Nightalk – TIFF 2022
September 8 to September 18, 2022
A police detective goes undercover an a phone-sex app to catch a killer in Nightalk. Brenda (Ashley Bryant) is the lead investigator of a murder case where a woman was found strangled in her apartment. Brenda discovers that was a regular user of a phone-sex app called Nightalk and Brenda goes undercover to see if she can get a leave. While on the app, Brenda begins to have erotic conversations with the seductive Tom (Al Mukadam), which results in her having a sexual awakening.
Nightalk is an erotic thriller co-written and directed by legendary Canadian filmmaker Donald Shebib (Goin’ Down the Road). The film is about a police detective who has a sexual awakening during a murder investigation, with the film being framed by scenes of Brenda confessing her conflicted thoughts to a therapist.
Nightalk is the first film in a decade for director Donald Shebib, who made his mark on Canadian film history with 1970’s Goin’ Down the Road, one of the first notable English-Canadian films. However, Nightalk is an extremely poor-quality erotic thriller, suggesting that Shebib should have stayed retired. The film feels more akin to the softcore movies that would play as part of CityTV’s Baby Blue late-night slot, and the Nightalk is barely above The Room regarding the plot. I also feel bad for Art Hindle, who has a small role in the film as Brenda’s father. Ultimately, Nightalk proves that past accomplishments a good movie does not make.
