Little Terrors presents 'Minutes Past Midnight'

source: Little Terrors presents 'Minutes Past Midnight'

Nine tales of terror. "Never Tear Us Apart" - Two guys stumble across a cannibal couple. Cute and funny with a dandy twist. "Awake" - Unsettling story of a little boy who goes lethally insane. "Crazy for You" - Wickedly funny yarn in which a serial killer falls for a gal. "The Mill at Calder's End" - Funky puppets (one looks just like Peter Cushing!), a spot-on spooky mood, and cult horror queen Barbara Steele as a vengeful ghost all add up to a total winner. "Roid Rage" - Super crude and gross hoot. "Feeder" - Superior vignette about a frustrated guitarist who makes a Faustian pact with some kind of demon. This neat story comes complete with a deliciously nasty twist at the end. "Timothy" - A twisted treat. Love the adorable killer bunny. "Ghost Train" - Strong tale about the sins of the past catching up with two guys in the present. Fantastic creepy atmosphere and a highly satisfying grim conclusion. "Horrific" - A man gets attacked by a ferocious monster in his home. Pretty goofy, but nonetheless still amusing and enjoyable.

Creative and creepy fun; a wonderful low budget horror feast.

Like ABCs of Death and V/H/S, horror anthology Minutes After Midnight is a collection of very short stories, each directed by a different film-maker. Usually, these kind of projects are a very mixed bag, equal parts good and bad, but this is a rare example where the good easily outweighs the bad. Sid Zanforlin's Never Tear Us Apart is a fun opener, with two guys running into backwoods cannibals who give chase. The twist isn't anything special, but gore-hounds will definitely enjoy the very bloody death scene in which one of the friends has his head chopped in half by an axe. It's certainly a great way to grab the audience's attention. Awake (Dir: Francisco Sonic Kim) is the only tale to disappoint me, on account of the fact that I didn't really understand it. A kid with a head wound acts weird, stomps an injured dog to death, and then gets a little bitey. Strange. Crazy for You (Dir: James Moran) sees serial killer Charlie (Arthur Darvill) willing to give up killing for Jessica, the love of his life. The only problem is that Jessica is obsessed by polka dots, which just happens to be the trigger for Charlie's uncontrollable urges. Still, where there's a will there's a way. This story actually has a happy ending, albeit a very twisted one. The Mill at Calder's End hasn't got the most coherent of narratives, but director Kevin McTurk's visuals are great, the whole story told with the use of very realistic rod puppets (one of which looks just like Peter Cushing). Refreshingly different. Roid Rage (Dir: Ryan Lightbourn) is easily the silliest (and crudest) entry: it tells the tale of Sammy (Zach Canfield), whose exposure to radiation has resulted in a toothy mutant asshole that feeds on unwary human victims. Lots of cheesy gore, both CGI and practical, go to make this one a hoot. Christian Rivers' Feeder has the strongest story: a struggling musician moves into a rundown house where a supernatural force provides him with inspiration-at a price! Well acted and confidently directed, this is a great segment, even if I did guess the twist before it happened. Timothy (Dir: Marc Martínez Jordán) is a twisted treat. A young boy is hoping to watch his favourite TV programme, Timothy's Show, but his babysitter wants him asleep. While he is laying in bed, the boy is visited by the star of Timothy's show, a giant rabbit, who takes a sledgehammer and bashes the babysitter's head in. No prizes for guessing that the rabbit is all in the boy's imagination, but it's demented fun while it lasts. Ghost Train (Dir: Lee Cronin) easily has the best setting, a creepy ghost train ride in an abandoned funfair. Wonderful production design, great cinematography and smart storytelling make this one well worth a watch, even if the ending isn't as strong as one might hope. The film ends with a really enjoyable, over-the-top segment: Horrific, directed by Robert Boocheck. A man finds himself face to face with a ravenous beast that he believes is a chupacabra. A battle between the two ensues, the man trashing his home in the process. But where there's one monster... With nine stories, eight of which I would heartily recommend, there is something here for every type of horror fan. 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the hilarious 'whack a mole' moment in Horrific.

"Minutes Past Midnight" is a horror anthology that would have fallen flat on its face and stayed that way had it not been for three stories that redeemed it. "The Mill At Calder's End," "Feeder," and "Ghost Train" were the best of the bunch, offering very good acting, direction, cinematography, music, and screenplays. My most memorable, movie moment of "Minutes Past Midnight" is the scene that reveals what happened to the boy who disappeared in "Ghost Train." Fans of horror movies should at least watch the three stories I mentioned above; and if you have some time to kill and want to watch a few ridiculous, short movies, then watch the other stories that "Minutes Past Midnight" has to offer. Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

I must admit that I initially stopped playing this movie after the first short story, but I continued watching it again after reading a few reviews on this site; and I'm really glad that I did. This film consists of nine short stories and while the first one wasn't necessarily my cup of tea and almost caused me to skip the rest of the stories, there are some pretty entertaining features that I would have missed had I not been more patient. The Mill at Caulders was a spooky animation, and the short film Feeders was down right creepy and entertaining. I also found Ghost Train and and Roid Rage creepy and kooky respectively.All in all this was definitely not a waste of time.

