As power proceeds to pass through multiple corrupt hands, including those of a deranged academic gatekeeper and a lone-wolf scholar with a gradually fulfilled god complex, the specifics of who, what and why grow less clear and consequential. Leanly written as it is, this is the most involved of the vignettes. Tzod herself carries the first of these, as the flower is taken from her by a despotic prince (Patton Oswalt), who razes her tribal homeland to the ground, only to meet with his own swift comeuppance. These episodes form an anthology of sorts, only loosely bound by a couple of continuous (and increasingly ancient) characters and tensions, It’s an ambitious, high-concept fantasy anthology epic. Tzod, who has experienced the bloom’s benefits first-hand, relates a number of these in somewhat creaky flashback. The Spine of Night is a love letter to the classic animation style and draws clear inspiration from both formative films mentioned above. Its precious petals appear to grant strength and immortality to those who hold them, while its floating spores seed fiery destruction where they land, cuing a centuries-long history of bitter political power struggles and outright warfare. Grant) and the mystical blue blossom in his possession. She’s braving the elements in pursuit of the reclusive, shrouded Guardian (Richard E. Morgan Galen King and Philip Gelat's rotoscoped ultra. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit. The neo-psychedelic, pink and blue poster for The Spine of Night hits kind of a Twilight Zone on Acid vibe, with a hint of Krull. An eyeful of casual nudity at the outset further winks to the project’s “Heavy Metal” spirit of adolescent daring, as bare-breasted warrior woman Tzod (voiced by Lucy Lawless, fully in her genre element) trudges across a snowy mountainscape unsympathetic to her minimalist tribal attire. The Spine of Night was released in the USA on October 29, 2021, and is available for rent or own on streaming at Amazon, Apple TV, Youtube, Redbox, and Google Play.