NOCTURNE is a new horror movie on Amazon Prime Video from Blumhouse. A horror, mystery, thriller story that might remind you a bit of The Perfection on Netflix. This is one of the four movies released for Halloween 2020. Read our full Nocturne movie review here!

NOCTURNE is a new horror movie on Amazon Prime Video that stars Sydney Sweeney in an extremely impressive performance. While this is a horror movie, the subgenres mystery and thriller do also play huge parts in this storyline.

This is a Blumhouse production and part of the four movies released on Amazon Prime Video for Halloween here in 2020. All four movies are released as part of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” anthology. Along with this movie, Evil Eye is released on the same day which means all four movies are out now.

Check out our reviews of the three other movies released:

Our review of The Lie here >

Our review of Black Box here >

Our review of Evil Eye here >

Continue reading our Nocturne movie review below.

From The Perfection to Nocturne

When you read the plot for Nocturne, you almost can’t help but think of the awesome Netflix horror movie The Perfection. While Nocturne is about piano players, The Perfection focused on cello players. However, the instrument apart, there are definitely similarities between these two stories.

Recommended reading: Our top-rated review of The Perfection on Netflix here >

And yet, it really isn’t something you think about once you get into this Amazon Prime horror movie.

Nocturne is an entirely different creature in just about every way. Not better, just different.

And what definitely does work to its advantage is the brilliant Sydney Sweeney who is a scene-stealer in everything she does. You should recognize Sydney Sweeney from TV series such as EuphoriaThe Handmaid’s TaleSharp Objects, or Everything Sucks! Also, she was in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and the horror movie Along Came the Devil aka Tell Me Your Name.

Another huge bonus for this new horror movie is Madison Iseman who plays the twin sister of Sydney Sweeney’s character. Madison Iseman has been in some amazing genre productions. From starring as Mary Ellen in Annabelle Comes Home (2019) to portraying Bethany in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and the horror anthology Tales of Halloween (2015).

Nocturne – Review | Blumhouse Horror | Prime Video

The ending of Nocturne

Sometimes, the ending of a movie can leave you feeling either annoyed or completely elated. For me, the Nocturne ending was the latter. The final image of this Blumhouse horror movie is one that should leave one hell of an impression on most.

While the ending of Nocturne might not be a huge surprise, the way it’s shown was a real punch to the gut. In the best of ways!

And yes, this was also the case with the earlier mentioned Netflix horror movie The Perfection. However, I assure you, the ending of Nocturne is extremely memorable for very different reasons. Again, those final moments are what really pulls it together in a way I didn’t expect.

Watch Nocturne on Amazon Prime Video

Nocturne was written and directed by Zu Quirke who is getting a feature film debut with this movie. She’s done a few short films in recent years, so Nocturne is the big leap into feature filmmaking. Having Blumhouse producing and a worldwide release on Amazon Prime Video for Halloween is a pretty big way to begin your feature film career.

Zu Quirke herself is a musician and drew on her own experiences when writing the script for Nocturne. Most of the story plays out in a creative arts school, which isn’t unlike the one you might know from Fame (even though I realize this is a rather dated reference for many). Still, this is just the backdrop for a lot of crazy stuff that happens to the character Juliet (Sydney Sweeney).

I would give this movie a solid 3½ out of 5 since I do feel it has a lot going for it. And while a runtime around the 90-minute mark is usually very good, I felt that it would have been better if it was just a bit tighter. Still, I would definitely recommend checking this out on Amazon Prime Video.

Nocturne is out on Amazon Prime Video from October 13, 2020.

Details

Writer/Director: Zu Quirke
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon, and Ivan Shaw.

Plot

When a virtuoso music student commits suicide days before an important concert, her death unleashes a supernatural force in Nocturne, an unsettling tale of sibling rivalry set at a prestigious arts academy. Having grown up in the shadow of her more talented twin sister, shy piano student Juliet Lowe (Sydney Sweeney) is used to always being second-best when it comes to music. But when she finds a mysterious notebook that belonged to the school’s recently deceased star soloist, her playing miraculously begins to improve and she soon eclipses her sister Vivian (Madison Iseman) as the academy’s top student. Along with her newfound abilities, however, comes a series of frightening premonitions. As Juliet’s visions grow more nightmarish, she discovers the true cost of achieving artistic perfection. 

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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