I seldom dip my toes into the pool of short horror films, which feels foolish upon deeper examination. I think I have a tendency to not factor in how difficult both establishing and concluding a complete story in under 10 minutes truly is. With this put heavily into consideration, it could be argued that these bite-sized horror ventures are for more admirable when effective than their lengthier counterparts.

As aforementioned, my familiarity with this specific arena of genre film is limited. Truth be told, it typically takes a little coaxing to get me to seek a short out, and in the case of Night Drive, it was the boys over at Forever Midnight. The trio of podcasters (Jef Overn, Josh Staples, and Brian Henderson) banded together to create a visualization of a creepy tale told in episode 36 of their horror focused show, and I simply had to consume it – They’re a fun, hilarious bunch and I had to see what they managed to piece together.

Night Drive, as the name suggests, taps into the spooky world of isolated highways in the middle of the night. We’ve undoubtedly all seen Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) by now, and I’m sure most of us have pulled the whole ‘You wanna see something really scary?’ line while occupying the passenger seat at least once or twice. Driving in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night is fucking creepy, it simply cannot be denied. Regardless of circumstance, y’all know you’re about to get into some deep shit – Night Drive was no exception.

Y’know that scene in Halloween (1978) when Loomis (Donald Pleasence) pulls up to the mental hospital only to find the patients all wandering aimlessly on the lawn, right? Imagine a more intimate, isolated version of that and you’ve pretty much get what we’ve got goin’ on here. With a dash of supernatural elements added to this spooky concoction, you’re essentially submerged in an atmosphere of smothering claustrophobia where you just know escape isn’t plausible.

Though simple, this digestible tale worked exceedingly well. I had wanted to give these boys a glowing review anyway simply out of the deepest respect I have for their various contributions to the horror community in general, and I was stoked that I needn’t fabricate praise. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and felt the team effectively utilized each individual’s talents, in turn producing a finalized product that was pieced together perfectly.

Nothing more can be said, really. Peep the short on YouTube, and for the love of all that is holy, download the impeccable soundtrack on Spotify – This shit is seriously going to be on heavy rotation for me in the coming weeks, I just know it.

Bravo, Forever Midnight!