Open 24 Hours Review (2018)


My History With the Film:
I saw the trailer for Open 24 Hours sometime in 2017/2018 and it was quickly one of my most anticipated horror films. Sadly, it wasn’t released in the United States until 2020 and that was a long time to wait for a completed film. Luckily, I ran across a post mentioning its release and I managed to watch it the weekend it was released and I really enjoyed it.

What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
A young girl takes a job on the overnight shift at a gas station where she is haunted by her past that may or may not be in her head.

What I Liked About It:
-When Open 24 Hours began, I immediately noticed something was amiss. The town looked strange, the cars on the road were not typical American cars, and the apartment they walk into is clearly not an American apartment. It confused me because everyone was talking with an American accent, but it was clear this film was shot someplace else. I did some digging and it was shot in Serbia, but is set in Missouri. Throughout the film you are faced with tiny details that alert your brain that something isn’t right (like the packaging of snacks on the gas station shelves or the generic text on the newspaper) which was distracting at first, but then slowly became my favorite part of the film. It was familiar but not quite right. Something was off in every shot and I think pretending Serbia was the United States was a great away to put the American viewer off balance and place them in a world that feels just slightly off.

-Vanessa Grasse (Mary) is fantastic. She comes across as damaged, haunted, but strong. She really holds the movie together, which is impressive considering how much of the heavy lifting she had to do.

-The twists involved in the script were way outside of anything I could have come up with. I had a feeling early on that the movie was going to go the route that almost all films do when our protagonist is mentally ill and people seem to be dying around them, but it doesn’t and it just continues to evolve from there.

-I’m a sucker for workplace films and I absolutely love movies that take place over the course of several hours or an entire night. This film is a combination of both with a slasher element.

What I Didn’t Like About It:
-The actual ending is a bit weak and the final scene was unnecessary.

-There are some major plot holes and some major stupidity that goes on in this film. If you love 80’s slashers you’ll probably be okay, but if you are use to a more intelligent slasher this will not be your cup of tea. You definitely have to check your mind at the door at times.

Additional Notes:
-Vanessa Grasse (Mary) portrayed Lizzy in Leatherface (2017).

Rating:
Open 24 Hours was a fun movie to watch. I’m not sure if I’ll revisit it anytime in future but on a late Saturday night it was a great watch. I love the setting, the fact that it took place mostly in one evening, and I thought the battle of what was real and what wasn’t was pretty good. It definitely kept me on my toes.

I’d rate Open 24 Hours as a three bloody knives and say it’s worth a rental.

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