User reviews

Today people tend to claim a movie is a masterpiece and cinematic triumph or it is a total disaster, the worst movie I ever watched etc. The Midnight Man imho does not belong in either category, it is a small horror movie with a story-line based on a game that evokes a dark, evil entity and the price of the game is one's life and if one loses the game you get a fine cruel death. (Well, some dark souls could rightfully argue that a cruel death is still a kind of good reward, because, you know, who wants to die a common, total boring death!?)

So, in short, for sure there is nothing new in the western front, but what we get are decent actors (Lin Shaye, Robert Englund, also the young actors do not disappoint) and a good production value with some nice value of gore and splatter and a good, dark atmosphere and a very bad guy.

Yes, this movie is no Oscar material or made to be someday called cvlt, but The Midnight Man is a pro made movie and imo for the aficionado of horror a good snack in-between. My rate 5, maybe a 6.

The film isn't terrible, more so the basic premise.

I found myself just constantly asking questions as nothing made sense.

The main question being, why would ANYONE play this "game"? There seems to be no benefit to anyone playing, even if they win?

Poorly written, poorly directed, poorly edited. This movie is a muddled mess, with characters doing even more stupid things than usual. Your friend is in immanent danger and can't leave the room, but you can. You leave to get something that will help. Instead of rushing back to your friend you decide to have a romantic conversation with your romantic interest in the hallway. Then you decide it would be a good idea to have a 10 or 15 minute conversation with another character, all the while aware that your friend in the next room could be dying.

Midnight Man is a poorly produced entry in the urban legend sub-genre, grab-bagging various horror tropes, and blandly applying them to a script which has little internal logic and a stupid ending to cap it all off. One of the worst horror movies I've seen in quite some time.

Wow did this movie manage to hit a lot of pet peeves with me. It's not well acted, it's got a LOT of really convoluted and seemingly nonsensical rules, characters are wildly stupid or just immediately buy into this supernatural horror story for seemingly no apparent reason and worst of all, this seems like it could actually be an entertaining concept. I like the idea of the Midnight Man, but this delivery was awful to me. I suppose, as a caveat I should say that I didn't know until after the movie that this was based on a legit urban legend. Maybe if I'd grown up with this or ever heard it before it would've made a little more sense but even so, it doesn't change the overwhelming stupidity of these characters.

I really can't imagine ever recommending this to anyone that doesn't enjoy bad horror movies, I know those people are out there. To everyone else, there are much better movies, go watch one of them and let this slip through the cracks. Maybe someday someone will try their hand at this again and make a better version.

I had no expectations going into this movie and was still disappointed. Biggest caveat is there were zero reasoning or purpose for the characters to even start the process. You would think that after a movie like 'Cabin In The Woods' that horror directors would step up their game to ensure that they are not just an unintended parody of themselves. But alas, must not have gotten memo.

Main actress unable to act...check Dumb boyfriend/husband that goes along without questioning...check Left alone in dark room....check Having non-nonsensical conversation while someone is trying to kill you...check Do not run away when trouble arrives...check

By the time this movie ends you no longer cares who will make it or not.

I'm a fan of Creepypasta. This movie was straight from a story called "The Midnight Game". The movie did a decent job of explaining how the game is played and sticking to the original Creepypasta storyline. The performance of Ms. Shaye was Excellent. It did get a bit muddled in places, and some bits were added that I think should of either been omitted or explained better. But all in all, one of the better Creepypasta adaptations I've seen.

What is the mark of a good horror movie (hell, a good movie PERIOD)? Does it pull you out of your shitty reality for a while and entertain the crap out of you. That's the formula. In that regard, I have no complaints about "The Midnight Man".

You have Robert Englund and Lin Shaye together again. He is mesmerizing as always and she is creepier than the titular Midnight Man himself. You can't go wrong there.

Are there plot holes and times when the suspension of disbelief wavers a bit? Sure. However, they did such a good job with the atmosphere and effects, generally speaking, that you really don't get too put out by this. At least, I didn't.

