Clevercell Very disappointing...

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

BA_Harrison 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.

re-animatresse 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

Paul Magne Haakonsen The intro sequence was rather nicely made, as it set up the mood for the anthology quite well, plus it had some interesting CGI and very moody music.Let's just say that the anthology starts out pretty intense. Which was good, because you don't have to sit around for a long time while the story is being established and set up during a long introduction.There are some surprisingly good special effects in the anthology, and that came as a pleasant surprise, which only added so incredibly much in terms of enjoyment value for fans of horror and the macabre.Segment 1, titled "Never Tear Us Apart" brings a family close together, if you can keep your head on, that is. This particular segment really kicked off the anthology in a fast pace."Awake" is the name of the second segment. This story was a little bit weak, because it is not fully clear what is going on. Is the child possessed? Was he sick? And what kind of parent would his their child with a frying pan if the child bit them on the arm?The third segment, titled "Crazy For You" starts out with a rather idyllic setting, which quickly take a turn for the brutal. I guess even serial killers have a blooming love-lives. This was definitely an interesting story, though I can't claim that I cared for the ending.Breaking the style of the anthology is "The Mill at Calder's End", the fourth segment. This is a animated segment. The props and the puppets really looked good and had nice textures, but the animation was incredibly wooden, rigid and stunted. Luckily, the story and the mood of this segment was enough to make you look past the wooden animation.The title of the fifth segment, "Roid Rage", definitely was an outstanding and instantly catchy title. This was definitely one of the more weird of tales, but also one that brought laughs with it because it was so odd. And it was unnecessarily made gross with the hairs at the lubrication. And the doctor was just wonderfully bizarre and hilarious."Roid Rage" gives way to "Feeder", which is the sixth segment in the anthology, which incidentally turned out to be one of my favorite segments. It was about some unknown entity or force at an apartment complex that demanded a bigger and bigger sacrifice of flesh. The story here was nicely constructed and it was the one that appealed to me the most in terms of being interesting and entertaining. Writer Guy McDouall and director Christian Rivers had really constructed something unique here.Next up was "Timothy" which was a truly wicked segment. I mean that because it was a twisted take on a children's imagination brought to life with a horrible outcome. This segment also stands out because it is in Spanish, though with English subtitles. This seventh segment was a short one, but one that had a big impact.The concept of the eight segment, titled "Ghost Train", was a rather interesting one. I found that to be rather entertaining, and it was nicely brought to life on the screen. This was definitely among the more memorable of segments that appeared in "Minutes Past Midnight".And the ninth and final segment, titled "Horrific", had a great amount of comedy in it, and was a wonderful mixture between horror and straight up comedy. I was laughing a lot when it turned into a "whack-a-mole" situation, that was just hilarious.The acting in the various segments was generally adequate, though there were of course some performances that far outshone others, and some that were just downright bad.As for the effects in the different segments, well it was adequate for most parts. Again, some segments had better effects than others. Which made for a very diverse experience.Each segment is definitely different in style, approach and delivery, which really makes for a very diverse experience. So there is something for everyone here.I was genuinely entertained throughout all nine segments, and must admit that it was actually a much nicer anthology than I had expected it to be. This can warmly be recommended to fans of the horror genre. And my rating of "Minutes Past Midnight" lands of a 6 out of 10 stars.

dcarsonhagy Face it, guys. Most anthologies are almost as bad as sequels. They usually contain not-so-special stories that are neither cohesive, well thought out, or are executed very poorly. Here is the exception! "Minutes Past Midnight" was--for the most part-- extremely entertaining. Nine individual tales are told and the majority hit their mark. There was only a couple that I didn't care all that much for, but there were three I thought could easily have been taken a step further and made into full-feature films."The Mill at Calder's Inn" was one of the best. It is an animated ghost story that is Grade A from beginning to end. The look, the feel, the characters--everything works, and works extremely well. My next favorite was "Roid Rage." Yes, it is WAY over the top-- especially the subject matter. But, c'mon, who couldn't love a story about a killer hemorrhoid?! I laughed until I cried! My next favorite was "Feeder." Extremely disturbing and frightening, this one delivers on the horror aspect. The only two shorts I felt didn't deliver were "Awake" and "Timothy." They weren't bad, mind you, but they were not close to the other stories.Rated R for graphic violence, brief nudity, and language, "Minutes Past Midnight" will deliver a very good time to anyone who watches. Highly Recommended.