After Midnight (3/5) – Movie Review

AFTER MIDNIGHT is a horror drama that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2019. It’s a bit of a genre-bender with a slow-burner pace but the ending literally shook me! Read more in our review below.

After Midnight is a new indie horror drama with a twist. The movie premiered at Tribeca and will probably continue to play at various film festivals all over the world.

The movie is definitely a horror story but it’s also quite the genre-bender. You’ll get drama and some off-beat comedy as well. Also, some impressively long scenes of people having honest and deep conversations. This might not sound all that great to you, but really, it is!

Also, while After Midnight is definitely a slow-burner the ending is absolutely brilliant. I won’t spoil it this review, but I will say that I loved it for both the quirky and terrifying moments!

The simplicity of After Midnight

Both on paper and screen, After Midnight features a very simple story. We meet a man and a woman, Hank and Abby, who seem to be very much in love. Suddenly, Hank is alone in their house in the woods and Abby is gone. She did leave a note, but that’s about it.

Now, something seems to be attacking the house at night. Hank stays awake with a couch blocking the front door and a shotgun in his hand. Nobody really believes Hank and for a long time, you probably won’t either.

However, things do happen that make you question what the hell is going on. While Hank’s monster is lurking around the house every night, Abby remains gone for several weeks and he’s left to take care of their business (a bar).

Before the movie is over, you will know where Abby has gone and you’ll know more about their relationship. And also, the monster!

That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Well, along with that awesome ending that left me quite a bit shaken up!

Wonderful cast carries the small story

The cast of After Midnight has several actors that should be familiar to fans of genre films.

For one, Brea Grant plays the role of Abby. She was in the Christmas anthology All the Creatures Were Stirring from 2018. Also, you might recognize her from Dead Awake or Beyond the Gates which co-starred horror icon, Barbara Crampton.

The lead protagonist, Hank, is portrayed by Jeremy Gardner, who is also one of the directors of this movie. He also wrote, directed and starred in the horror adventure The Battery from 2012.

In a supporting role, we get Justin Benson who is an actor and a filmmaker. He made the brilliant indie genre trilogy The Endless (2017), Spring (2014) and Resolution (2012) with Aaron Moorhead. They are also both producers on After Midnight.

Filmmaker duo behind After Midnight

While the star of After Midnight, Jeremy Gardner, also wrote the script, he shares the directing credit with Christian Stella. Christian Stella has worked on both sound and cinematography on the previous movies by Jeremy Gardner. In other words, these two know how to make movies together and it does seem like a perfect match.

Up next for the two is the movie Fingers by writer-director, Juan Ortiz. Jeremy Gardner will co-star and Christian Stella is the cinematographer.

Hopefully, the two filmmakers won’t wait too long before creating their next indie movie in the horror genre. I’m certainly very intrigued to see what they come up with next.

After Midnight premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2019. It will be out in select theaters and On Demand February 14, 2020. From February 11, 2021 AFTER MIDNIGHT is added to Shudder.

Details

Directors: Jeremy Gardner, Christian Stella
Writer: Jeremy Gardner
Stars: Henry Zebrowski, Brea Grant, Justin Benson, Jeremy Gardner, Ashley Song, Nicola Masciotra

Plot

For small-town bar owner Hank, his 10-year relationship with Abby has been storybook-quality. Abby, however, wants more: marriage, to be exact, which Hank doesn’t seem ready to initiate anytime soon. As a result, she leaves him without so much as a note or any subsequent communication. Hank is crushed. Even worse, Abby’s departure seemingly triggers the arrival of an unseen monster that claws at Hank’s front door at night. As the nocturnal threat intensifies, Hank must figure out how to not only save his relationship, but also himself.