Netflix’s Night Teeth – A Decent Genre Piece (Early Review)

There are only so many twists one can put on the vampire film subgenre yet their popularity means that they keep coming. That being said, they need to try to stand out and to the credit of Night Teeth, it looked like it did based on the film’s first trailer. Boasting a decent style featuring a neon-soaked Los Angeles and a trio of young, up-and-coming actors, it had promise but those can only take any film so far. They have to be supported by a compelling enough story to keep viewers interested. When it comes to this film, this wasn’t necessarily the case as it could never quite overcome an ambitious yet convoluted story in which it drops viewers in. Serving as the backdrop for this slow burn thriller, many viewers will feel like the main character who found himself in over his head as it will be hard to connect with it on a deeper level. Nevertheless, the film does just enough to entertain over the course of it’s sub 2 hour running time.

As mentioned, Night Teeth followed a young college student named Benny (Lendeborg Jr.) who would quickly find himself over his head, filling in for his brother Jay (Raúl Castillo) as a chauffeur tasked to pick up a pair of beautiful yet mysterious women named Blaire (Ryan) and Zoe (Fry) for a night of partying. Now viewers should not be surprised whatsoever when things don’t necessarily end up that way as there were clearly more to these women who seemed to have a plan of their own for Benny. Traversing the darker underbelly of Los Angeles, these bloodsuckers pulled Benny into a war of sorts between the vampires who have been there for generations and the humans for whom they struck a truce with until a small legion of vampires had other plans. With that messy backstory making for the backdrop of this tale, Benny was essentially relegated as a passenger, perhaps more so, for all the craziness that followed.

Suffice it to say that Benny’s time with Blaire and Zoe was a wild ride for all involved. One can’t help but relate to Benny bewilderment as he was clearly out of his element though it also shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that this would not always be the case as his relationship with his passengers evolved over the course of the film. That contrast made for an entertaining dynamic until the film ultimately gave way to the larger story as it all had to lead to something. However, that convoluted story made for too much to follow but in spite of that, it was still somewhat entertaining to watch. At least that was the case until the end where it became clear that the filmmakers had bigger plans for this film in creating a potential franchise. Whether or not that will actually happens remains to be seen.

While the look was there, the best part of Night Teeth was its performances with Lendeborg Jr. leading the way as Benny. His charisma and relatability made for a compelling character to watch and connect with which is essential for a film like this. He takes viewers on a journey where they feel right along with him. The other end of that equation was of course Ryan and Fry as Blaire and Zoe for whom Lendeborg Jr. had great chemistry with. They served as a great counterbalance, each with their own personalities and backstories, but both were absolute firecrackers. The overall female representation was a nice touch.

At the end of the day, Night Teeth makes for a decent genre pieces that may be a touch too long but still does its job even though it won’t stay in the memories of viewers long after watching.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.