By Geno McGahee
Today, Well Go USA Entertainment releases on DVD and digital the Fruit Chan sci-fi thriller “THE MIDNIGHT AFTER.” The film is subtitled and takes place in Hong Kong, featuring a group of people that come together after an apparent tragedy in the city. The streets are empty and there is a lot of confusion, but soon the pieces of the puzzle come together.
The apparent apocalypse is upon the world and everyone is suspect of everyone as this virus is soon revealed. Survival is the name of the game and there are moments of tension as well as levity as we take this journey with this group. The road out of the city will be on a bus, but they must get beyond the men in gas masks that are looking to exterminate them. This film definitely had some similarities to THE CRAZIES and I think that THE MIDNIGHT AFTER embraced them and paid tribute to the classic very well.
The acting in this film is great across the board, featuring performances by Simon Yam, Wong You Nam, Janice Man, Kara Hui, Chui Tien You, Lam Suet, Vincci Cheuk, Lee Sheung Ching, Sam Lee and Cherry Ngan. THE MIDNIGHT AFTER picked its cast very well and put forth an impressive production and it was very believable from the outset. The comedy works and doesn’t feel forced and the bad guys in the gas masks prove to be menacing.
THE MIDNIGHT AFTER follows in the footsteps of THE CRAZIES, but lacks in certain areas. The film runs over two hours and there is a lot of padding after the first hour. I think that the producers were too in love with the film and didn’t look at it from a viewer’s standpoint. The first thirty minutes of this film is very intense and there is an aura of mystery but the backstories of the main characters that are stuck together could have come together quicker and there are moments where the movie slows down to a crawl.
The good heavily outweighs the bad here. I would have liked to see it cut down to 90 minutes and some of the fat trimmed off, but, in the end, it does work and you can see the heart that was put into this across the board. I recommend THE MIDNIGHT AFTER, but know going in that it is subtitled and over 2 hours in length. Those are the deal-breakers for some, but I was able to tolerate the duration and don’t mind a good subtitled flick, which this one is.
Rating: 6/10
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