The Big Picture

Night Raiders
explores a post-war dystopian society where indigenous people face oppression and brainwashing by a fascist government.
The film blends sci-fi elements, like advanced technology and gritty settings, with real-world issues of cultural erasure and systemic injustice.
Despite an intriguing premise, the film struggles with unresolved plot points and a lackluster climax, leaving viewers with unsatisfying conclusions.

The sci-fi thriller Night Raiders follows Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) as she attempts to save her daughter, Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart), from a fascist government and their racist endeavors to wipe out the indigenous population of the Cree. Based around real world scandals where schools attempted to whitewash indigenous history in Canada, Night Raiders has several excellent sci-fi elements that make a depressingly possible dystopian premise. Opening up with the promise of a complex and detailed world, Night Raiders immediately bears the weight of lofty expectations to tend with. Written and Directed by Danis Goulet, Night Raiders was also produced by Taika Waititi, who is known for his work in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Our Flag Means Death, and his work in the MCU.

What Is ‘Night Raiders’ About?
Image by Samuel Goldwyn Films

In this post-war dystopian society, a fascist government has taken over and formed Emerson, a place where their “perfect” society exists without the Cree, who they deem as sub-human. All children are taken away from their families and raised at an academy, where they are brainwashed into perfect soldiers by the government, who treats society outside of Emerson like rats in the sewer, barely giving them enough rations to survive on. These ideas establish a fascinating narrative, presenting awful dilemmas like losing a child, or forcing people to choose between their heritage and their child as Niska is challenged on. These ideas carry extra weight behind them because of the real-world examples of indigenous people suffering that this film is based on and constantly occur across the world.

Night Raiders also has amazing dystopian sci-fi elements that bring the world to life; these feel like a rather realistic progression of the technology we have now. These include an electric bike, advanced military drones, jet lighters being the norm, and yet everything still feels gritty and dirty, making the world feel real. Contrasting this against the Cree tribe’s weapons, which are standard AK-47s and bolt-action rifles, is fascinating and portrays this inequality in a very effective way through just the props used throughout Night Raiders.

‘Night Raiders’ Premise Held Promise and Potential
Image by Samuel Goldwyn Films

Night Raiders currently has an 83% critics on Rotten Tomatoes serving as evidence of the potential the movie holds. However, a 46% audience score suggests that the execution of its near-future lore fell short, undermining that potential. An unexplained war, a brainwashing fascist government, prophecy, safe havens, and mythical powers are all interesting aspects but, in trying to explore everything, Night Raiders never fully commits to any of its elements. For example, the debate between what the fascist government offers the children of this society versus the consequences of erasing a people’s culture and history, and eventually the people as a whole, is engaging but does not hold the stakes it should. This is because viewers are never actually shown the fascist state of Emerson the people are rebelling against, making the threats the government poses more abstract than terrifying.

Following the golden rule of storytelling, “Show, don’t tell,” it would have been beneficial for viewers to actually see the state of Emerson, to not only witness the threats they pose but to also create tension by showing how exactly this society could truly destroy the Cree. This would have provided more urgency, emotional weight, and a sense of impending doom when it came to why Niska and the Cree had to save their children, as we would see the consequences of what would happen if they failed.

As a result, it is a struggle to relate to the characters, particularly our protagonist Niska. Though her flaw seems to be selfishness as she only wants to protect her daughter and no one else’s, throughout the film we see that she is a kind person helping others, so there is little tension surrounding the issue of whether she will or will not help the Cree tribe. In the end, she predictably decides to save the other children. It almost comes across as though the world created was so complex, the narrative had to be pared down to give the audience the ability to process everything going on, leading to predictable screenwriting decisions.

‘Night Raider’s Climax Feels Narratively Unsatisfying

Night Raiders ends with a stand-off between the Cree tribe and the fascist soldiers who are there to wipe them out with the help of hundreds of military drones. Despite it seeming like this will be the Cree’s final stand, Waseese arrives at the last moment to supposedly fill the guardian prophecy by speaking to and taking control of the drones. Whilst there are two moments throughout Night Raiders that show Waseese testing her powers, she was seen speaking to birds and did not ever appear to have full control of them. As a result of this, Waseese’s powers never feel defined or explained, before she is suddenly able to control drones. Beyond this, the ending still leaves a lot up in the air, as the seemingly legendary safe haven “Bigstone” is never found, and it would seem that the Cree tribe would be doomed anyway. Surely the army will simply return with more soldiers and no drones? It makes the key narrative moments feel surface level rather than a satisfying arc.

For such a complicated world with such an extensive narrative being presented, this ending feels like little has changed for the Cree, Niska, or Waseese by the end. Perhaps this is a message about how indigenous people will never be safe under governments who want them destroyed, but for a narrative, Night Raiders could’ve done with an extra 30 minutes attached to the 1 hour and 41 minute runtime.

Overall, Night Raiders is an intriguing premise and world, with a truly emotional and important narrative to tell at its core. Whilst ambitious, the plot fails to provide a satisfying climax and leaves too many questions. Perhaps, the message, by the time the credits roll, is that the vicious oppressive cycle is never ending. This non-definitive ending feels out of keeping with the rest of the film’s tone, which primarily builds hope through its magical guardians and savior prophecy. Still, Night Raiders grounded approach to storytelling and lived-in world allows it to bring something new to sci-fi genre.

Night Raiders is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

WATCH ON NETFLIX