cop with an innocent face, villain that no one could kill, and it is not that they did not try, they did, a lot. No, in the end, forgettable movie, i wish it was not, i really do, but it is. How can someone say the acting was good (as i saw someone wrote). The acting was all but good. Maybe that person only watches low rated movies. Stil it is a 4, but only for trying. Maybe someone will make better remake. I just wrote this review because the people need to see the truth. As I saw here, only those who liked the film wrote the review, and that is not fair, it needs some dose of subjectivity that I am offering. Bad movie, sorry guys.

It's different....

[haphazard72 · 8/10 · 1 February 2015]

This is.....different. I don't know how to describe it any other way.

If you're into your horror/thriller type of movie, and you're not looking for anything deep, but you do want a movie with lots of twists and turns, then this is for you.

I liked it. I liked how the different stories played out to help create the main one.

Beau Mirchoff played his character well. Halston Sage is stunning!

It's not an academy award winner, but if you want a bit of fun and horror, then this is for you. You won't pick the story and how it pans out- definitely different....

Had Potential

[politehere · 7/10 · 29 January 2015]

First of all, what I really liked about this movie was the cinematography. It was very well shot. It took me a while to get what was going on, because the story was being delivered in chunks. This is one of those movies where you see the ending in the beginning of the movie and then the protagonist goes on to tell you how he got there. The initial confusion was a bit annoying, but that's the style of this movie. What I disliked the most were the actors. The protagonist could have been a more well-known actor such as Jason Statham instead of this young rookie in his twenties. The other actors could have been selected from among more good-looking actors, too. I'm one of those who care about how the actors look. It had elements of horror in it; i.e. torture. Some of the torture scenes were too violent for this genre, but not too explicit as to make you want to cover your eyes or anything.

Another factor that could have made this movie more memorable was going for a twist, a surprise ending like in the 2003 movie "Identity". For a moment I thought there was a twist ending and I almost turned off the TV. I wish I had done that, because it didn't end and the ending was a little disappointing and the movie dragged a bit.

In spite of these flaws, I think this movie is well worth watching.

Final Score: 7/10

What did I just watch?

[chris-4711 · 4/10 · 20 October 2019]

I just did't get it..

It was an ok movie and having the great Ron Perlman attracted me but i'm still at a loss to the ending. The acting was good ,the movie was not too bad and it kept me watching to the very end but at the end I thought what just happened???

Maybe I've had one too many Bacardi's.

Was the film trying to be too clever?

All I know is at the end I thought what the ****?

Worth a watch tho!!

Not your average by the numbers filmmaking

[krazykat29 · 22 December 2014]

Cop movies are nothing new, neither is terrorizing someone in a room. I thought the movie was gonna be a Saw meets cop movie sorta thing based on some reviews. gotta say though, this movie was way cooler than that. It reminded me of Guy Ritchie movies - tracking back an forward in time, funny surreal moments, people breaking fourth wall to explain things, characters switching places, etc.

The acting was solid and cinematography and editing were top notch. The beginning felt a tad weak, but i'm really splitting hairs here. They really got everything on the screen with this movie. I think if there's any real 'problem' with it is, it doesn't follow the typical arc people expect these days. More of an oblique 70's feel, where you don't have the satisfaction of a neat resolution or the hero doing the final heroic thing. But that's a good thing. It's unexpected.

All in all, it was actually one of the better movies I've seen this year. Hope it gets legs. It deserves it.

A Nice Mash Up With Originality

[jackflasher · 7/10 · 17 June 2016]

After reading a few reviews I had a preconception, expecting to see a combination of the best ingredients of highly rated thriller defining films such as Se7en, Usual Suspects, Fight Club and Saw. A lot of the reviews here seem to suggest that this film is an allusion to the above.

However, after watching it, there's too much seasoning and mix and matching - which is a shame because it had the potential to really be great. Of the films listed above I'd say its worse than all of them save for saw, where we have a tie (then again when Saw was released it had a certain novelty).

The pros:

Great central theme

Great cinematography and style -

Fast paced

Unpredictable

Something New

Borrows/Improves on Ideas from other great films

Neutral: -Its not a horror movie, but pushes some pretty unpleasant pscho-sociopathic ideas forward that I would assume would make the majority of viewers squirm at least a little.

