Minutes Past Midnight (2016)

 

 

A few days ago I posted the first anthology film in this year’s CTH (Countdown to Halloween), and that’s how I will reference it from now on.  Today I present the second anthology film of the month.  Minutes Past Midnight is a collection of nine short horror films once again put together without a wraparound story and I believe that is a sign of the times as anthologies seem to be piecework these days.  Long gone are the days of Creepshow, Twilight Zone, Tales From the Dark Side films where even though a collection of short films they were all made under the same production crew so the films all sort of looked the same and would be connected nicely.  Now it’s done by whoever shepherds that horror shorts together.  Most of them are up for bid to whoever offers the most and off they go to an anthology. 

 

Well, that’s enough of my old man yelling at you kids to get off my lawn.  Let’s really talk about the film.  Here’s something a little different this anthology has some actors I’ve seen before.  Jason Fleming (Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels) is Nicholas in The Mill at Calder’s End which I must admit I have seen before.  Also featured is horror legend Barbara Steele (Black Sunday and The Pit and the Pendulum), also in The Mill at Calder’s End.  Also featured in the short titled Awake is Mika Boorem (Sleepover and Along Came a Spider) and in the Crazy For You segment is an old friend from Doctor Who, Rory Williams himself, Arthur Darvill.  Now let’s talk about some of the shorts.  Crazy For You is a horror comedy short where Darvill is a serial killer that is set off whenever he sees polka dots.  Christ, don’t take this guy to the circus, the clowns don’t stand a chance.  It’s cute and quirky with a bit of a twist ending and I liked it.

 

Next up is The Mill at Calder’s Creek is a beautifully filmed ghost story made with puppets.  Spooky looking gothic masterpiece and depending on your taste, possibly the best short of the film.  We go from beautiful to disgusting with Roid Rage, I mean what else can I say.  It’s gross, nasty, and to top it all off the acting isn’t very good.  Doesn’t mean I didn’t like it.  Cringy is good sometimes and yes, I did gag a little bit.  Feeder was Nice! It concerns a guitarist who finds some sort of talent demon in his apartment.  Give it what it wants, and it helps him create great music.  Another one that didn’t end how I expected it to and if The Mill isn’t your favorite of the bunch this might be. 

 

The final short I will mention is Timothy which is about a young boy and his imaginary(?) friend Timothy who is a big pink bunny rabbit.  Timothy kind of reminds me of the rabbit from the James Stewart classic film Harvey.  There’s a bit of a difference here as Timothy seems to be a little bit of a psychopathic killer.  Maybe.  A nice little collection with something for all to like and the best part is if you’re not digging the story you are in, don’t worry it’ll be over soon.  All the shorts are in the ten minute or less range so it’s perfect for those with a short attention span.  Earlier in the month I rated Tell Me A Creepy Story three out of five; this is a bit better than that so I will go three and a half goats tied to a post out of five.  That’s me though, YMMV.