Five stereotypical hard-partying teens get together at a secluded house, mostly just farting around until Shane (Guy Wilson) comes up with the idea to act out a Pagan ritual he's read about online: "The Midnight Game". It involves 22 knocks on the door, drops of each persons' blood, a circle of salt, and lit candles, and its rules must be followed to the letter. Otherwise, terror awaits, based on the group members' individual fears.

The teens find that surviving the night is easy enough. The terror actually begins next day, starting with erratic behavior and culminating in various nightmarish hallucinations.

"The Midnight Game" is noteworthy for co-story author / director A. D. Calvo's attempt to go for the "slow burn", parceling out its horrors carefully. While it can be amusing to watch the teens become increasingly on edge, and start sniping at each other, Calvo's film *promises* big horrors but delivers very little. Ultimately, the film is disappointing. A shame, really, as the young cast do what they can with roles that are not exactly fleshed out to any great degree. For this viewer, Valentina de Angelis ('As the World Turns') is a standout as Jenna; veteran actor Robert Romanus ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High") comes in for a quick cameo right at the end.

Everything here is pretty average: the script, the characters, the (repetitive) score, the cinematography, etc. There's really not much to recommend "The Midnight Game".

Inspired by supposedly true events.

Four out of 10.

Five teens decide to play a game they learned from on line. All the character build up is done through them telling of their worse fears as they enter into The Midnight Game. During the game they must keep their candle lit and have 10 seconds to light it once it goes out (no lighters). If that fails you must quickly create a circle of salt and stay in it until 3:33.

Needless to say, the kids screw up and must face their worse fears, none of which involve a roofie and a frat. Of course the fun way to play the game is naked and on acid watching "Hellraiser" in the dark. but then again what isn't.

The game is rather drab, mostly due to the bland fears expressed. Jenna (Valentina de Angelis) who feared going crazy kept the story from falling flat on its face. Dialogue was rather lame. Writers dropped the ball.

Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Midnight Game" (R - 2013 - US)

Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Demon

My Score: 5.1

Cast=4 Acting=6 Plot=7 Ending=7 Story=3 Scare=3 Jump=5 F/X=5 Creep=6 Demon=5

After playing a pagan ritual on a dare, a group of high school students find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of their worst fears.

Full or foreshadowing, this movie was so predictable that it made me laugh. It was very cliché, but still a fun little movie with a couple of jumps and creeps to raise the heart rate a bit. I liked how the movie ended, although very predictable. Is it worth watching...sure I guess for the paranormal fan. Otherwise, you're not missing anything if you don't. Personally, I want to play the game for real and see what happens...who's with me?