October is just around the corner and with it the return of Halloween season. This means, for many of us, binging all the horror movies our hearts can handle. If you’re looking to watch something thrilling that hits a little closer to home, check out Night Game (1989) presently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Night Game Plot
Released on September 15, 1989, Night Game follows Galveston police officer, Mike Seaver, played by Roy Scheider (Jaws, French Connection, Sorcerer) who pursues a killer after a woman is murdered on the Galveston boardwalk.
As Seaver investigates the continuing homicides, he faces a strain in his engagement to fiancé, Roxy (played by Karen Young) and butts heads with local county police officer, Kyle Broussard (Lane Smith) – all while keeping tabs on the Houston Astros during a pennant run.
Seaver would come to find there to be a correlation between the string of murders and the Houston Astros, specifically their pitcher, Sil Baretto – a fictional player and amalgamation of real-life Astros players, Juan Agosto and Bob Knepper.
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Why You Should Watch It
Night Game is entirely filmed in Houston and Galveston, Texas. The film was originally written to take place in San Francisco, but Houston-native director, Peter Masterson, decided to bring it to Texas instead. As such, the film creates a rare, and appropriately moody backdrop to the story.
Throughout the film, Night Games captures a glimpse of the city in its time, with Houston landmarks such as the Astrodome, Galveston Seawall, and the San Luis Hotel, prominently featured.
Roy Scheider is solidly doing his thing in Night Game, playing a compelling, hard-boiled police officer. With hints of noir, the thriller features a number of suspenseful slasher moments and a killer with a hook for a hand. There’s a couple of good laughs in the movie, predominately the lead’s squabble with his mother-in-law/former lover – which is comedy in itself.
Why You Shouldn’t Watch It
On paper, a Houston/Galveston-set slasher/crime thriller starring Roy Scheider sounds like a home run – especially for us Houstonians. But clearly, it didn’t have the follow-through. As this writer will attest, along with its critical ratings in the ballpark of 5/10: the movie is not very good.
While not a perfect critical rating system, we should say that Rotten Tomatoes has the movie at a 0% Tomatometer score.
Upon its release, critics panned the film. Los Angeles Times‘ writer, Michael Wilmington said of Night Game: “Night Game answers the burning question: Would bad, improbably plotted slasher movies be any better if they had humor, strong characters, and pungent dialogue instead of incessant car-crashes and blood-letting? The answer, surprisingly, is no”.
While the budget of the film isn’t readily available, the Box Office Return was a mere $337,812. The film isn’t listed on Box Office Mojo, but were we to plug it in on the 1989 list, it would be ranked No. 193, behind The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie. For reference, the highest grossing movies of that year were: Batman ($251,188,924), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($197,171,806), and Lethal Weapon 2 ($147,253,986).
In sum, if you want to see a time capsule of Houston in 1989 – complete with Astrodome footage, vintage Houston Astros uniforms, and past and present landmarks across Houston and Galveston, the movie is worth a watch. But if you want to see a great horror/thriller starring Roy Scheider as a police detective, you’re better off watching Jaws again.