Numeric ratings are so impossibly subjective, but FWIW, I'm giving the entire collection a 6/10. I rarely watch these type of short story films, but after reading a few of the reviews, there were a couple stories that looked really good. An quite frankly, the good ones were excellent! I'll make a couple of comments below: "Never Fear Us Apart": Entertaining. Ironic. Slightly gory. (6) I liked the premise on this one. My biggest complaint was the VERY noticeable CGI. Had the film been done with practical fx, it would have been more enjoyable, but beyond that, it worked as a short. "Awake": Too short. Perplexing. Leaves questions. (5) Another interesting premise, but this is a big reason I don't like shorts...it was...too short, and lacking in answers. The piece itself is very well done and filmed with a stark filter, leaving it cold and dark. The acting is fine, son no complaints there, but it was just too short. Most of these types of pieces are meant to leave the viewer with a few questions, as they are not meant to provide complex back-stories, but this one leaves questions going in AND coming out. It's wasn't bad, and the writing works...I just felt a bit confused about what the "how's" and "why's." "Crazy For You": Light. Clever(ish). Twisted. (6) I like this one, but would have preferred more gore. It was done well, and the plot is fun and unique, but as a "horror," there lots of chances to make it more horrific with fx. Still, it was a unique piece that entertained and worked well as a short. "The Mill at Calder's End": Gothic. Stylish. Haunting. (8) I'm not a fan of animated pieces, but this was brilliantly done! It looks great, is dark, and the story is creepy. Loved the plot. While it absolutely works as a short, I would have enjoyed a full length feature as well. "Roid Rage": Very B-movie-ish. Grotesque. Cult-like. (4) As a fan of cheesy b-movies with blood and gore, and actually kind of liked this. My biggest issue is that it feels very out of place with the other shorts. It reminds me of a Troma flick, both in plot and execution, but compared to the stylishly done companion pieces, I was grossly underwhelmed. "Feeder": Slick. Professional. Dark & Sinister. (8) Another really well done piece. The story is Faustian in nature, which I always enjoy, and the production is top notch indie grade. No real complaints here. This is one I would have enjoyed as a full length feature. "Timothy": Odd. Childish. Chaotic. (4) Another piece that I felt didn't belong. The production value was ok, but the premise felt like it didn't fit. Maybe others would disagree, but it was nowhere near as dark as most of the others. It still had a chaotic feel to the story, but in a maniacal way, opposed to anything creepy. I guess I'm just not in to stuffed animals. "Ghost Train": Rich. Textured. Genuine horror. (9) This was my favorite of the bunch. Everything about it was great. The look, the feel, the plot, and the production. I would have loved watching this as a full feature but it works as a short tale without issue. I also appreciated the resolution and/or explanation of characters. We actually get back story on this. Overall, just extremely well done. "Horrific": Cheap. Pointless. Goofy. (4 This was probably the most out of place piece of all. It was violent and pointless for the point of being violent and pointless. I truly believe this was meant to be exactly what it is, which is not a bad thing. I just didn't feel it fit in with most of the others. I compare it in nature to "Roid Rage;" a movie I could see myself watching during another sitting, but not as a part of this collection. It's just corny, hokey, B-grade horror.

a 9-short comedy horror anthology. my favourites are James Moran's romantic comedy spoof Crazy for you and The Mill at Calder's End by Kevin McTurk, which features some brilliant picture composition and stop motion, near-photorealistic banruku rod puppet animation unlike anything i've seen before. also worthy of note is Ryan Lightbourn's genre-spanning Roid Rage and accompanying soundtrack. the dialogue is clever and delivered in deadpan fashion that practically had me in stitches the only short i didn't like was the final segment, Horrific, by Robert Boocheck. the story is clichéd, the monster design appeared lacking in inspiration, and the positioning of the short in the anthology was simply poor judgement on the part of the editor/s. then again, i like the film better on the whole if i think of number nine as an unnecessary 'bonus' track, to be discarded upon future viewing. all in all an entertaining film; pairs well with New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA

OK it has no budget.. OK its so much kitsch The stories are crazy, ironically funny and i could say sick :D I liked almost all, many stories could easily have a 30minute sequel and be like real movie. some seem to end too fast and were so good i would like to see the plot in a real movie. Overall, it is so crazy that its not bad !! Entertaining! 6/10

One of the stupidest movies ever. Don't waste your time.