Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- tense
- grim
- paranoid
- late night thriller viewing
- horror movie marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the strong performances and entertaining premise undermined by a jumbled nonlinear structure, excessive narration, uneven tone, and familiar thriller tropes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jeter's basement captivity is intercut with Poker Night stories and police memories, producing a fragmented chronology.
The poker game lets veteran detectives recount professional successes and failures that Jeter later applies to survival.
Jeter must match wits with a vicious psychopath while trying to escape the basement and protect Amy.
The film combines detective lore, voiceover, twists, torture-thriller imagery, and overt echoes of 1990s crime cinema.
Films like Poker Night, and why
The Usual Suspects
nonlinear crime thriller structure, unreliable-seeming revelations, and puzzle-box plotting
Se7en
grim serial-killer investigation, oppressive violence, and morally bleak detective tension
Pulp Fiction
interwoven crime stories, fractured chronology, and stylized genre self-consciousness
Saw
captivity thriller focused on psychological survival against a sadistic antagonist
Movie Details
- Director
- Greg Francis
- Release Date
- 2014-12-20
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (234)
Cast
- Beau Mirchoff
- Ron Perlman
- Giancarlo Esposito
- Corey Large
- Titus Welliver
- Halston Sage
- Ron Eldard
- Michael Eklund
- Kieran Large
- Lochlyn Munro
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- History Vault, XLTV Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Poker Night about?
- A rookie detective weaponizes the hard-earned stories of veteran cops while battling a psychopath in a locked basement.
- What is Poker Night like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Poker Night as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Poker Night violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Poker Night as brutal.
- What did critics think of Poker Night?
- Critics generally found the strong performances and entertaining premise undermined by a jumbled nonlinear structure, excessive narration, uneven tone, and familiar thriller tropes.
- Which films are like Poker Night?
- Films with a similar feel include The Usual Suspects, Se7en, Pulp Fiction, and Saw.
- How long is Poker Night?
- Poker Night runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch Poker Night?
- In United States, Poker Night streams on History Vault, XLTV Amazon Channel .
