"Night of the Tommyknockers" review
by Marc Heller



Night of The Tommyknockers

Full disclosure, I know the director Michael Su personally , as well as the Mahal Brothers, both through a mutual friend. That being said, what I will tell you today is a fair and impartial review of their latest film, Night of the Tommyknockers.



Going in to any Mahal Empire Film, there are always certain givens. The budgets are always limited but Michael Su’s directing means that the directing and overall aesthetic of the film is on par with a much more highly budgeted film.
The cast also contains a mixture of Mahal regulars , in this case Richard Grieco and Robert Lasardo,as well as local talents including Wesley Cannon and Bill Victor Arucan, who also stars in a number of films by another friend, director James Balsamo.



To no discredit to Michael or the Mahals, when working with a limited budget there is always going to be something that shows. The performances of the veteran actors definitely outshine the remainder of the cast, which means that on occasion line delivery is off. Still, Mahal regular BJ Mezek does a fine job as an unlikely hero.



The film itself is a hybrid. It’s a horror film and a western. The Tommyknockers are based off an actual urban legend and are brought to life by Vincent J Guastani. The film starts as a horror film, than immediately pivots into a western for most of the film, and than pivots back into horrro. There is an unexpected but welcome dose of humour throughout the movie. This is not dark and gritty, even though much of Richard Grieco’s role as the leader of the Dirt Gang would normally lend itself to typical western bad guy tropes. Without giving away the movie, much of his role is a misdirect, we go throughout most of the film thinking perhaps there is a redemption story, but in the end the actual hero of the film is not necessarily who you might expect.



Robert Lasardo steals the show as Lucky. Of all the things in this movie that were unexpected, his comic relief was likely the most unexpected, and also the most enjoyable part of the film for me.



Night of the Tommyknockers is fun, cheesy at times. It’s very much a B movie , but that isn’t a bad thing. With this movie you are not going to get The Unforgiven or Tombstone, but if you you like B movies, or just enjoy horror westerns, it’s worth a stream to check out. Michael Su and the Mahals have put out several films and carved their own niche in lower budget horror not unlike Full Moon. If you have enjoyed everything they have done so far you will enjoy this as well.