Night Raiders: NZIFF Film Review

With a dystopian sheen and a sci-fi flavour running through its veins, Danis Goulet's Night Raiders is an exercise in intelligence and an impressive execution on a low budget.

With indigenous voices coming to the fore, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is Niska, who's trying to protect her daughter Waseese from forces which want to snatch her away. But when Waseese becomes seriously injured, Niska has no choice but to give up her daughter to the mystical Academy to ensure her survival.

However, as months pass, Niska starts to see the more totalitarian edges of the regime, and feel the oppression of the conditions she and others are forced to live in - and she decides to fight back, and get her daughter back. Will she be too late though?

Goulet's day-after-tomorrow world building is horrifyingly realistically envisioned, with elements of scifi thrown in for good measure. Drones litter the skies, tracking and tracing before meting out callous justice.

But Night Raiders is no balls to the wall scifi - it's a thoughtful pensive piece about the treatment of Indigenous races, about the fears of mothers and about what it takes to rise up. 

Central to all this is Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, a rugged and grounded presence, who helps sell The Last of Us vibes of the film, the decay of society and the breakdown and mistrust of others. A spiky Goulet helps things along too, with the unpredictability of the script really pushing the envelope at times. A spare OST also helps to build an atmosphere of unease in this road trip movie which has psychological edges washed all the way through.

Clever use of drained and drab colours helps create a world in decay, as the story tackles brainwashing, assimilation and indoctrination. 

If Night Raiders falls short, it is, in truth, in its final moments with a denouement that doesn't quite have the power it should, but a lot of Night Raiders marks the advent of many new talents both behind and in front of the cameras.