Midnight Workout makes sense. As someone who works out twice a day, I often find myself exercising at odd hours and a 24-hour fitness center is most opportune. Anyone who works out at the gym knows your routine can be better if there’s fewer people around to take up the machines and steal the hand-weights. I’ve often wondered what would happen if something evil, or ya know – just a random psychopath (I live in New Jersey…) , were to waddle into the gym late at night. Would I see them coming? Would I be too tired to fight back? Would there be anyone around to help? This is basically the premise of Midnight Workout. A young man works out at a 24-hour gym while being stalked by an unseen predator. It’s the debut installment in a series of short films that’ll feature classic movie monsters and brand new creatures from the mind of writer, director and star Beau Yotty.
The stud in the short film (Beau) ends up being Don The Slayer, a character that’ll lead the series and one that’s destined to go down as an independent version of Van Helsing. His attacker, played by Kelley Anne, ends up being a vampire or a succubus or a demon in the form of a very attractive young lady. It’s the perfect disguise for a creature of the night. They’re equally matched, Don with his muscles and upper body strength and the creature with her own otherworldly powers, and I was excited to see them clash in the middle of an empty gym. But here’s where Midnight Workout takes a dive. We never actually get to see them fight to the dead; even though we do get a very gory shot of special effects blood. It was a lot of tension, suspense, and anticipation that was never delivered on. And though the twist ending was much appreciate, as a viewer I was left wanting more.
In the hope of giving constructive criticism so the future installments following Don The Slayer are more enticing to action-horror fans, I’d like to give some feedback that could improve the series. First, I’d like to say that I enjoyed it and it contained a classic VHS horror vibe that I think a lot of other people will enjoy, too. I even equated it to 1987’s Killer Workout before I realized it was more in the realm of the supernatural than an old-school slasher short. But, I will say that less is more, and length of time doesn’t equate quality. Midnight Workout is very David DeCoteau in nature; in that it contains too many shots of the leads walking around and not saying or doing anything exciting. A lot of this footage could have been cut to make it more cohesive. Speaking of cuts, the angles, frames, and cuts weren’t always cohesive and severely hindered the overall feeling of continuity.
As the forth production from Lonegunslinger Pictures, Midnight Workout lays the proper groundwork for a fun, slightly comedic series with supernatural flair. Again, my only criticism is that it could be shortened to make it sweeter and too the point. I’m definitely going to check back into this series when the second short film comes out, if not to see more of the acting chops from Beau Yotty. I looked him up and he has a number of cool credits including 2011’s Island of the Cannibal Death Gods, 2014’s Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre, and 2016’s Atomic Shark – which I low key loved. Produced by Sandra Mateu with cinematography from Nathan Yotty, Midnight Workout was a realistic look into the dangers that lurk in our society. Seeing them represented as monsters was very Buffy the Vampire-esque, and I cannot wait to see what creatures Don The Slayer encounters next. Final Score: 6.5 out of 10.