I have no reservations about recommending this one. It's worth an hour and a half of your life.

The Midnight Man stars horror legends Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Lin Shaye (Insidious) in this remake of the 2013 Irish horror movie Midnight Man and presumed inspired by The Midnight Game, the 2013 film adapted from the creepypasta of the same name. Our legendary icon's portrayals are not at their best, however it's not the acting that disengages the audience, but rather writer and director Travis Zariwny's bland script. Zariwny successfully creates a few moments of tension throughout but the missed opportunities are too many.

In the well-maintained attic fully furnished with a curious male mannequin and a gun with three bullets, a sealed box containing the pieces needed to play The Midnight Game, is discovered. The cursed pagan game awaits innocent curiosity to thus bring forth a demonic spirit, The Midnight Man-an evil so smart, its strength lies in its savvy to trick players to their demise.

Follow the rules and you will be safe, don't and you will die! Only problem with the 'rules' of this game is that time and time again we observe, the Midnight Man does not like to follow rules as he "does not like to lose."

Decades before in the very mansion Alexandra (Gabrielle Haugh) now resides as caretaker to her declining grandmother Ana (Lin Shaye), The Midnight Game was played with dire consequence. Once again the box is finally opened by Alex and her friend Miles (Grayson Gabriel), who will wager everything for a few hours of trying to stay alive. Although one can't help but wonder "why on earth would anyone would want to play this 'game'?"

Suspend your disbelief as we may for even the best of horror films, but unfortunately The Midnight Man still falls short on scares. Contributed to bland CGI, the monster's lackluster appeal mixed with its obvious Halloween store allure, and The Midnight Man is a bore. The fact that the imminently endangered teens have full sentence conversations with the raspy voiced Midnight Man himself takes away from the suspense at once.

Quite possibly the most absurd aspect of the film happens when in the midst of fighting off The Midnight Man, Alex and Miles find themselves answering a knock on the door by a third friend, Kelly (Emily Haine) who we discover is well versed on the Urban Legend and therefore remains in the house to help her friends. "You can get out now," Alexandra tells Kelly. "I wouldn't desert my friends," she replies. (She probably should have heeded the warning if you catch my drift.)

The Midnight Man is a glossy, commercial looking film that will keep viewers tuned in from start to finish. As a background movie or out of desperation, the film will suffice. The biggest crime though that The Midnight Man has commited is that you will likely not remember much of it after a short time.

As most horror movies over the past years, this movie has the same rings as others that have come before it.

Having two horror icons such as Englund and Shaye you expect a certain quality about it. I enjoyed it, had some jump scares, a mental mind bump and an ending which was slightly predictable but still played out well.

I recommend if you watch it to watch with an open mind and just enjoy this horror for what its worth. Slight gore, jump scares and a fairly good and twisted storyline.

As a stand alone movie, it's great. The kills are solid. The Midnight Man is creepy AF! The cinematography is spot on. For an Indie horror movie it looks like a big budget movie. The production value of the film sprints passed what we see on bigger budgets like Insidious, Wish Upon, and The Bye Bye Man. This movie is leagues above the standard low budget fair. I watched The Midnight Man with a couple friends and we all screamed at the scares and grimaced at the gore. It's great fun. The characters are acceptablly believable and Lin Shaye is awesome as is Robert Englund. Granted there are a couple problems in the script but not enough to hate on. After an bloody explosive opening the first act drags on a little as it attempts to get us into the actual Midnight Game. However, if you are in the mood for a horror movie that doesn't follow the classic tropes of cheerleaders running through the forest then this is your movie. The teens are portrayed against stereotypes and the whole film feels like a weird creepy fable unfolding in a non linear fashion. The practical effects are excellent as is the face changing Midnight Man.. he uses different masks to show his emotions... never seen that before! Travis Zariwny (aka Travis Z ) does a slick job directing this remake of Rob Kennedy's original film. Travis Z's craft is solid and his artistic stamp is all over this gorgeous looking movie. The script feels a little loose but we forgive him for that... Best line of the film goes to Robert Englund when he turns to the teenagers and says, "Bait? I'm afraid your friend is no longer bait, she's the appetizer." love me some horror cheese.

