Night Train: A promising premise derailed by sluggish pacing

The opening shot of Night Train (2023) is a close-up of Danielle Chuchran’s knuckles whitening around the steering wheel of her souped-up truck. It’s an image that promises tension, desperation, and a visceral ride. Unfortunately, the film stalls before it can deliver on any of those fronts.

Directed by Shane Stanley, Night Train is a crime thriller about Holly McCord (Chuchran), a mother desperate to save her son’s life. Her solution? Hauling black market drugs across state lines while evading both the Feds and bounty hunters. The premise is ripe for a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game, but Stanley’s direction feels sluggish where it should be sleek, convoluted where it ought to be concise.

The film’s strongest asset is Chuchran herself. She brings a fierce determination to Holly, selling the character’s maternal desperation with gritty authenticity. Her performance is grounded in physicality—whether she’s gripping that steering wheel or wielding a gun, you believe in her capability and her fear. Diora Baird, as Jaylynne Jackson, also delivers a standout turn as Holly’s uneasy ally, adding much-needed depth to what could have been a one-note role.

But the script stumbles repeatedly. The dialogue is often clunky, veering into soap opera territory with lines that feel more laughable than tense (“We’re out of time, and I’m out of bullets!” Holly declares at one point, as if channeling a B-movie villain). The pacing is uneven, with chase sequences that drag instead of exhilarate. A standout exception is the film’s first act, which deftly establishes Holly’s desperation and the stakes—only for the momentum to derail in the second half.

Visually, Night Train lacks distinction. The cinematography leans heavily on shaky-cam during action sequences, obscuring rather than heightening the tension. The sound design is equally unremarkable, with score cues that undercut rather than amplify the drama.

Where Night Train falters most is in its execution of genre expectations. For a crime thriller built around high-speed chases and shootouts, the film feels oddly sedate. The action sequences are staged with minimal creativity, relying on familiar tropes like last-minute saves and conveniently placed explosives. Even the film’s climactic confrontation lacks the visceral punch it promises.

That said, Night Train isn’t without its moments. A tense barroom brawl between Holly and a trucker (Brent Bailey) crackles with energy, showcasing Chuchran’s physicality and Baird’s sharp comedic timing. And Stanley deserves credit for attempting to subvert the male-dominated action genre by centering a maternal protagonist.

In the end, Night Train is a film that stumbles over its own potential. It has the bones of a gripping thriller, but the execution falls short in too many areas.