The Teacher Wants to Swap Ghost Stories After Midnight

I think After Midnight (1989) is perhaps a good example of horror at the end of the decade. Bloodless, tame, roping some of the old tropes, including a wraparound with haunted McWhirter that is very reminiscent of Dead of Night (1945). McWhirter looks as if she is constantly seeing ghosts, knowing how events play out as they happen. Ramy Zada is the teacher in the “Philosophy of Fear” college course that McWhirter dreads attending, urged by her excited pal, Pamela Adlon (of the FX series, Better Things), to get her act together. When Zada pulls out a gun in class and points it right into the forehead of a cocky jock student (who later seeks revenge that rainy, stormy night with ax in hand), I couldn’t help but think of how today’s generation would react. 1989 might as well have been 50 years ago. A lot of horrible things have happened on campuses since then. At any rate, Zada pulls a stunt where he pretend blows the back of his head out to frighten the class with its realism! Some students later gather at his home to swap realistic scary stories…those told (a birthday party surprise undermined by an accidental beheading, teen girls on a night out being chased by a vagabond psycho with a butcher knife and pack of bloodthirsty canines, and a graveyard shift hotel telephone operator in a leg cast must try to keep herself safe from a madman while her boss, the security guard, and a tenant he obsesses over die around her) aren’t all that exciting or visceral. The lack of gore is attributed to crackdowns by the MPAA and studios no longer interested in ultra-violence. Even when the teacher goes ballistic on the student who sought to get even with him, chopping on him with the brought ax, it isn’t particularly shocking. Heading into the 90s, the genre would stagnate until the 2000s brought on the Saws, Final Destinations, and Rob Zombie bloodbaths. There is one severed head that looks up and speaks that is decent effects scene, but Zada’s burnt skeleton carrying an ax is a bit silly. I guess there’s fear of dogs running you down and a Rosenberg not known for playing a stalking lunatic who keeps bombing the call center with persistent checkups on a tenant who won’t take being lied to. Helgenberger, of CSI fame, is a welcome presence as the night operator trying to keep Rosenberg at bay. If I’m honest, this was a bit of a yawner. The supposed creepy house McClure (Jimmy Olsen of the Reeve Superman films) is stuck in trying to find his wife before picking up the available sword from a coat of arms to protect himself isn’t all that atmospheric either. I’ve seen this about twice before and the flick just never quite engages me except for Helgenberger due to her charisma and personality. Zada tries to give us sinister eyes and vibes, so that when he does go berserk it makes sense. **