Assembling a starry cast that includes Tye Sheridan, “Knives Out” breakout Ana de Armas, John Leguizamo, and Helen Hunt, the new Saban Films thriller, “The Night Clerk,” presents a classic murder mystery through the writing and directorial initiative of playwright and filmmaker Michael Cristofer (001’s erotic thriller “Original Sin“).
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“The Night Clerk” centers on a sensitive, socially-challenged young man (Sheridan) who works the night shift at a hotel and sees all. He appears to be a youth plagued by nervous mannerisms and an obsession for learning by watching others.
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And his world, seemingly goes upside down after the death of a guest during his shift (clearly, de Armas and why would you hire this fetching newcomer just to off her so fast??). A series of investigative procedures result during which a detective (Leguizamo) grows suspicious of the young boy on account of his awkward, incoherent disposition. He seems to hear, see, and know on, so is he not letting on to everything he knows?
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“The Night Clerk” appears to follow in the footsteps of its genre’s predecessors, including films like “Knives Out” and “Murder on the Orient Express,” as well as older classics such as “Psycho” and the Sherlock Holmes film series of the 1930s and ’40s. But it also looks a little B-movie scuzzy.
The forthcoming feature gathers a consistently solid cast. Sheridan, who has appeared in Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” and in several of Marvel’s X-Men films as Cyclops, is an underrated actor. John Leguizamo, renowned as a character actor in dozens of movies over the years (including often working with Spike Lee), is always intriguing and Helen Hunt, who has been in films such as “Twister” and “Cast Away,” portrays the troubled man’s worried mother.
Here’s the official synopsis:
While on duty, a young, socially challenged hotel clerk (Tye Sheridan) witnesses a murder in one of the rooms, but his suspicious actions land him as the lead detective’s (John Leguizamo) number one suspect.
“The Night Clerk” will be released in theaters Feb. 21, 2020.