Dead by Midnight: Y2Kill
**Seen at the 2020 Atlanta Film Festival.
Until I saw the Georgia peach signifying the Georgia film industry at the end of the credits of this horror anthology, I’ll admit to being a bit baffled as to why this was a part of the Atlanta Film Festival. I’m all for any types of movies being included at film festivals, and it certainly has some quality pedigree attached to it, but given that the Atlanta Film Festival normally focuses on dramas and documentaries, a sequel to “Dead by Midnight” (which, admittedly, I’ve never seen) feels a bit out there. Coming off of Fantasia Fest, though, I thought it’d be nice to take in some straight-up genre cinema in my final festival of the year. I’m not sure if I made the right choice.
I really enjoy the premise of this one, actually. The film is structured as a horror night on public access television hosted by an Elvira-esque woman (in this case, The Mistress, played by Erin Brown), which provides the basis for a series of horror-laden vignettes and crazy commercials made by a variety of actors and filmmakers with some weird ideas in store. I’ll admit- the commercials for Murderol, an anti-murdering drug being hocked by Kane Hodder, and Cassie, an Alexa-like home security system, were probably my favorite things in the film. They really feel locked in to the dark humor the movie wants to showcase more than any of the actual stories in the movie. (The other “commercial,” for a service that delivers a literal bag of dicks to your enemies, feels too broad to be as effective, though the enthusiasm with which they are pitched are effective.)
The segments are the things that matter most in an anthology, however, and there are some of that are better than others. The first one, “Hellevangelist,” is probably the best one, as an old woman who watches a televangelist takes something unique away from the experience while her family tries to convince her not to send him money. It’s got the most pointed and entertaining social commentary, so that’s probably why it stands out. “Jasper” has the heir to a popular cartoon series immersed in her work, and trying to hold together her relationship with her wife when the cartoon character comes alive- the realization of Jasper is terrific, and it’s enjoyable. “Clean UR Room” has a son dicking around the house when the stuff on his bedroom floor comes alive- this is easily the weakest segment of the bunch. “Heroes of Time” has friends getting trapped in a MMO game, unable to get out- it’s a good leap up from “Clean UR Room,” but it doesn’t really have much to do with this premise, on the whole. The conclusion is “Gutcruncher,” with three weakling high schoolers having to battle a supernatural wrestler to pass gym and graduate- this goes on too long for such a thin premise, and just ends on a whimper, leaving us with a sense of disappointment, in general.
I’ll admit that I’m probably not the audience for this movie, and they might enjoy it more than I did. I do enjoy some campy horror tinged with absurd laughs, though, and while this film has some of that to offer, it’s not really enough to recommend it for anyone outside of its audience.
