Poker Night (film)

Poker Night was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Xlrator on February 10, 2015.[5]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Poker Night holds an approval rating of 50%, based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 5.39/10.[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfovorable reviews".[7]

Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a negative review, writing, "Poker Night offers a near-indigestible mix of tricky Pulp Fiction-esque structural convolution, torture-porn tropes and a somewhat distasteful level of snark, making for a self-satisfied puzzle that most viewers will run out of patience trying to unravel."[8] Martin Tsai from Los Angeles Times offered the film similar criticism, stating that the film "brings to mind so many forgettable thrillers from the 1990s, films that aimed to impress stylistically but ultimately were met with indifference."[9] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter, although commending the film's acting, and "somewhat anthology feel", criticized the endless voicover narration, "jumbled timeline", and devolving to genre tropes. Scheck concluded his review by writing, "Although it features plenty of entertaining moments along the way, in the end Poker Night feels like a cheat."[10] Patrick Cooper from Bloody Disgusting felt that the film showed promise and featured good performances, but was ruined by its nonlinear narrative, and inconsitant tone.[11]

The film was not without its supporters. Matt Donato from We Got This Covered awarded the film three and a half out of five stars, writing, "Poker Night is a "wild card" watch, but Greg Francis flashes a winning hand by making a memorable monster out of Michael Eklund."[12] Matt Molgaard from HorrorFreakNews rated the film a similar three and a half out of five stars, writing, "Poker Night may not satisfy those in search of the goriest film of the year, but anyone up for a unique viewing experience, a strong cast and a damn sharp villain are going to find Poker Night to be more than simply adequate."[13] Matt Boiselle of Dread Central gave the film four out of five stars, commending the film's performances, interwoven stories, and villain.[14]