Nocturna (2015) User Reviews

For me it was a meh.

[lojitsu · 5/10 · 31 August 2017]

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Nocturna" (NR - 2015 - US)

Sub-Genre: Monster/Vampire

My Score: 4.9

Cast=3 Acting=5 Plot=5 Ending=6 Story=6 Scare=3 Jump=3 F/X=6 Monster=8 Romance=4

Two New Orleans detectives become embroiled in a centuries-long feud between two secretive factions of vampires while investigating a runaway child's case.

The vampires in this movie were really well done!! It's not much or a horror movie, but like "Vampire: The Masquerade" it was more of a war between clans than vampires killing people. As a standard vampire movie, there were some unique points that would make it worth seeing. But not so much if you just want the blood and the gore. For that reason, I give it a meh.

Uwe Boll! Is That You?!

[mrtssn · 1/10 · 6 October 2015]

There are some movies you just know with the first look they are going to be bad but you still want to give the director/actors a chance to save it. Unfortunately Nocturna is beyond that point.

His strings pulled by the mayor the police chieftain assigns the rookie under the wings of the veteran detective to protect the newbie from the "evil" of the city. Having no idea what's going on in his city the rookie and the veteran respond to a murder call which also appears to be missing case for them. Despite his lack of experience and observation skills the rookie decides not to listen to his partner's advices and takes the kidnapped girl to the forbidden neighborhood. This is when he sees the "unnatural beings" and the story starts.

As someone who likes vampire movies, i must say for the details the setup is different from the others. Vampire blood heals and gives the drinker some vampire abilities… But it is also poisonous for humans! The thing is in these kind of scenes make up and visual effects are so amateur that takes your enthusiasm to continue watching. OMG, at least don't use plastic heads for the chop offs!!! The nonsense and the lack of logic in this movie has no limits!

*** SPOILER ALERT*** Vampires with "demonic suggestion abilities" decide to force their way into a hospital surrounded by cameras instead of just talking their way in!!! Why did the police chieftain unexplainably die?! I still don't understand why there was a sacrifice needed in the end for the other characters to escape! Why script writer why?!!! ***

Acting… I don't know where to start. OK first of all i am surprised that Mike Doyle accepted this role. But putting him aside the acting was TERRIBLE! Danny Agha (Roy Cody), who is acting as our rookie detective should consider ending his acting career. I am pretty sure there are better jobs for him!

Even the stunts are awful at getting shot or killed!

I think it is safe to say that Buz Alexander failed at his first try as a director. He failed at both the story and the directing. In my opinion we got ourselves another Uwe Boll.

This movie deserves no more than 1/10! Not recommended! It is a waste of time

Absolute garbage...

[greg-29535 · 1/10 · 22 December 2018]

Bad story, really bad writing, and very bad acting on top of it. After sitting through this torture, I have to believe anyone who gives this a positive review was involved in making it, or is friend or family to someone involved. You can't get get the 90 minutes back so watch at your own risk...

Old School Flick

[kevthicklin · 9/10 · 23 October 2015]

I watched the movie Nocturna (2015) last night and I was pleasantly surprised. Two vampire families fighting for the supremacy of New Orleans. Each having their own way of survival and both being around for centuries. The plot was easy to follow. Wow! A horror film with a plot.

The camera work was good. Most scenes were at night, but you could clearly see every detail. One detail in particular, the children being held captive in their little cages.

The film's greatest strength was it made me think the two main characters, Harry and Lydia, were real people who just happen to devour blood for survival. I like how it ended with a sacrifice and the possibility of a new love connection with Harry's partner Cody. I can easily see the sequel in this ending.

I give this movie great marks because it was different from all of the other ones in this genre. Good Show! Well written!

KT from SC

Surprised

[breezymom-69719 · 7/10 · 13 April 2020]

Definitely worth watching for any vampire fansEven if you're like me and you prefer to watch things were the vampires turn out to be likable this is still a good watch

Waited for this art work

[rca-22834 · 10/10 · 18 November 2015]

This was a fantastic film. loved the new Danny Agha, kid was amazing, also great camera work, Estella Warren was beautiful as always. looking forward to a sequel *fingers crossed. All year we've seen mirages of good films. Here is the real thing. To transport picture goers to a unique place in the glare of the earth, in the darkness of the heart—this, you realize with a gasp of joy, is what movies can do. Any review is irrelevant to this movie; it is either above criticism or beneath contempt. But for those who park their sense and sensibility at the 'plex door, there's plenty to enjoy in the performances, the rowdy innocence of the whole thing. over all I give this film 10 out 10 and would recommend it for any one who's "seen it all" and is looking for a fun little film to catch, makes great for date night and a bottle of wine.

Not great but not terrible either

[acerbic-1 · 6/10 · 9 October 2015]

Some films are terrible, some are hilariously bad, some are plain unwatchable, but this one is just... meh. It's not driving you up the wall with curses to the creators, mind you, its just not very good.

Overall - watch this flick if you are a dedicated vamp fan or have an hour to spend, but don't expect quality much higher than of a film and arts student's work.

For some reviews its a good taste to list different aspects of a movie - story, sound, effects, acting, etc. and evaluate them independently, but this one is a very leveled piece - everything is mediocre, from setting and costumes to cast and acting. No component is particularly good or bad. Just meh.

Now will be heavy spoilers with story details.

1. Prologue

Prologue shows us some vampires killing a man and looking for a girl. It was overdrawn - too much attention to a guy who will be dead and irrelevant for the rest of the film. Explicitly showing us what happened there kills all the suspense and mysticism for the following cops-on-a-crime-scene sequence.

