Thunder in the Night: A Rainy, Cluttered Budapest Mystery

If you have a soft spot for movies where characters constantly wear raincoats and look suspicious under streetlights, Thunder in the Night might just hit the spot. It’s definitely not for anyone who needs their mysteries to be airtight or realistic. But if you like watching people try to save their reputations while a storm rages outside, you’ll probably find something to enjoy here. 🕵️‍♂️

The whole thing kicks off in Budapest, and let me tell you, it rains hard. The atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a knife, even if the plot itself feels a bit like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces shoved in by force. You’ve got a police captain, a count, and a scorned mistress who honestly might be the most interesting person in the building.

The middle of the movie really leans into the classic detective tropes. There’s a hotel, a missing newspaper clipping, and enough muddy shoes to fill a closet. I found myself focusing on the way the light hits the hotel room walls—it’s got that old-school glow that modern digital stuff just misses. Maybe I’m just a sucker for black and white, but it felt right.

There is this one moment where the police lieutenant, Gabor, is being so remarkably bumbling that it makes you wonder how he ever got his badge. It’s a bit jarring compared to the seriousness of the murder, but hey, maybe the director just wanted to lighten the mood. Or maybe they just needed someone to leave a gun lying around in the office for no reason. That part really bothered me.

It reminds me a little of the vibe in The Hidden Truth, where secrets are just currency that everyone is trying to hoard. People are constantly popping in and out of rooms, and the Professor Omega character? He’s pure theater. He talks like he’s reading from a book of prophecies, which is both annoying and weirdly captivating.

The ending is a bit of a scramble. You can almost see the screenwriters racing to tie up all those loose ends before the clock runs out. It’s not elegant, but it gets the job done. Watching it, I felt like I was reading a detective novel that someone had scribbled notes in the margins of. It’s messy, it’s a bit dramatic, and it doesn't try to be anything more than it is.

Sometimes you just want a movie that moves fast and doesn't ask you to care about the characters too deeply. This one fits that bill perfectly. ⛈️