Buffalo Movies: Film screens tonight at North Park as part of BIFF

By Mia Ciechalski

“Turn Up the Night” is a film about a young, talented guitarist trying to make it big in Los Angeles. But what it’s really about is how much is hidden behind the curtain in the music industry. 

The film will see its world premiere tonight (Friday, Oct. 10) at the North Park Theatre at 9:45 p.m. as the Buffalo International Film Festival kicks into full gear. The film was shot in Western New York, written by Buffalo native Rick Masi and features many regional actors. Buffalo itself stars as Los Angeles.

In the movie, Derek Carver (K. Kody Hunt) is trying to make it big in Los Angeles and winds up joining the hard rock band Boy Elroy and falling for an actress. 

I was hopeful with this film because I normally enjoy these kind of storylines, but there were some holes.

The acting was typical indie-film level. There were some scenes that were better than others; you could definitely tell that the people involved are talented. With more opportunities they will definitely continue to grow and find their own groove with acting.

Another part of the film that stuck out was all the male actors’ wigs. In the film, it does a time jump later at the end of the film where you see the main character’s actual hair and let me tell you, it was so weird.

The reason why they didn’t look natural wasn’t because you could see the wig’s hairline, but it was because the wigs looked very unkempt when they were on the actors. But maybe they call it hair metal for a reason. 

The film did a good job of showing how stressful this industry can be, the tension between the band members and how much work it takes to actually make it big.

It also showed how many performers fall under control with certain substances as well. It illustrated what it can do to a person after using for so long and how it can affect the people around them as well.

The father-son relationship that was happening was very sweet to put in the film as well. I don’t know why, but while watching the film I was getting nervous that something bad was going to happen to the father any time he came on my screen. 

The love story throughout the film was a little forced, but mainly because the acting felt weak. However the ending tied the plot together really well. Having the main character think back to some of the best and worst times of his life is a film cliche, but it always works.

Mia Ciechalski is a journalism and dance major and senior at SUNY Fredonia. The story is a product of the Arts Journalism class at SUNY Fredonia and the part of the SUNY Institute for Local News.