After Midnight - Blu-ray

Movie: It all seemed so idyllic and harmonious when Hank (Jeremy Gardner) and Abby (Brea Grant) moved into their new house. Here the couple has built a little paradise - but now Abby has fled from it. All Hank has left is a suicide note. Every attempt to win her back fails miserably. So Hank sinks more and more into self-pity. But this is not his only problem. At night his house is attacked by a monster that leaves scratch marks and makes frightening noises. But nobody really wants to believe Hank. And so he's on his own in the fight against this mysterious creature.

As with Ben & Mickey vs. The Dead, director, screenwriter and lead Jeremy Gardner once again does a great job of directing an entertaining mix of Generation X comedy and horror on a mini-budget with After Midnight. This admittedly takes some getting used to due to long dialogue, sudden vocal interludes and some pretty trashy effects. But if you can get into it, you'll be thoroughly entertained. For not only are the conversations between Hank and his buddy Wade in particular delightfully weird in an amusing way. With the view of the good times between Hank and Abby, in addition, really believable emotions come up.

Although Gardner is not the best actor now, it is quite understandable why the sudden disappearance of Abby throws Hank so off track. The scenes where he is haunted not only by this loss, but also by a monster invisible to him and the viewer, are also pleasantly effectively realised, and actually give rise to something like mild creepiness. Those expecting non-stop horror, however, are likely to be disappointed. Because the sequences between the nightly attacks are what dominate the film.

After Midnight thus impresses less with real monster horror than with the story in which it is embedded and with this very special atmosphere that Jeremy Gardner builds up by mixing different genres. If you like original indie fare from the US and enjoyed Gardner's first feature Ben & Mickey vs. The Dead, you'll be properly served again with this flick. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: One may look at the film that to its implementation was not a particularly large budget available. Nevertheless, the picture and sound quality of the Blu-ray leave a perfectly decent overall impression. The picture is clean and sharp. Only in darker scenes are a few small weaknesses noticeable in the sharpness of detail and contrast matching. The colouring, which has a special meaning in some scenes, is coherent and atmospherically implemented. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is dominated by the dialogue in many scenes, but has some decent surround moments here and there. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is an audio commentary with the two directors, which is, however, a little difficult to understand in places and is presented without subtitle option. Since the listening is sometimes quite exhausting, even if the content of the commentary is quite interesting and sometimes very amusing. Otherwise, there is only the trailer to the film on the Blu-ray. If you want more extras, you'll have to grab the Limited Edition Media Book. Here there is another bonus disc with outtakes, a behind the scenes look and more.

Conclusion: After Midnight is a quirky mix of comedy, romantic drama and horror thriller with slight trash elements. If you liked Jeremy Gardner's Ben & Mickey vs. The Dead, you'll be right at home here as well. The Blu-ray is technically well done, but has no extras to offer aside from an audio commentary. Those are only available on the bonus disc of the limited edition media book. Recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp