Friday, February 19, 2021

After Midnight (2019)


Synopsis
Ten years into his relationship, Hank's girlfriend Abby leaves him with just a parting note. While Hank slowly loses himself, thinking about their relationship and its decline, he also starts to slowly lose his grip on reality as a monster attacks his home every night.

Review
Let me say that while I thoroughly enjoyed this one, the synopsis and trailer are misleading. This movie is a long and poignant look at the founding and decay of a relationship. Jeremy Gardner and Brea Grant do a phenomenal job as Hank and Abby. Hank isn't a perfect character and as the movie goes on you get to see more of his flaws. However, ultimately he's still a relatable character. Abby is a delightful love interest and her side of things is definitely understandable. The supporting cast does a great job too. In particular, I loved Hank's hopeless best friend, Wade. There is some monster investigation and a wicked fight at one point, but this really isn't a horror flick. The collapse of Hank's life is much more of a beast than any horror creature and that is the focus of this film. The unknown monster, which could be an indigenous creature or an alien. is more of a framing piece. This isn't a monster movie. This is a movie about relationships. loss, and growth.
In Your Game
I try to keep these things spoiler free, but I will say there is a creature and it looks awesome. Here are Dark Places & Demogorgons stats for it.

After Midnight Creature
Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice/Points: 5 (22 HP)
Move: 20
Actions: 1
Attack: 2 Claws (1d6) or 1 Tail Stinger (1d4 + poison) 
Bonuses: +3 to Melee attacks, +2 to damage, +3 to stealth rolls
Special: The creature can move in a straight line and still make an attack.  The creature's poison causes anyone to fail a save against it to suffer disadvantage on all physical rolls until rest for an hour.
Morale: 7
Terror: 12
HDE: 4

Here's a bonus disgusting bit of gaming material. 

Some barflies are so desperate they'll drink the melted ice and overflow that fills up a bar mat. This noxious mat juice is known as a gorilla fart. While it will get someone drunk quickly, you must make a Poison Saving Throw with Disadvantage to not throw up. It reportedly tastes like "goin' blind."

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