Midnight Screening

So unmemorable I've unintentionally seen this movie three times on three separate occasions. I'm only finally leaving a review (my first one ever) and rating so I don't unintentionally check it out a 4th regrettable time forgetting I've seen it already.

For a movie that takes place in a movie theatre you'd think that the filmmakers were massive movie fans, but there is so little evidence of any film competency you'd think they've never even seen a film before.

Nothing happens. The pacing is a slog. There is no inciting incident at or near the 10 minute mark; instead it isn't until 50 minutes into this 70 minute movie that anything of note even happens.

The dialogue is never about anything which makes each scene about nothing and only highlights the film's non-attempt to advance a plot of any kind. That might work in a comedy, but a comedy this is not.

I watch a lot of horror. I love good horror, and also watch a ton of b and garbage flicks on services like tubing. This is the worst thing I've watched in a while.

Lazy attempt to capitalize on the covid shutdown of both movie studios and theaters. The plot.... non existent. The characters have so many pointless conversations that add nothing. Who cares if blond girl #2 broke up with her boyfriend? Who cares if all the horny guys want to hire the hot girl that applied for a job? None of this has any meaning.

The acting is awful. The 5.7 rating this movie currently has is a travesty. Also, evert death is off screen.

To summarize: nothing happens in this movie. It should not exist.

I watch a lot of low budget, amateurish horror movies. It's a curse of having seen what seems like everything. Sometimes I find a gem, usually I find painfully awful trash that is nearly unwatchable. Midnight Screening is neither of those. It is simply an underwritten, poorly acted b movie that takes forever to get to the point and has zero idea what to do when it gets there. It is instantly forgettable, because it's not good enough to linger in your thoughts and not bad enough to get a negative reaction. It just "is". In fact it is so forgettable that you may accidentally hit play again at a later date because you don't remember watching it. Absolutely nothing to see here.

Wow, a star in the making! Rebekah Patton shows shocking expertise in her craft, deftly navigating the script like a seasoned professional. Sheila (Patton's character) displays a tangible tension between what is and what could be, leaving the audience heartbroken in the suspenseful finale. The movie was great but Patton's performance elevated it to the next level.

Midnight Screening presents itself as a slice of life piece juxtaposed with your classic slasher film, adding new depth to an often over simplified genre. The movie theatre setting keeps audience's on their toes and helps to build suspense.

10/10.

A minor gem for an unheralded work with no established actors. One - with no previous acting credits, only crew - struggled with timing, but stood out among the other cast members, and the characters they played were nicely fleshed-out. The manager was so downbeat and credible, I felt as if I knew him in real life.

Very limited budget shows, but is not allowed to hamper the tension building. The multiplex location is exploited to good effect, and there are inside jokes about infectious love for cinema.

The ending felt rushed after a leisurely seventy-five minutes of the eighty-minute runtime, but probably didn't really deserve more. The story was more a journey than a destination.

There seems a minor trend on streaming services towards family productions, with minor parts and behind the camera roles played by people with the same surname. If they were all as promising as this, the future of cheapskate filmmaking would be assured.