The Spine of Night

The Spine Of Night is here to satiate the cravings of those who miss a particular brand of animated storytelling, updated with added psychedelic fervour and plenty of extra-gnarly bloodshed.

A heady, fizzy mix that’s very watchable, probably even more so for viewers open to the use of chemical assistance.

"Spine" is a throwback to the go-for-broke days of "Heavy Metal," but unlike that multistoried fantasy this one tells a cohesive tale.

The Spine of Night feels like a heroic mash note to the formerly frowned-upon taboo of watching this sort of black light/van art epic, only it's now a couple decades later, and not at all better.

Ditto the Bakshi-perfect animation, which transports you back to a time when stuff like this still felt dangerous.

Alas, all the world-building filmmakers may contrive doesn't count for much if they don't put it across visually. And this heavily rotoscoped vision does not get where it needs to be to achieve genuine trippiness.

It’s an unabashed celebration of Ralph Bakshi, Frank Frazetta, steam punk, and heavy metal...

The Spine of Night is an exceptionally beautifully crafted animation and blends themes of violence with horror and fantasy.

It is a rare thing for a film to impress and disappoint at the same time, but that is certainly the case with The Spine of Night.

The Spine Of Night is a visually impressive tale but one that is too short to deliver on its scope and promise.