Terrified teenagers and Robert Englund go together like peas and carrots, so it’s reassuring to see that this trailer for the upcoming Midnight Man looks like it’s going to provide some real old school horror thrills. And, fortunately for the teenagers, Englund isn’t the titular midnight man, but rather a Loomis-like veteran providing exposition on the spooky goings-on. He’ll also likely die horribly at the beginning of the third act.
As for the trailer, it appears to show a kind of horror take on Jumanji, with a bunch of teenagers finding the remnants of a game that began 50 years ago and ended with the mysterious disappearance (or death) of one of the players. Unfortunately for them, the game turns out to be a summoning ritual for a demonic presence hellbent on subjecting them to their deepest fears, then murdering them. Their only chance for survival is to stick to the game’s arcane rulebook, only to find that the Midnight Man tends to cheat a bit.
It’s a solid premise for a horror film, and Travis Z (of the unnecessary Cabin Fever remake) looks as if he’s delivered the goods. Aside from genre stalwart Englund, the cast is comprised of Grayson Gabriel, Emily Haine and Lin Shaye, all of whom seem like the perfect combination of relatable and annoying enough to take some sadistic pleasure in watching them get menaced.
There’s only one thing stopping me from properly enjoying this trailer – and that’s billing Robert Englund as having starred in “Nightmare on Elmstreet.” Um, excuse me, it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Englund is about as iconic as you can get in modern horror and the least you could do is get the name of one of the all-time greatest horror films correct in your horror trailer.
That unfortunate business aside, I’ll definitely be checking out The Midnight Man. Will you? Let us know by dropping a comment in the usual place.
