Just like the opening Thursday night of Arrow Video FrightFest, Friday’s late-night showing, Midnight Peepshow, is an anthology. Whereas the first night movie, Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge, was very American, Midnight Peepshow is closer to home. Closer still to the Leicester Square venue as the bulk of the film happens in and around Soho, London.
Directed by a combination of Ludovica Musumeci, Airell Anthony Hayles, Andy Edwards, and Jake West, Midnight Peepshow spins a seductive web of interconnecting characters. It begins and ends with Musumeci’s wraparound story, The Peepshow. This segment introduces Graham (Richard Cotton) as he stumbles around Soho, drunk. After making it back to his hotel, he drinks into the early hours with a work colleague. Graham is clearly dealing with some trauma involving his wife and has turned to booze to drown out the noise. Having out-drunk his work mate, Graham goes stumbling around Soho in search of entertainment. There he finds a peepshow and decides to give it a go. The girls that he watches all have stories to share and so the anthology begins.
As a mechanism for switching between segments this story works. There are more connections between Graham and the women’s stories, though they don’t begin to become clear until late in the gate. This interconnectivity helps sell the wraparound, Midnight Peepshow almost passing as one cohesive whole rather than several little bits. All the stories, the wraparound included, make reference to some shady organisation called ‘The Black Rabbit’. As explained by Graham’s co-worker it’s a company that specialise in sexual fantasies, or as he so garciously remarks “whatever gets your dick hard or your pussy wet goes.” If the title and wraparound setting haven’t given it away, Midnight Peepshow revolves around our fascinations with sex, seduction and monagomy.
The first tale, ‘Personal Space’, sees a husband and wife get terrorised by a man who breaks into their flat. There’s much more to the story than the headline suggests, and whilst it’s an interesting idea, it’s one whose conclusion can be seen early on. That being said, Personal Space is perhaps one of the stronger ideas that director Airell Anthony Hayles has brought to the festival. The middle story – Fuck, Marry, Kill – from director Andy Edwards, is sure to please the late-night crowd. Its simple premise – Saw meets Ex on the Beach – is effortlessly communicated, and within seconds the audience knows what they are are in for. Whereas this prior knowledge on Personal Space was detrimental, here it’s vital as audience participation is encouraged.
A young woman, Alice (xx) and three of her former suitors awaken with electronic devices around their neck. Next they hear the voice of the ‘Games Master’ (voiced by Gremlins legend Zach Galligan) who states the rules of the new show they are on. Alice has to decide which of the men from her past she wants to fuck, marry and kill. Edwards doesn’t shy away from the Jigsaw trap style of his piece and as with Scare Package II, fans of the Saw franchise are going to have a blast with this section.
The final story that Graham bears witness to is his own. Directed by Jake West, The Black Rabbit travels back in time to meet a happier Graham and his wife Isabel (Sarah Diamond). Isabel signs up to the organisation and quickly goes down a dark rabbit-hole, which Graham desperately tries to save her from. Although packed with gore and titlation, West’s closing story feels longer than it needs to.It doesn’t out stay its welcome due to its length, but the overuse of time stamps announcing ‘ ‘3 Days Later,’ ‘One Week Later,’ etc.,’ gives the illusion that time is expanding.
Overall, Midnight Peepshow is exactly what it needs to be. Its midnight name and placing on the FrightFest schedule suit the film completely. Midnight Peepshow is sure to make FrightFester’s walks to their hotels a little more exciting too as they pass venues that they’ve just seen on-screen. An anthology of mixed success, there’s just enough to entice the curious.
Midnight Peepshow
Summary
Andy Edwards’ Fuck, Marry, Kill is a gleeful highlight in this otherwise slightly mixed anthology movie.
Midnight Peepshow was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2022.
