Night Orchid tells the tale of a loner named Clay Doyle (Dale Paris) who stops a town in Florida called Ochopee. Clay has a unique gift, he can see past acts of violence wherever he goes without warning which affects every aspect of his life. Clay decides to stick around Ochopee for a while, he manages to get a job at the local garage as a mechanic for Bert McCord (Thomas Radcliffe Atkins) & he finds a place to stay with a lady named June Mabel (Mary Ellen O'Brien). Despite the odd vision of a store hold up that ended in tragedy Clay likes it in Ochopee & even meets a girl named Sarah Miller (Alyssa Siemen) whom he become involved with, however something isn't quite right about Sarah & he ask's June about her only to lean that a girl named Sarah Miller mysteriously disappeared 30 years prior & no-one in Ochopee had a clue why & they still don't. Since Clay is getting visions of her Sarah must have died a violent death & he sets out to discover the truth & lay the mystery to rest once & for all...
Co-edited, written, co-produced & directed by Mark Atkins, who also has a role in the film as a character named Slash, I personally thought Night Orchid was a decent murder mystery with a nice supernatural angle to it. The script takes it's time to build things up & draw you into the story, some may find it slightly hard going but overall I think Night Orchid rewards the time it takes to watch it. The climax is well thought out as it manages to throw in a couple of very effective twists, having said that when the killer is finally revealed their motives are far from spectacular & in a way almost to simple considering the great mystery & build up surrounding it. Now we come to length, judging by the timer on my VHS player Night Orchid clocks in at nearly 2 hours (despite what the IMDb says) which is too long really, there are times when I just wanted the thing to finish but this is a small gripe as I still enjoyed it as a whole. I seriously doubt anyone would want to see this more than once, once you know the twists & turns Night Orchid simply won't have any sort of re-watch value as it's main appeal is in it's initial mystery.
Director Atkins does a good job of making the film pleasant enough to look at, unfortunately I would have liked a slightly stronger emphasis on the supernatural & horror aspects of the story as it mostly centers on Sarah's death although there is the odd creepy scene in here like when Clay is walking through an Orange grove & he suddenly sees someone burying a body.
Technically Night Orchid is fine & it has a nice small town look & feel to it, the flashback scenes look pretty realistic. The acting is strong by all which was pretty much essential for the film to have any sort of impact.
Night Orchid is one of those films that is a one time deal only, once you've seen it & it's twists & turns you won't be in any hurry to see it again, ever. Fortunately the story is both interesting & gripping enough to leave me with very positive feelings about Night Orchid, it's not a film for everyone though. Definitely worth a watch but just don't buy it because once you have seen it it'll just sit on your shelf collecting dust, either rent it or catch it on TV for free.
Co-edited, written, co-produced & directed by Mark Atkins, who also has a role in the film as a character named Slash, I personally thought Night Orchid was a decent murder mystery with a nice supernatural angle to it. The script takes it's time to build things up & draw you into the story, some may find it slightly hard going but overall I think Night Orchid rewards the time it takes to watch it. The climax is well thought out as it manages to throw in a couple of very effective twists, having said that when the killer is finally revealed their motives are far from spectacular & in a way almost to simple considering the great mystery & build up surrounding it. Now we come to length, judging by the timer on my VHS player Night Orchid clocks in at nearly 2 hours (despite what the IMDb says) which is too long really, there are times when I just wanted the thing to finish but this is a small gripe as I still enjoyed it as a whole. I seriously doubt anyone would want to see this more than once, once you know the twists & turns Night Orchid simply won't have any sort of re-watch value as it's main appeal is in it's initial mystery.
Director Atkins does a good job of making the film pleasant enough to look at, unfortunately I would have liked a slightly stronger emphasis on the supernatural & horror aspects of the story as it mostly centers on Sarah's death although there is the odd creepy scene in here like when Clay is walking through an Orange grove & he suddenly sees someone burying a body.
Technically Night Orchid is fine & it has a nice small town look & feel to it, the flashback scenes look pretty realistic. The acting is strong by all which was pretty much essential for the film to have any sort of impact.
Night Orchid is one of those films that is a one time deal only, once you've seen it & it's twists & turns you won't be in any hurry to see it again, ever. Fortunately the story is both interesting & gripping enough to leave me with very positive feelings about Night Orchid, it's not a film for everyone though. Definitely worth a watch but just don't buy it because once you have seen it it'll just sit on your shelf collecting dust, either rent it or catch it on TV for free.