-Really would've loved a Mullholland Drive twist (and it would fit too :) ).

From 8 stars to 6 immediately: Too many distractions from the main story that claim to be relevant to the main story - this disgruntled me immensely. The point of poker night is that older cops get together and help rookies learn from the mistakes of their older experienced peers. As I would prefer this review to be spoiler free, I'll leave it at: in my humble opinion many of these stories do nothing to help our protagonist.

Other Cons:

-Script is a bit lackluster at times

-These are movie cops, so they act a bit like teenagers in horror films. I.E. Whats that noise? let me check it out nude without any weapons or backup, the worst that could happen is free pizza.

Conclusively, there are so many good twists and moments where I had to double take (perhaps it doesn't help that I'm not particularly clever). I loved the ending and that's what brought it back to low 7 out of 10. I think if you interpret the ending in your own way and for you it makes sense that's all that matters. The ending here is executed to perfection. There are multiple interpretations and I like that. There is nothing worse than a thriller with a typical "it was all a dream cliché" or equivalent. With higher production value, some script revision this would've been something different and special pushing it up past 7.5. Give it a go :).

Good Decent film

[francisco_t-89022 · 7/10 · 28 January 2016]

After watching this movie, I thought to myself. Wasn't that bad. Movie keeps you on suspend the whole time. Keeping you on the heroes side the whole movie. A must see on those rainy or snowy nights. Poker night brings a mix of action packed, suspense with a slight twist to it. If your the type a person that likes to see a main character do his thing, no matter how hard things get. Then this is film will fill that void that you have when you constantly looking online for movies to watch. Beau Mirchoff definitely plays the role well. Along with your SOA star Ron Perlman. Give this movie a shot don't just go off all the reviews you have or have not read.

Style over substance

[siderite · 6/10 · 25 November 2018]

The way the movie was set up was great: seasoned actors playing seasoned cops that play poker and share their experiences to the benefit of one chosen rookie. Their stories make up an anthology that cover the time of the whole movie while the main character's short story is also unfolding. And that one pretty much sucks. It is derivative, hard to swallow, amateurish. That is why I believe this film failed.

On the other hand, the way the stories are told, the whimsical way they are shot, especially the killer's viewpoint, are very interesting. The way the movie was shot was artistic, with some novelties that can hold the viewer entertained. It is a strange mixture of innovation and low budget derivative crap. I mean, they didn't even have budget for actual gun shots and had to fake them with extremely lousy CGI.

So I am of split opinion on this film. Could be entertaining, as many reviews have shown, but the style of the movie tops the substance of the stories, which is cheesy at best.

Great movie if your a killer or crazy, rest of us the movie is just OK

[esandoval299 · 2/10 · 5 January 2015]

I wanted to turn the movie off a few times but I kept watching telling my self "I just want to see how it ends".

Well I should have do it, its not to say its a bad movie but anyone who watched "Cops" or "48 hrs" would know this is not how its suppose to go.....The cops in this movie act like teen ages in horror movies.

Never call for back up

Never check on the "bad guy" to see if hes dead or has handcuff keys

If you can believe for a moment cops would act this way..then OK

Lets keep going then the killer is without reason and the whole movie is based on "Hey you killed my friend, Ima kill you"

That was great in the 90s but now its just lazy

I don't want to keep going on but Ill leave it at this

If you kill you wife and burn your house If your body is not in burn house Im pretty sure the "real" cops would be looking your way.

One word, Gripping!

[suby-202-127716 · 10/10 · 2 January 2015]

Man, this movie was a treat to watch. Superb script, acting is very believable and most of all its a fast paced well written thriller that is not to be missed. Cinematography and editing was top of the line. I was quite surprised to not find a lot of reviews out here. I had to create a new account to post my review here. Direction is excellent and I personally loved the unique way in which the story was told. There are also some elements of humor through out, which I think was done very well. It's on of the best movies I have seen from 2014.

All in all a great movie that will leave you highly entertained and pleased. Go watch it and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I am giving this movie a 9.5/10.

Cheers.