2. Introductions

Two police detective paired - a novice and a veteran, both very archetypal. The novice is all do-good and aspiring to help innocents no matter what, the veteran is tainted by darker aspects of the job and suffered a personal touch with the supernatural community in the past. Their first case puts them in the middle of an ancient intrigue between two clans of vampires.

This part I liked the most - the interaction of two main characters, the creepy derelict out-of-time charm of vampires' parlour... all nice even if bit over-the-top, which could be forgiven as stylistic choice of the film's director.

3. Hospital scene

That jarred me. For supposedly secretive types vampires attack very publicly and with collateral damage - the other cop guard died, I think. Hundreds of years of experience supposedly teach you to approach things with more strategic patience, even if you are on a more vicious part of the spectrum.

4. The deal

Fairly OK, though I'd expect to hear much more questions asked by the detectives and more of setting's exposition from vampires. But apparently some details were revealed behind the scenes, because the next day, with no explanation to the viewer, the cops start investigating into a ..

5. A car's previous owner.

For a reason that will become apparent only after they find him. The guy's suicide was a great move, it added much required grit to the story. One of the strong moments.

Unfortunately, after this the writing goes rapidly downhill. I won't even bother to list the disappointments, only one good thing is worth mentioning - vamp blood toxicity. I liked it as a counter to "vampire is your best medkit" trope some shows fall to.

Cool supernatural thriller

[filmfan-20296 · 9/10 · 21 May 2019]

Good acting, directing and writing! Enjoyed the spooky Southern locations. Well done

Not bad

[tjknightwrites · 7/10 · 10 May 2020]

For a indie supernatural thriller it wasn't bad. The acting was ok, and the fight scenes were better than expected. There are definitely some technical and writing issues. For example, the last big action scene was a little muddy and confusing. But the basic premise kept my interest enough for me to finish the movie. I'd reccomend for a watch if you're bored and like vampire thrillers. But just keep your expectations low.

The return of Vanpires

[lesronaldo · 10/10 · 21 February 2016]

Interesting film with a beautiful story just missing more thrills. Casts were chosen perfectly for each one's role but I did not understand the end of it, is there part two to continue? Are both detectives became or will become part of the vampire thugs? My kids love horror movies especially when children involved in the storyline. Detective Ganet with his face expressions makes you feel that a disaster will erupt, and his Detective Cody demonstrated a special wonderful character for the first time. I remember Moldero (Estella Warren) with her previous film with Stallone. Carlo was the core of the Vanpires that the detectives tried to uncover. At the end, I enjoyed watching Nocturna as a good piece of Art.

THEY'RE CRAZY WITH A CAPITAL K

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 25 May 2019]

Harry (Mike Doyle) is a New Orleans detective. He gets a rookie partner in Roy Cody (Danny Agha) the nephew of the mayor or something. On their first night out Cody gets too involved in a case against the advice of his more senior partner. He discovers vampires ad our two detectives get immersed in a war between two vampire factions, one that feed off of criminals, another that feeds off of children.

New Orleans and vampires, what a concept, who would have thought of it. We always like to see the decadent lifestyle of vampires. These are your mostly boring vampires who stay at home at night, dressed up in nice clothes. (Who does their laundry?) The good guys hang out at the strip club.

This is an okay film, nothing great. I think it would have worked better as a "Dylan Dog" prequel.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, stripper nudity

The Puzzle, The war of Vampires

[jackmgoldman · 10/10 · 18 June 2016]

Just watched the film on the net with friends as I love Vampire movies. This film did attract me from the beginning when a rookie defective Cody coming from an ideal world to find himself with the real face of evil. Even the wickedly force has many faces ready to attract the good spirit into devil. When fighting the vampires in order to save the children from transforming them into malignity, both defectives did great action in showing how easy human being can loose their goodness with some sort of seduction, especially when a female is involved. Each of the cast where in the right place, as few of them I remember watching their action in other films particularly Estella Warren with Sylvester Stallone in previous scripts. I got puzzled a little to know the extent of each of the vampire forces, the savage extreme and the brain driving force. The end of the film kept me wondering what next. What will happen to Cody with the attractive female vampire.

Worthwhile

[deaddog-15287 · 7/10 · 16 July 2023]

I've seen a lot worse than this. I recently tried to watch th old T. V. series Dark Shadows. It was so dull ;I had to shut it off. This film while not another UNDERWORLD IS STILL QUITE WATCHFUL, The films low budget doesn't seem to make a difference yto the performances..The acting is as good as can be found in the original Dracula. Francis Ford Coppola really made a Great version in my opinion. The film's plot seems to be rather simple The cast I feel did better than expected. The film's visuals isn't really all that powerful by today's standards. There is very little bloodshed the gore is at a minimum.

The Vampire War

[ricmenchini · 10/10 · 28 April 2016]

I hesitated to view the movie with my children as I did not like the extreme violence in most other films we see all the time. The children involved in this horror action is what grabbed my attention to watch it with my kids. Indeed I was happy to see what I called "soft action." I loved the way the cast were performing especially the detectives, the children and the female Vampire leader. I remember back in last century, when Dracula and his family movies were controlling the film market with blood thrilling actions, one time I found my self hiding in my mother's bed every night for almost a month, afraid of getting Mr Dracula into my bedroom in a winter rainy dark day. But this time, my kids loved this film and so am I as we can easy follow the stream of the story through wonderful actors and actresses. The only time I really wanted to understand is what's gonna happen to the Vampires, both detectives and other people who survived the war.