Bizarre ’80s supernatural horror that’s perfect for late-night fever dreams
Author: Robert Skuch Published
1987 night vision goggles This is a movie that feels so familiar even if you’ve never seen it before. It’s like one of those cheesy horror movies you stumble onto at three in the morning after falling asleep on something else, the kind where you wake up unsure if it’s real. The next day, you try to explain it to your friends, but they insist that you’re fig it all out of your head because it sounds too stupid to exist.
Honestly, that’s the best way to describe it night vision goggleswhich is probably the best mindset to watch it in. It’s a low-budget supernatural horror film that feels made for TV and plays like a fever dream, perfectly fitting the strange corners of Tubi where movies air because no other streaming service seems brave enough to host them. If the idea of a haunted video recorder that can predict the future, and suggestive Satanic rituals fulfilled by any tape you put into it, sounds appealing, then you’re in luck, because night vision goggles Built entirely around this exact premise.
A struggling writer and his haunted video recorder
night vision goggles It tells the story of Andy Archer (Stacey Carson), a struggling writer from Kansas who moves to the city in hopes of making something of himself. To keep costs down, he paid weekly to live in a seedy motel populated by sex workers and assorted ne’er-do-wells, while finding steady work at a local video store. There he meets Jill Davis (Shirley Ross), a smart, savvy clerk to whom he quickly develops a romantic attraction.
While working hard on what he hopes will be the next great American novel, Andy meets Vinnie (Tony Carpenter), a low-level thief and wannabe gangster. After Andy saves him from a group of thugs, Vinnie lets Andy take home a television and VCR from his apartment to express his gratitude, completely unaware that the devices come with Satanic baggage.
Once Andy got the set home, things started to click for him creatively. He began making up horror stories at an alarming rate, unaware that the video recorder had put him into a trance-like state that caused him to forget for long periods of time. The fear shifts from the abstract to the personal when he finally realizes that every story he writes will eventually come true, and if he can’t figure out how to stop the device from taking over his life, Andy, Vinnie, and Jill will be directly harmed.
Types of cheese you want to watch
It was packed with actors I had never heard of and shot with what looked like any affordable portable camera available in the mid-80s, night vision goggles is a simple watch, largely because it totally embodies the low-budget aesthetic. There aren’t many special effects, but they’re enough to sell the idea. The TV screen bleeds, static leaks into the room, and most of the satanic rituals that push Andy to the edge play out on a screen within a screen, often with plenty of candles surrounding it to heighten the menace.
Andy’s slow descent into madness is also really interesting, as he’s so focused on being a writer that he completely ignores the obvious warning signs piling up around him until it’s too late. Think about it night vision goggles As a version of a broke college student Image Gallery Then you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into. Sure, it’s rough around the edges, but the idea is solid, and if you’re in the right frame of mind (read: half asleep on the couch), there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
Like most great B-movies, night vision goggles It’s currently streaming for free on Tubi.
