Night Hunter (titled Nomis in international markets) is a Canadian Psychological Thriller film written and directed by David Raymond. It was first screened in selected film festivals in late 2018, then was released on August 8, 2019 by DirecTV on video-on-demand. Saban Films released it theatrically on September 6, 2019.
A weathered lieutenant, his police force, and a local vigilante are all caught up in a dangerous scheme involving a recently arrested and troubled man who's linked to years of female abductions and murders.
It stars Henry Cavill as Lieutenant Walter Marshall, Alexandra Daddario as Rachel Chase, Ben Kingsley as Michael Cooper, Stanley Tucci as Commissioner Harper, and Brendan Fletcher as Simon Stulls, with Minka Kelly, Nathan Fillion, and Emma Tremblay in supporting roles.
Not to be confused with Night Hunter (1996) or The Night of the Hunter.
Night Hunter contains examples of:
- Action Dad: Marshall is a police lieutenant with a teenage daughter, Faye.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Simon Stulls is a pathetic, crying wreck of a human who got there due to a profound psychological trauma. The first trailer specifies that he has a Split Personality disorder. His brother on the other hand...
- Ambiguously Jewish: A flashback at the end of the film shows Cooper standing in a synagogue.
- Attempted Suicide: Amy, Simon's mother, tried to kill herself after being raped, but survived and gave birth to her son.
- Atomic F-Bomb: Marshall does this after finding Cooper dead.
- The Bait: Cooper uses his ward Lara to track down and trap pedophiles.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Lara says that part of the reason she's helping Cooper is because, unlike so many other people in her life, he never tried to have sex with her.
- Black and Nerdy: Glasow, one of Rachel's colleagues, is good at hacking into computers.
- Child by Rape: Simon's mother, Amy, was raped and attempted suicide, only to survive and later give birth to him. And his twin brother.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Rachel does this while going off on a minor rant against Commissioner Harper over the phone.
- Cold Open: The film opens with a woman being pursued by a masked figure before falling to her death.
- Da Chief: Commissioner Harper is Marshall's superior.
- Driven to Suicide: The man who sold Simon explosives after finding out he unknowingly aided a criminal.
- External Combustion: How Quinn is killed.
- Fair Cop: Marshall, as played by Henry Cavill.
- Former Teen Rebel: Marshall implies to Faye that he was one when he was her age.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: While the police are searching Simon's lair, one can see a label with Simon's name spelled backwards: "Nomis" (the original title of the film).
- The Ghost: Rachel's husband, whom Simon states cheats on her.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Marshall is a little more blunt than Rachel when trying to make Simon talk.
- Good Is Not Nice: Marshall works to protect people, but generally has a rather crusty demeanor.
- Good Is Not Soft: Cooper is a Vigilante Man who absolutely doesn't bat an eye at castrating pedophiles, but he genuinely cares for his ward/crimefighting partner Lara.
- Groin Attack: Rachel executes one on Simon's twin.
- Hearing Voices: Cooper talks to Marshall about a typical sexual predator's drive as if it was a voice in his head.Cooper: I'm talking about the endless voice in a predator's head that says "Do it! Do it! Do it!"
- I Have Your Wife: Glasow's infant daughter is kidnaped, to force him to release Simon.
- Improbable Infant Survival: The baby survives.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Rachel employs this against Simon at one point, taunting him about his late mother and even hitting him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Marshall is rather stoic and gruff and isn't afraid to use brute force against criminals, but shows a softer side every now and then.
- Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Granted, sexual predation is not a minor crime, but there is more behind it here.
- Pædo Hunt: Cooper uses his ward Lara to lure a pedophile in an apartment, knocks him out on the back of his head with a bat, handcuffs him to a bed, and castrates him. Then Cooper divides the man's savings between the victims that he abused.
- Papa Wolf: Cooper towards Lara, his ward/crime-fighting partner.Cooper: [after Lara is kidnapped a second time] You know I have nothing to lose. You find her. You find my girl unharmed. Or I'm not responsible for what happens next.
- Police Are Useless:
- Invoked by Lara, much to Marshall's apparent frustration.
- Also invoked by Simon while addressing a mob outside the police station.
- The Profiler: Rachel works as one.
- The Reveal: Simon has a twin brother.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Quinn dies fairly early in.
- Sacrificial Lion: Cooper is shot and killed by Simon's twin brother in the film's climax.
- Serial Rapist: Cooper is on a Pædo Hunt, catching a man who apparently abused several young girls.
- Seriously Scruffy: Marshall's unkempt beard and messy hair cement his status as a rough-around-the-edges lieutenant.
- Split Personality: Simon has a multi-personality disorder. Except he doesn't, he has a twin.
- Spotting the Thread: Of the Five-Second Foreshadowing variety, Marshall notices that "Simon's" dominant hand is different, in videos before and after his escape. Shortly after that, we learn he has a twin.
- Vigilante Man: The Pædo Hunt that Cooper threw himself into would clearly not be approved by authorities.
