Music video director Rick Mordecon taps into fan-favorite tropes from the thriller genre for his feature debut on One Night Stay from BET +. Curtis Cardwell pens the film script. With his wife Millia (Letoya Luckett) out of town, successful businessman Marcus (Stephen Bishop) is enjoying a night out with friends.
Marcus encounters the alluring Jessica (played by Iyana Halley) as his night ends and engages in a one-night stand. However, Jessica becomes obsessed with Marcus the following day and refuses to leave his luxurious mansion. She finds a quiet hiding place and decides to move in permanently, disregarding Marcus' wishes to be left alone.
Marcus and Milia, a power couple, have lived in comfort and luxury. However, they are oblivious that Jessica has recently started living with them. This sudden development leads to various complications in their otherwise perfect lives. Adding to their worries, local detective Andre (played by Robert Christopher Riley) has informed the couple and Milia's former flame that there is an ongoing burglary spree in their community.
One of the things that I want to point out that first caught my attention in the film was that Curtis Cardwell's script hints that in the past, there may have been infidelity in the marriage and Marcus became overconfident, which may have caused him to stray again. The angle allows Letoya's Luckett's character to easily tap into a woman with trust issues, and Luckett is more than up to the challenge. As our male lead, Stephen Bishop doesn't do anything we haven't seen before, but he knows his lane and strengths and delivers.
Regarding our femme fatale, Iyana Halley, I initially had misgivings that she was somewhat underdeveloped, but a third-act twist brings everything together and finishes up her arc respectfully. Similar to most films that hit BET+. One Night Stay keeps the run time short and wastes no time setting up the premise. While the film is not groundbreaking, fans of the genre and the cast should give it a look.
Final Grade: C+
One Night Stay is available to stream now on BET +.
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