Great mysterious movie with twists but too flawed story.

[theovermuch · 7/10 · 15 September 2015]

Poker Night is a movie which claims to be somewhat like Seven and The usual suspects. He gets away with this claim! But not because of excellence!

Poker Night blends the story and the storytelling of TUS and Seven. It uses the narrative part of TUS, in this case the poker night or flashbacks, and the somewhat sinister ambiance of Seven. It's trying to be one of those mind-twisting thrillers you either hate or love. Combining this with a detective story about abduction and you've got potential. Right? Yes, but the director or the writer had a bit of difficulties to get the story ongoing and made some weird decisions.

The character tells about hindsight, how he would have done different. Sadly he makes several mistakes twice.. This the problem of this movie. The character should be smart but makes stupid mistakes for the sake of the movie. It is like the director made an excuse for himself.

While it gives a worthy swing for movies like Seven and TUS it doesn't deliver the awe and "perfectness" because of the flaws in the story.

The movie is worth to watch. Great story twists, good acting, great camera work. Rating is because of lacking competition in this genre.

Interesting and Annoying.

[jasoncashcrate · 5/10 · 8 January 2015]

overall a good concept with the whole poker night idea, although it is very unrealistic and stupid.

A highly respected and successful veteran detective is fooled by a cute puppy taken hostage then later given a loaded gun and pushed into a room where he freezes for a moment instead of turning around and shooting the bad guy.. he gets shot and dies.

Later even more stupidity another top notch detective comes to the rescue captures the bad guy and handcuffs him to the wall.. shame the dude just happens to have a set of handcuff keys on him and frees himself then blows the detectives brains out.

oh almost forgot my favourite part of the movie was when the bad guy (can't even remember if he had a name) got shot during the time he was almost captured.. but then freed himself and patched himself up by putting a bandage over the top of his suit? don't know who's idea that was or what sort of message it was trying to portray but i thought it was ridiculous lol

almost turned it off a couple times but I was curious how it would end, to conclude the movie had a lot of potential but was ruined by its stupidity.

Poor Reviews?

[mindelevator137 · 8/10 · 31 December 2014]

Watched this on Itunes the other day. After I watched it I looked up reviews and other info. I mean come on Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito? One review said flashbacks within flashbacks exhaust the viewer. I mean I get the review but I disagree. I think you get caught up in the stories. From what I can tell this didn't have a huge budget but what it lacked in money it makes up by keeping you engaged. The acting is solid. The story telling is cool. The characters and editing move it along kinda Guy Richie/David Fincheresque meets Saw type feel. I found myself yelling at the computer. Where one reviewer felt exhausted I felt I was entertained. This is one I say watch for your self and don't listen to critic reviews. Remember it is a genre film and not looking I think to win any awards. No one in the movie seemed to be trying to make a movie to change the world. If you like hip storytelling and popcorn flicks this movie is for you. Put it in your queue!

First I was "I fold...I'm out" But then "OK, I will continue playing"

[mathiaswestman · 6/10 · 8 February 2023]

I starts "nah...what a lame b-movie". But it grows on you. Sometimes even funny, but the second half it's getting darker with more gore. Maybe not any "BIG" twists, but still some kind of surprise moments...

Sometimes it's an awful movie, and sometimes it's a very good dark thriller. There's why it will be giving a "6/10"...

I starts "nah...what a lame b-movie". But it grows on you. Sometimes even funny, but the second half it's getting darker with more gore. Maybe not any "BIG" twists, but still some kind of surprise moments...

Sometimes an awful movie, and sometimes a very good solid dark thriller. So a "6/10" should it be rated...

I was disappointed!

[petarmatic · 3/10 · 16 March 2015]

Nothing special in this film. I watched it to watch a thriller, but I was disappointed! It was very interesting in the beginning but later it lost sense. I had a problem following the plot so I had to watch this film two times to see did I missed something. I did not. It is just simply bad plot. Nothing special about it. Lots of blood and screaming people, trying to look cool.

Acting was not bad, actually it was quite good. Editing and cinematography were not that bad either. I just did not like the film that much.

So I recommend that you do not watch this film. Save yourself from a worthless thriller. What a bummer!