Prime Time: Minutes Past Midnight (2016)

Remember when horror anthologies were made by a group of people wanting to deliver a shared vision allowing for more creative freedom than a feature would allow? Me too. I like those horror anthologies. But it seems more and more common nowadays to find that a horror anthology is made up of curated short films. There is a good and bad side to this approach. On the one hand, you get to enjoy an assortment of short films that you woulds most likely have otherwise missed (aside from festival programmes, it's often hard to discover short films "in the wild). On the other hand, the whole thing can feel a bit disjointed, and almost like a disservice to the better films that can be sandwiched between lesser fare.

Minutes Past Midnight is made up of the following tales; Never Tear Us Apart, Awake, Crazy For You, The Mill At Calder's End, Roid Rage, Feeder, Timothy, Ghost Train, and Horrific. Nine tales. Four of those tales are very good, one is visually gorgeous and atmospheric, but lacking a certain something, and the others range from decidedly average to absolutely awful (Roid Rage is the worst of the lot).

Having listed those titles, and mentioned there quality levels, I think it is worth mentioning that there was only the one that I really despised. That's a good ratio for any modern horror anthology movie, and especially good when it is made up of many names who may be less familiar to film fans. Lee Cronin is someone you may know by now, and Ghost Train is a nice display of his talent. James Moran has fun with his short tale, Crazy For You. But those were the only two main names I recognised, although I had seen Never Tear Us Apart before, which helped me to relax as soon as the movie began, knowing I would enjoy at least one of these tales.

The acting throughout is generally good, with Roid Rage once again being the rare exception (I am sorry to harp on about it, but it REALLY stinks), but highlights include both Hannah Tointon and an uncharacteristically murderous Arthur Darvill in Crazy For You, the impressive voice work in The Mill At Calder's End, and an entertainingly unfazed child watching some carnage unfold before him in Timothy.

Despite the fact that none of these shorts benefit from any stylish link, the smallest touch of creating closing credits for each one in a similar style as a clock hand moves forward is enough to make this feel like something that has been handled with a bit more care than some.

Just over an hour and a half, and with none of the shorts outstaying their welcome (except you, Roid Rage, except you *shakes fist in the middle of empty room), Minutes Past Midnight is a decent option if you're wanting some light horror entertainment that's a few steps removed from all of the more mainstream options.

6/10

You can buy the DVD here.
Americans can buy that same DVD, or pay a crazy amount for the blu.