After seeing her in the superb 2010 indie films Please Give and Everything Must Go,I went on Netflix UK to find other movies starring Rebecca Hall. Whilst looking up Hall flicks,I spotted a (non Hall) Neo-Noir on the front page that I remember reading a very good review by Kim Newman a few years ago,which led to me finding out how cold the night could be.The plot:Taking care of her daughter Sophia on her own after her husband dies in an accident,Chloe makes ends meet by running a motel. A former girlfriend of police officer Billy,Chloe keeps him informed of all the pimps and gangsters that stay at her cheap place. Getting the cash for their client "transporter" Topo and a relative hide it in their car,and each get a separate room at Chloe's. Meeting a call girl,Topo's relative gets in a row which leaves him shot dead. Finding out the next day that the cops have taken the car as evidence,Topo takes Chloe hostage,and demands that she gets this transporter back on track.View on the film:Referencing the title,co-writer/(with Oz Perkins and Nick Simon) director Tze Chun & cinematographer Noah Rosenthal give title a frosty appearance reflecting the cold harsh light of day that the crimes take place in. Cracking open Topo's task with short,sharp shots of violence,Chun peels Chloe's motel walls for a seedy Neo- Noir atmosphere,where the limited room in the place feeds into a cramped feeling.Keeping Topo as a man of few words,the screenplay by Chun/ Perkins and Simon drills a menacing Noir loner aura into him,as Chloe tries to find common ground with Topo,but discovers his backstory to constantly escape her. Although they melt the ice for an ending that is far too sickly sweet,the writers do very well at layering the Noir anxiety that sits between Chloe and Topo,as Topo's ruthless threats force Chloe into accepting the package of becoming a transporter.Hiding behind cool shades, Bryan Cranston gives a tense performance as Topo,who is given a tough edge by Cranston of believing that the way of the gun is better than any words. Pulled out of her confined safe space, Alice Eve gives a gripping performance as Chloe,thanks to Eve at first sending Chloe out shivering like a leaf,but slowly turning Chloe into a quick-witted outsider,as coldness enters the night.

I loved it! The reviews on here (many tell you the whole movie). But I loved this flick. You are drawn to the characters and kept wondering what will happen next. If you like a good story based on real life drama mixed with a wild-card such as the Russian showing up in a single mothers life, you will love this movie like I did. This is an adult movie as the youth seem to like the loud, ultra violent stuff that is more unreal and sick but this film provides everything in a pace that feels so right for such wrong events. There is enough suspense and mystery to keep you drawn into the story and asking who will benefit from these events.

You have to struggle to find a less thrilling thriller than this. I don't know if they were trying to go for originality when they decided to make the thrilling scenes as unthrilling as possible.None of the actors are bad per se, they just don't act out very much, for instance a woman is being held under gunpoint threatened by a ruthless Russian assassin and she doesn't seem to be scared of that situation one bit, actually seem rather bored and just want to get it done and over with.Bryan Cranston is not bad per se either but he's just plain boring, his character is dull and the fact that he's blind which could be interesting really turns out not to be.Scenes drag on forever and I struggle to find reasons to why I should care about the bozos in the movie.I read reviews on here saying that it's unconventional because it's realistic, oh really? So if someone threatens to murder you and your daughter you wouldn't be trembling your bones every second? I question your perception of reality if that is the case (no offence)

Nothing truly special or unusual: Just a really good crime drama that's a little too well-acted and realistic to be labeled a "thriller." COLD COMES the NIGHT is grimly riveting and constantly leaves you wondering what will happen next. Some layers, twists, and reversals, but it's still very easy to follow and, therefore, may be a little too episodic and simple for some tastes.CCN has a minimalistic low-budget appeal to it. We don't know a whole lot about the various players in the smaller town Mid-Atlantic setting. Nevertheless, it shows us all we really need to know. Violent, disturbing, but without cheap schlocky gore. I kept thinking, "This is how real murders must look and, especially, sound." Alice Eve gives a plain yet memorable performance as Chloe, a tough but compassionate single mother who manages the sleazy motel where all the trouble starts. The other actors do likewise in their roles. The script and cinematography are similarly real. Nice ending. Good, fitting soundtrack too. Though it doesn't try for anything big, COLD COMES the NIGHT accomplishes all it sets out to do and is a very watchable little film.