That all-purpose authoritarian slogan ironically stands out in “Night Raiders” given how much time Goulet and her collaborators spend insinuating rather than developing their nightmarish scenario. Bland dialogue and drab visuals make it consistently easy to know who we’re supposed to root for and against. The tidy, inert, and unoriginal nature of the movie’s style is also rather unfortunate given the movie’s defining counter-cultural thrust: should Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), a resourceful single mom, let her impressionable teenage daughter Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart) be raised by the Academy?
Niska’s internal conflict is suggested when, after she surrenders Waseese to the Jingos, she tries to accept the Academy narrative by reconnecting with estranged family friend Roberta (Amanda Plummer) and her son Pierre (Eric Osborne), the latter of whom now serves as a Jingo spokesman. But there’s not much of a dramatic conflict for viewers when our choices are to either root for Niska and her fellow Indigenous underdogs, or hiss at the obviously evil Academy, defined as they are by generic violence and pseudo-universal propaganda. “Night Raiders” may fitfully reflect America’s prevailing dark mood, but it’s generally not convincing as either a feel-good entertainment or a grim prophecy.
