Close Before Midnight

It exists in its own universe and is *not* part of the Crypt Monster Universe or the Featured Creature series.

## Production Information

### Release Date

* October 26th, 2015 (Facebook)
* October 13th, 2017 (YouTube)

### Producer(s)

* Nathan Carden, Jack Davis, Alex Goyette (producers)
* Brian Gillespie, Kate Krantz (co-producers)

## Standalone Film Navigation

### Next

Slut

***Close Before Midnight*** is a 2015 short horror film written and directed by Alex Goyette and released by Crypt TV. It stars Logan Paul.

The film was originally released on Crypt TV's Facebook page on October 26th, 2015, and again on their YouTube channel on October 13th, 2017.

## Summary

A man must close his Halloween shop before midnight or he will be facing his worst nightmare.

## Plot

The film opens on an employee handbook for Jackeline's Halloween Store. The book opens to the first rule, which reads "Never stay past midnight". As the clock on the next page strikes twelve, monstrous black shapes come out of the clock and towards the viewer.

On Halloween night, the shop is shown completely empty, with a jaunty old song playing inside. The song is coming from a small television on the cashier's desk, with the cashier himself, Miles, asleep on the desk. There is a rattling from somewhere in the store that causes Miles to wake up, and he looks around the shop to find it empty. He turns off the television next to him and prices the item he was sleeping on before putting it in the box on his other side. He looks behind him, only to find that the digital clock above him reads 11:59 PM, and his eyes fall on the sign that reads "Close before midnight". Miles runs out from the desk and starts to blow out the candles burning in the jack o' lanterns around the shop as he tries to beat the clock. Unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve, and the numbers below it glitch out as the hand of one of the decorations begins to move.

Miles runs to the back of the shop and starts to unlock the padlocks hanging on the door as the decoration behind him turns its head. Something falls on the ground behind him, causing Miles to turn around and see a small ghost girl decoration on the floor. After a few moments, the decoration rises on its own and suddenly rushes towards Miles. Miles starts to run from the decoration, running through the store as the decorations around him start to come to life and try to grab him. As he runs through to the stock room, the jack o' lanterns suddenly explode with green flames. Miles makes it into the stock room and locks the door, sitting on the floor in front of the door. As he tries to catch his breath, the lights start to rapidly flicker and the decoration behind him moves its head. Miles cowers at the door as the boxes of decorations fall off the shelves and their contents climb out before the film cuts to black.

The next morning, several skeleton decorations are shown outside the store -- including a brand-new one with a name tag reading "Logan".

## Trivia

* Logan Paul's character is never named in the film's credits, but is credited on IMDb as "Miles". The name tag on his skeleton at the end of the film could be a reference to Paul himself.
* The film that plays on the portable television is the 1952 animated short *Duck and Cover.* Funded by the US Federal Civil Defense Administration, the film was made to teach schoolchildren what to do in the event of a nuclear explosion.
	+ Additionally, when Miles is attacked in the stock room, he curls up and tries to cover his head, just like the film instructs the viewer.
* Miles is wearing an albeit incomplete Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume.

## References

1. ↑ Crypt TV. “CLOSE BEFORE MIDNIGHT | Rule #1: Never stay past midnight. | By Crypt TV.” Facebook, Crypt TV; October 26th, 2015.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Crypt TV. "Close Before Midnight | Short Film | Crypt TV." YouTube, Crypt TV; October 13th, 2017.
3. ↑ "Close Before Midnight (Short 2015)" IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5191136/fullcredits/?ref\_=tt\_cl\_sm
4. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5191136/fullcredits/?ref\_=tt\_cl\_sm