Into The Dark: Midnight Kiss

So, Midnight Kiss is part of that Into the Dark horror anthology on Hulu, where every episode basically feels like its own standalone movie. This one is about 90 minutes long and leans hard into the slasher genre. The whole setup is centered on a tight-knit group of gay friends who head out to a fancy house in the desert to ring in New Year’s Eve. They have this long-standing tradition of playing a game called "Midnight Kiss," but things take a super dark turn when a masked killer starts picking them off one by one. It’s one of those stories where the pressure of trying to survive ends up airing out everyone's dirty laundry and testing how strong their friendships actually are.

The movie kicks off with a countdown from 2013, showing us snapshots of the group’s New Year's celebrations over the years until we hit 2019. Right at the start, we see a guy in Turks and Caicos get taken out by a masked murderer. Then we get to know the actual crew: there's Cam, who’s a photographer, and his best friend Hannah, the only girl in the group. Then you’ve got Joel, a doctor, and his new fiancé, Logan. Finishing off the pack is Zachary, the resident diva who's fully aware of how good she looks. Almost everyone in this circle has hooked up at some point, but Cam and Joel have the messiest history by far. Every year, they go to Joel’s massive desert place for their game. The rules are pretty straightforward: you have to find a total stranger, it has to be consensual, and after the kiss, you decide if they stay or go. Before they even get to the party, Zachary is murdered in a closet, but the others just assume he bailed and head out to the club anyway. While they're out having a blast, the killer is still stalking them. Cam meets a new guy, though it’s obvious there’s still something going on between him and Joel. When they finally get back to the house, they stumble onto Zachary’s body, and total chaos breaks out as the killer starts hunting them through the house. By the end, we find out the motive is directly tied to the "Midnight Kiss" game and how the group accidentally ruined someone’s life in the past.

It’s that classic situation where old friends get together and all the hidden drama and resentments start bubbling up. The movie actually touches on some interesting points about modern gay culture, too. Since it’s a gay slasher, it’s basically a given that everyone has slept with everyone else, and the friend dynamics are exactly what you’d expect from this kind of premise. As a viewer, you’re mostly just waiting to see who the killer is and what their deal is. I actually guessed who it was fairly early on, even though the movie tries to be sneaky about it, so the reveal wasn't a shock—but the "why" behind it was at least a bit interesting. The whole thing really rests on the actors' chemistry, and since many of them are familiar faces, the group vibe actually works pretty well. That said, it follows the slasher template so closely that it eventually feels like it's running on autopilot, and I didn't feel much of an emotional connection to what was happening.

One thing I'll say is that it isn't overly gory, but it definitely makes up for that with plenty of eye candy. I lost count of how many shower scenes there were—lots of shots of the guys from behind—and the nightclub scene pretty much turns into a full-on orgy. But once you look past the visuals, there really isn't anything about this movie that sticks with you. It’s just an average flick that’ll probably slip your mind the second the credits roll. From a production standpoint, it’s cool that it’s an unapologetic queer horror film, which is a genre that’s definitely picking up steam lately, but the execution here just didn't blow me away.

It's a typical slasher that trades deep scares for lots of skin and familiar tropes, making it a decent enough distraction for an hour and a half but nothing you'll remember by morning. It hits the marks for a "gay horror" night, but don't expect it to reinvent the wheel. (4/10)