I love mystery films. I always have going as far back as the
classic gumshoe movies from the 30s and 40s. The concept of presenting a
mystery along with clues that help you attempt to decipher who the killer is
has been one to delight me for years. So when a murder mystery comes along I’m
game to watch it. Unfortunately, as in the case of NIGHT GAME, the results
aren’t always as satisfying as they could be.
Roy Scheider stars as Mike Seaver, a detective in Houston
who is presented with the case of a serial killer murdering in the area. The
deaths are connected with the winning streak of baseball’s Houston Astros but
that doesn’t become clear to those involved here until later in the picture,
much later than most of us viewers will figure it out. What would normally
happen here is that as viewers we’d be presented with clues as to who was
committing these murders. Unfortunately the makers of this movie think
differently.
Instead we’re flooded with various subplots and slow moving
personal battles instead. One of the subplots involves the upcoming marriage of
Seaver to Roxy (Karen Young), a girl half his age and whose mother knew Seaver
when they were in school together. The question of a May-September romance
between the two is discussed but never really resolved except to say that they
love one another so the heck with what anyone thinks. Roxy eventually becomes a
possible victim in circumstances so contrived as to be unbelievable.
Another subplot involved is a rivalry between Seaver and a
fellow officer named Broussard (Paul Gleason). Working for a different law
enforcement office he is more intent of slamming Seaver than he is on solving
the crime, more interested in arguing over jurisdiction than he is on finding
the killer. Each time the two of them come in contact with one another a fist
fight is nearly averted and the hatred for one another takes over what’s
happening in the story. Arguments involving alleged corruption on the part of
Broussard and the incompetence of Seaver that possibly led in his moving to
this town from his last fill screen time each moment they’re seen together,
none of which has anything to do with the case.
A nice twist in the movie is the weapon of choice, one that
isn’t revealed early on but that having seen the advertising any viewer will
know about first, a hook in place of a hand. That’s about it for twists. The
reveal of the killer comes out of the blue at the last minute with nary a clue
leading towards this person. He isn’t even seen until the last 20 minutes of
the movie. To make matters even worse Scheider, an actor who has played so many
characters and turned in so many great performances, seems to be walking
through this one to simply cash a check. His character comes off fairly boring
and more interested in talking about anything other than the case which lends
itself to thinking maybe he actually is incompetent.
In the end this movie is a rather lame attempt at murder
mystery with few clues offered to the recliner detectives at home watching the
film. The pacing is here, there and everywhere. The subplots do little to move
the film forward and instead muddle things up filling screen time. Had they
been more incorporated into the story it might have made a difference. Instead
they just sit there. Scheider fans will want to add this to their collection
and the average viewer with few options might want to watch but in the end it
wasn’t that great a movie.
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