Final Word. We liked it. Well worth a movie night for film and horror fans alike.

4 -

I already knew, even before watching it, that this was a pretty bad movie, but I didn't expect it to take itself so seriously since the beginning. And with all that, the acting was kinda crap and the story was one of the most recycled plots of all time. But the main issue with this movie is definitely the horror factor, because believe me, there's basically none : the entity is just lame and keeps talking throughout the film, shutting down any feeling of distress or fear the public could have towards it. Even the jumpscares were the most idiotics I've seen in a long time, definitely lazy and predictable to me, and i'm not even a jumpscare fan.

Easily avoidable, save your time

Another missed opportunity to have a decent horror film, had a good horror storyline to follow but did it in a poor manner with less than average acting only lin shaye was great, England was his average self( excluding as freddy) the rest if the cast especially the 3 teenagers are absolutely terrible. Not to be mean but choose a different career acting isnt it. Direction was adequate cinematography was adequate thus an adequate score of 5.once was enough, also great opening that set the stage higher than they could maintain.

I was looking for another film with the same title. Little did I know there were other films with the same title in 2016, 2017 and 2018. I should have stopped watching as soon as I saw Robert Englund. But the opening scene with the three children was quite good that I continued to watch. The film's atmosphere and location setting were very good. I really liked the home and thought it would have made an excellent setting for a more serious horror film. This film had Lin Shaye, the Parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier of the Insidious trilogy. During the first ten minutes I thought this film was going to be good, but oh-oh ho ho, how wrong I was. What a deceptive movie this was. It seemed like a prank to the serious horror and suspense movie buff.

The screenplay was so awful, it was laughable. If you have seen the Geico Insurance commercial where they make fun of characters making awful decisions in horror films; the one where the killer with the hockey mask and chainsaw shakes his head in disbelief of how easy the characters make his job of killing them? Then you will get an idea of what you are in for when you play this movie. If they could condense this film to a few minutes, it would have made a good Halloween SNL skit. I was seriously disappointed that Lin Shaye would make such an awful film.

But if you are looking for a comedy and not a serious horror film, this one might satisfy. I had watched two serious European horror films before this one so my expectations were a little high. Watching this film felt like falling off the Empire State Building observation deck. Me? It had me cringing more often than laughing. A supernatural killer that cheats at his own games? Come On....Leave that kind of comedy for Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2. Even at comedy, it is a poor attempt at only a few small laughs and lots mind-numbing character dialog.

Btw, Anyone who gives this film a 10 out of 10 is obviously a friend of the filmmaker and they aren't doing them any favors. People get upset when they are lured into watching a film based on false reviews. I'm giving it a 1 out of 10.

It is certainly not going to win any awards, it will certainly keep you entertained. Lin Shaye and Robert Englund bring their A game as usual, and the young actors are actually not that bad. This movie definitely has its flaws, but you will never be bored while watching it

It's just like spongebob squarepants... "The Camping Episode" "THAT WAS AN OVAL!!! IT HAS TO BE A CIRCLE"

Please don't waste your time watching this its awful. Terrible acting, totally not scary it should never have been done.

If you like your films acted by students, filmed on a phone with a budget of the price of a coffee ... this film is NOT for you!!! I see the trolls have been on this one, unjust bad reviews, the acting, quality, visuals, budget and storyline all good. It's not an oscar winner and not a 'conjuring scare you silly film', but its a good little horror with some strong well done violence and petite scares, lovely performances from cult and familiar faces.... trolls you have your cheap student horror flicks with generic film posters that have nothing to do with the film ... and i'll stick to 'REAL' horror films !!!

The trailer made me watch this film but oh boy I was wrong. Skip this one!