A skateboarder investigating the mysterious death of his roommate is led into the inner workings of a self-help company, and the pharmaceutical lab behind it.

How far would you go to uncover the truth about your best friend’s mysterious death? Night Sweats (2019) sets the bar very high to the extent of exposing ones safety for the sake of verity.

Allegedly inspired by true events, the film follows the life of Yuri (Kyle DeSpiegler) as he comes to live in New York for a change of pace. One night, his best friend also roommate dies after a seizure and Yuri begins to wonder how it happened when a medical examiner collects evidence from their apartment; Yuri’s friend died from a new virus. Between several clues that lead him to a suspicious path that puts him in danger of contracting the same deadly virus, Yuri takes friendship-even-after-death to a new level.

Night Sweats is the type of film that brings a focused plot to the table but it’ll confuse you at first for the sake of a plot twist. During the first act, the film seems to be more interested in showing the lifestyle of a skater in his adulthood interacting with drugs and sex rather than on solving how his best friend died; it’s like if the movie suffered from ADD and the motives come in second place. By the second act, if the viewer is still watching, the film pulls itself together to an interesting murder investigation that, as fast-tracked as it looks, gets rather complicated as it unveils many secrets that lead to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

The acting isn’t as impeccable as one would believe; some characters are portrayed emotionless as others are played over-the-top dramatic. This could be due to the variant profiling of some of the characters; some seem to have been more detailed than others. There is an in-between shown by DeSpiegler which gladly sets a standard for the film; he also goes from hot to cold in a few scenes but in its majority his character is very well established.

The story of Night Sweatsdoesn’t demonstrate any problems nor does it contradicts itself during its development, despite showing some ups and downs at the beginning. It is consistent in the way problems are raised. However, its promotion as a story based on true events isn’t compelling. Before detailing an important part of the film, I must warn the reader to stop here if they don’t want any spoilers. It might be honest when it comes to the way the virus is spread, but it lacks on sources to it’s veracity.

One thing to consider while viewing the film, is the simulation of how the virus acts up on the main character. At times, the viewer gets a first-person view through Yuri’s eyes. The transitions between reality and psychedelia that Yuri suffers during the final stage of the virus are interesting and a bit artistic for the tone of the film. The representation of Yuri’s state of mind through a red and blue filter adds value to the product.

Night Sweats may seem dull and pointless at the beginning but once it gets on track, it becomes thrilling. There’s neither chill nor gore; just a bunch of gruesome side effects that leaves the viewer with a moral: beware of your actions and take care of your body.