Did you people see the same film I saw?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is a movie that starts off with a pedestrian vs auto accident that starts a downward spiral. It is all about bad decisions and who you can trust. The story was really thin without a lot of depth or character development. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't impressive either.

A gloomy setting that projects light fog and early morning dew. A hooey story that unfolds like a blandly horrific stage play. A torture scene where some guy's fingers are driven through a chair with hammer and nails. Another torture scene where a girl's face is struck three times and all she does is put a tiny bandage on her forehead (huh?). It's all here in 2017's Midnighters (my latest write-up).Taking place on New Year's Eve, reckoning itself as poor man's Kubrickian, and distributed by Eagle Films, Midnighters chronicles a couple whose marriage may be on the downslope. Half-drunk and possibly upset with each other, they accidentally drive over a man as he's walking down a desolate road. Being that they're in the middle of nowhere, the husband and wife take the dead body and then later on, try to cover everything up. Unknowns Ward Horton, Dylan McTee, and Alex Essoe round out the cast. Their acting is anywhere between overreaching to just plain middling.Midnighters has its director (Julius Ramsay) clearly being inspired by 1998's A Simple Plan. "Plan" is a mean and lean drama that leaves you shaken and disturbed. Its varied twists and turns are effective and well, "simple". Midnighters on the other hand, over-complicates itself. It may have "Plan's" similar musical score but it surprisingly harbors a lack of suspense. With its weird plot contrivances and its push for trying to be too clever, Midnighters goes AWOL as thriller-based cinema. It never quite distresses you like it should.Julius Ramsay's direction is palatable so the biggest culprit for Midnighters has to be its shambolic screenplay (written by Ramsay's brother, Alston Ramsay). Alston creates a film experience where you don't have a clear idea of who the protagonists or the antagonists are. Obviously inexperienced at his craft, Alston seems to literally be making up stuff as he goes along. Oh and he insults the audience by thinking it's a victory for the heroine to escape with $50,000 (that's a nothing amount in today's world). In conclusion, I've reviewed two films recently with the words "midnight" in their titles. Guess what, Midnight Special and now Midnighters are both pretty lame. Thankfully we have 1978's Midnight Express to fall back on (ha-ha). Rating: 2 stars.

Known for as a film editor, Julius Ramsay makes his directorial debut in this, his first full length film, following his only four TV series - two of which were Walking Dead episodes. And what an outstanding job he did in directing his cameras, and his cast. He teams up with (his brother) Alston Ramsay's first ever role as writer, and together they create a wonderfully tense, low-budget film noir that benefits greatly from its perfect length, pace, tautness and lack of pretension.By focusing more on suspense and tension with a perfect touch of gore, the Ramsay brothers have crafted an economical and effective alternative to the many disappointing big-budget entries into this genre.The primarily novice C-list, and a few B-list actors were surprisingly impressive. The score was perfect. The cinematography on point. Yes there were a few light plot issues, but still much better writing than some seasoned professional high-paid Hollywood writers.Aside from that, this film was pretty much flawless - considering its a low budget and B-grade entry level film. Would I see it again and recommend it? Absolutely! A well deserved 8.5 rounded up up a 9/10

Great story, suspenseful ambience, creepy piano score - it's got it all! But seriously, a gripping, edge-of-your seat flick with solid performances particularly from late entrant Ward Horton.