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Fantastic Fest 2019: ‘After Midnight’ Effectively Combines a Creature Feature with A lot of Heart

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After Midnight

There is something utterly gripping about isolation horror. Those features that take their main character and place them in a solitary, or mostly solitary, location and then allow us to get to know them intimately while much conflict is sent their way. After Midnight fits very nicely into that isolation horror wheelhouse while simultaneously opening the floodgates on something warm, relatable and absorbing.

Writer-Director Jeremy Gardner, (The Battery) returns with a deconstruction of the most significant parts of a relationship with an almost Before Sunset trilogy vibe, rooted in horror sensibilities.

Speaking specifically to its approach to horror, there are a few scenes that are wildly hair-raising. Keeping the camera ever moving while focusing on the creature elements makes your heart pound between the moments of being heartfelt. Co-director, Christian Stella also handles the cinematography in After Midnight and really works some innocuous bits of sorcery in that department when it comes to conveying both the visceral and stillness. Those moments are furthered by well-placed needle drops that audibly spell out intent in their respectable scenes.

After Midnight (previously titled, Something Else) circles around Hank (Jeremy Gardner) following a separation from his girlfriend Abby (Brea Grant), who left a note and vanished from Hanks life. While attempting to cope by way of drinking copious amounts of alcohol, Hank begins to get nightly visitations from what he believes is a full fledged monster. As he attempts to trap and kill the monster, and his sanity begins to dissolve, he starts to look to his past with Abby to figure out where things went wrong in order to try to save any love the two have left.

I love a good love story and I love a good monster movie. So, guess what? This movie really had me. Similar to 2014’s Spring, this film isn’t afraid to subvert genre bending alchemy out of romance and the creature faire. Not surprising that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, the team behind Spring and The Endless are both onboard as producers on this one.

Gardner effectively makes awkward timing work from his writing to the characters he plays there is something uniquely outside by way of cadence and something that makes his films easy to identify. Gardner continues his particular brand of natural charm that instills in the audience a very direct requirement of wanting to grab a beer and to chat with the dude.

The writing here is fantastic especially when it comes to scenes of dialogue that aren’t afraid to hold the camera on its subjects, isn’t afraid to let its character’s blossom and isn’t afraid of the romantic substance to pause the horror. It’s a film that would have worked without the otherworldly bits… but is ultimately made completely exceptional by their addition.

After Midnight is Charles Bukowski by way of a harrowing creature feature, all while maintaining a sweet streak. Fans of The Battery will be please to see Gardner continuing his richly innovative approach to indie film, and will be pleasantly surprised with the big heart and connective tissue that ties this films genres and characters together.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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