Blu-ray Review: After Midnight

Multiplexes are dominated by big-budget studio horror films which, as often as not, are uninspired and insipid franchises. However, if you look hard enough it’s possible to find low-budget independent genre movies which are trying something a bit different. That was the case when Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella arrived on the scene with an inspired zombie bromance, The Battery. They return with the equally intelligent, if slightly stranger, After Midnight.

Hank (Jeremy Gardner) is happy with life in his small town. His beat-up old house. A job as a bartender. But most of all, the love of his life Abby (Brea Grant). This all changes when he wakes up one day to find her gone. With only a cryptic note as a clue, he fears the worst. Hank responds by drinking himself into a state of self-pitying loneliness; increasingly becoming lost in daydream. That is until the appearance of a strange ‘thing’, late at night, snaps him out of this reverie.

After Midnight is a strange and beguiling little creature feature which mixes relationship drama, psychological thriller and extra-terrestrial ennui. What makes it work is the genuine love and care involved in its creation, a clever script and a fittingly atmospheric backdrop. Whilst these competing elements could have been its downfall they actually work in its favour; building up a multi-layered story which is full of heart. After Midnight is a minor marvel.

Two-Disc Special Edition Contents:

Limited to 2,500 units
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of After Midnight and Jeremy Gardner s first feature, The Battery available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeve with a choice of artwork designs
Reversible fold-out poster
Limited edition collector s booklet containing new writing on After Midnight by William Dass and an archive piece on The Battery by Jeremy Gardner

Disc One: After Midnight

Original 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo audio soundtracks
Audio commentary with directors Christian Stella and Jeremy Gardner
Lakeland Florida Q&A, featuring Stella, Gardner, actors Ashley Song, Nicola Masciotra and Taylor Zaudtke, script supervisor Elise Stella and 2nd assistant director Juan Ortiz
Pitching Something Else , Stella and Gardner pitch the character of Wade to Henry Zebrowski. Featuring an intro by producer Aaron Moorhead
Self-Interview While Self-Quarantined During the Coronavirus Outbreak, brand new interview with actor and producer Justin Benson, recorded exclusively for this release
Brea and Barak find Fantastic Fest Scooters, actors Brea Grant and Barak Hardley hunt down scooters following the Fantastic Fest screening of After Midnight
Behind-the-scenes featurette
Outtakes
Behind-the-scenes image gallery
Official international and UK trailers

Disc Two: The Battery

Original stereo audio
Audio commentary featuring writer, director and actor Jeremy Gardner, producer and actor Adam Cronheim and director of photography Christian Stella
The Making of The Battery, feature-length 90-minute documentary on the making of the film
Featurette on the music of The Battery
Outtakes
Theatrical trailer