One of the most talked-about films on the horror film circuit back in 2013 was The Battery, an ultra low-budget mumblecore American indie take on the classic zombie apocalypse set-up. It proved divisive, with many viewers finding it too slow, uneventful and low on the expected gut-munching horror, but plenty of others (myself included) being impressed by its intelligence, humour and invention, not to mention its aesthetic beauty considering how cheaply it was made. Six years on – following lesser-seen 2015 follow-up Tex Montana Will Survive!, which skipped the festival route and more or less side-stepped horror altogether – actor-writer-director Jeremy Gardner and co-director/cinematographer Christian Stella return to the territory on which they made their name with After Midnight, and much like The Battery it’s a film which lures you in with a supernatural premise but proves altogether more interested in character and emotional impact than viscera.
Gardner is Hank, every inch the good ol’ country boy with his crumbling old house surrounded by wilderness, and his shotgun and beer bottle constantly to hand. One thing he doesn’t have is his long-term girlfriend Abby (Brea Grant), who it seems walked out on Hank some weeks before we meet him – although plentiful flashbacks show us how good things once were between them early on, or at least how good Hank remembers things being. In Abby’s absence, Hank’s daily routine consists of drinking, spending minimal time at the country music bar he owns in town, and – most disturbingly of all – sitting up all night with his gun waiting to get a good shot at a mysterious, aggressive creature which comes to his house every night; every night since Abby left, that is. Hank has made no secret of his belief that he’s under attack from some kind of monster, and those close to him naturally suspect he’s cracking under his inability to deal with losing Abby. So, is Hank really besieged by a cryptozoological oddity that’s out for his blood, or can he just not come to terms with losing the love of his life? Or both?
After Midnight (a title change from that which the film originally screened under back in April 2019, Something Else) was an interesting choice of title here. As much as it could be a generic horror movie, it could almost be a play on Linklater’s Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight; and in many respects, this film has more in common with that romantic trilogy than your basic monster attack flick. As such, much as with The Battery, there’s a strong possibility that some horror -hungry viewers might be left feeling a little cheated, as the supernatural elements very much take a back seat to the character work and emotional drama. Go with it, though, and the human interplay may well prove considerably more involving and rewarding than the more predictable blood and thunder approach that might easily have been taken.
Actor-writer-director Gardner once again proves himself as a cinematic triple threat to be reckoned with – although, as he recently stressed on Twitter, we shouldn’t overlook the input of Christian Stella, who’s surely doing the lion’s share of the work behind the camera considering that his co-director is in front of the camera for almost the duration. Naturally any time a filmmaker gives themselves all the big jobs, including the lead role, putting themselves in the spotlight and getting most of the lines, there’s always the risk that the whole enterprise will just come off as a massive ego trip; however, After Midnight does not fall into that trap. While Gardner’s Hank is indisputably the main focus, Brea Grant’s Abby does not remain a background figure. As she appears primarily in flashbacks from the perspective of a man reflecting on how good he used to have it, it’s perhaps inevitable that she’s idealised to an extent, but she’s never a two-dimensional fantasy figure, and through a number of lengthy, often dialogue-heavy sequences, we’re given great insight into the relationship from both sides. Gardner and Grant’s performances are really something to behold; one standout dialogue scene must run in the region of ten minutes or more, without a single cut or camera movement*, which will test the mettle of any actor. They have some great support as well, with Henry Zebrowkski stealing a good few scenes as Hank’s best friend, whilst Justin Benson – who has quite a track record himself as an actor-writer-director – also impresses as Abby’s small-town sheriff brother.
The real danger of After Midnight, however, was that it might have easily been all build-up and no pay-off, as some viewers accused The Battery of being. While I’m reticent to say too much, I can categorically state that is not the case here. As understated as things are for the bulk of the running time, the last scenes build to a climax which is pretty much the definition of a crowd-pleaser. Again, I’m wary of spoiling anything – and I would advise interested readers not to look up too much about the film in advance – but I will say that one specific music cue toward the end pretty much brought the house down at Celluloid Screams. Any movie that can balance scares and laughs with raw emotion is a pretty rare and special feat, and one that most definitely warrants the attention of open-minded, genre-savvy audiences everywhere.
* Christian Stella informs us this scene in fact runs 14 minutes, and while the camera doesn’t move there is in fact a very slow, almost imperceptible zoom.