After Midnight (1989)

“Terror Has No Curfew.” In this fun, low-budget horror anthology directed by brothers Jim and Ken Wheat, two friends – “Allison” (Jillian McWhirter) and “Cheryl” (Pamela Segall) attend a new college course, “The Psychology of Fear,” taught by creepy, borderline psychotic professor “Edward Derek” (Ramy Zada). Allison is really apprehensive about the course, sensing that something dreadful will happen. Sure enough, Derek manages to literally scare the piss out of his class during his first “lecture.” After being reprimanded for his unorthodox teaching methods, Derek invites a select group of students to his house to continue his study of fear, which involves them sitting around the dark, candlelit house on a dark, stormy night and telling three scary tales – “The Old Dark House” (stranded couple seeks refuge in abandoned mansion), “A Night on the Town” (four high school girls are terrorized by maniac at a gas station and his pack of wild dogs) and “All Night Messenger” (employee working night shift at messaging service gets harassed and stalked by psycho caller). The plots are rather predictable and, in at least one case, you could drive a truck through the plot holes but each story is fairly entertaining nevertheless. It’s the perfect mindless entertainment for us insomniacs to enjoy in the middle of a dark, stormy night. The film’s surreal ending pays homage to the classic British horror anthology Dead of Night (1945).

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