Night of the Bastard trailer: hermit battles a cult in ’70s thriller throwback

A trailer has arrived online for the ’70s action thriller throwback Night of the Bastard, which Dark Sky Films will be giving a digital, VOD, and limited theatrical release on January 13th. To get an idea of what Night of the Bastard will have in store for us on the first Friday the 13th of 2023, check out the video embedded above!

Erik Boccio (Funny or Die’s Weirdfellas) directed Night of the Bastard from a screenplay by Chuck Foster and Christian Ackerman, based on a story Boccio crafted with London May. The film tells the following story:

Disgruntled hermit Reed lives a solitary life in the desert. After chasing away a group of youths trying to party near his home, Reed’s peaceful life is violently upheaved when a goup of savage cultists lay siege to his house. Forced to partner up with one of the party-goers, Reed and his newfound colleague must defend themselves into the night, all while long-buried and disturbing secrets are revealed to him as part of the cult’s evil plan.

London May (The Dark Knight Rises) stars in the film and is joined in the cast by Mya Hudson (A Wall Away), Hannah Pierce (Flock of Dudes), and Henry Mortensen (Crimson Tide). May and Boccio also produced Night of the Bastard with Ackerman.

So far, the theatres confirmed to be showing the film on the big screen are:

Film Noir Cinema/Brooklyn, NY

Guild Cinema/Albuquerque, NM

FilmScene/Iowa City, IA

I won’t be catching a theatrical screening of Night of the Bastard, but I will definitely be watching the movie at some point. I’m a big fan of the devil worshiper cult thrillers this movie appears to have been inspired by; in fact, Race with the Devil is one of my all-time favorites. I don’t expect this to turn out to be on that level, but it looks like it could be entertaining.

What did you think of the Night of the Bastard trailer? Will you be watching this movie in January? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

Here’s the poster:

Night of the Bastard

Source: Arrow in the Head

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.