When it comes to the occult, there are about as many famous fictional investigators as there are ways to approach a ghost story. There’s Daffy Duck (voiced by Mel Blanc) bringing the silly, while John Constantine is more serious. There’s Angel (David Boreanaz), whose serious brooding methodology never stops, while the Ghostbusters are always ready to believe you. For each Scully and Mulder, there’s a Sam and Dean. The right tone for the case almost always involving the right kind of investigator. In his latest feature, writer/director Dave Boyle (Man from Reno; House of Ninjas) introduces audiences to the kind of horror thriller in which the filmmaker posits an idea that should make anyone’s blood run cold: if the afterlife is confirmed and has rules to prevent damage to the living, then the real danger in spectral investigation are the humans yet to pass through the veil. Having its world premiere in the Midnighter section of SXSW 2026, Boyle’s Never After Dark offers a clever twist on well-worn ideas so that expectations are the first thing thrown out, enabling audiences to go on a ride for their lives.
Experienced medium Airi (Moeka Hoshi) is approached by a property owner to come out to a remote location and investigate what the owner believes is a restless spirit. Upon arrival, Airi meets the owner, Teiko (Tae Kimura), and her son, Gunji (Kento Kaku), who each have their own feelings on the viability of Airi’s presumed skills. Operating under the condition of being alone on the property, Airi sets herself up in one of the rooms and begins exploring the once-occupied hotel only to discover that Teiko is correct — there is a spirit wandering the property; however, it isn’t the threat Airi should be worried about.
Never After Dark is a remarkable work for the way it walks between worlds both in-narrative and from a technical standpoint. From the initial introduction, Boyle sets an incredible tone that borrows from Stanley Kubrick, evoking the journey to the Overlook Hotel (The Shining), while also being delightfully understated and sensible in the way it establishes Airi as she drives to the location in her station wagon loaded with all that she owns. As Airi winds down the road lined with leafless trees, isolation rising upon her from either side, one doesn’t feel fear or tension; rather, there’s a sensation of everydayness coming from inside the car. Audiences are primed to expect tension in horror and Boyle knows this, the cold open utilizing cinematography techniques common in the genre, and, yet, this new sequence subverts that same expectation. Impressively, this carries forward through the film with the introduction of the spirit who appears and/or calls at specific periods, whom Airi generally reacts to like an IT member attending to a work ticket. This inserts a great deal of humor into Never After Dark as the horror turns procedural, Airi’s blasé approach indicating that what may be otherworldly and disquieting to us is merely her office for the day. When audiences hear “remote location + spiritual occurrences + medium,” we’re entering Poltergeist (1982), Magic Cop (1990), or The Frighteners (1996) territory wherein the ride comes from the identification of and torment by whatever malignant spirit must be defeated; therefore, Boyle’s script sets out (and accomplishes) to change those expectations from the beginning, even while delivering almost exactly what the genre calls for, the marriage of the two birthing moments of pure ingenuity wherein tension comes from being uncertain what one should be afraid of and when to be afraid for Airi. This also means that when Airi gets nervous, we need to tighten our buttholes and get ready.
Moeka Hoshi as Airi in NEVER AFTER DARK. Photo Credit: XYZ Films. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Supporting the characterization of Airi is some wonderful cinematography from Patrick Ouziel (Bite Size Halloween). The staging of shots that evoke past cinematic memory, the choice of uses small pans for reveals or character beats over edits, and utilizing the production design of the shooting space to create the sensation of a Dutch angle without moving the camera — these are but a few techniques utilized and they all speak to a specific intentional choice of in-world movie magic. By opting for as many in-camera shots as possible (versus relying on CG or other non-on-set choices), not only does what’s on screen look remarkable, it backs up the thematic concepts of where the danger really lies: not in the ethereal or manufactured, but the corporeal. One of the best examples of this is in the presentation of day versus night in the same shot as Airi transcends the physical plane for the spiritual one. If she does this during the day, the world transforms from warmly lit orange/yellow into blue/black and vice versa if she does so at night. The transformation of the space she’s in, typically the hotel, is done through natural lighting and shading, camera tricks to transmute time of day within second, which does look a bit like magic. This doesn’t even get into the prosthetic and other body horror-related elements used throughout the film to make us squirm through the oft powerful combination of special effects and sound design.
All of this, however, only works if the audience invests in its lead: Hoshi (Shōgun). Her performance as Airi is the first and main hurdle as to how audiences are going to respond to the film. Boyle unequivocally tells the audience whether Airi is someone to be believed as a medium (versus as a con artist), thereby removing doubts we might have and keeping those external. This choice by Boyle lightens the narrative load without reducing tension on Airi, which affords Hoshi the space to perform Airi as someone used to accusation and who’s tired of the job, while also have room for introspection and doubt regarding Airi’s path. When one starts treating each job as commonplace, accidents happen through overconfidence and experiential-based presumption, aspects which Hoshi captures in her performance thereby making Hoshi a human character we can get behind and worry about, even when she has total disregard for her own safety (see: aforementioned overconfidence). The humanness of Hoshi’s performance allows us investment in Airi, not as a medium, but as a person; a distinction that matters when life and death hang in the balance.
Because Never After Dark wears its influences boldly and its procedural-like approach doesn’t lend itself to much fright at first, some horror hounds may long for daylight. Do give this title time. Allow its characters, their environment, and their predicament to expand before you tap out. There is a time and place for bloodlust and an offering is made to those who long for it in their cinema experience; however, credit to Boyle for not giving in immediately. Rather, knowing full well what audiences want to see, Never After Dark frequently leans into the expectations with its own specific approach. This push-pull makes the whole of the film playful and fun while entirely thrilling and unpredictable when the terror starts to set in. In a longer, more spoiler-filled review, one could write at length about the presumed influences on Boyle’s script, the homages in the cinematography, and the promising approach utilized to freshen up the “medium in a ghost story” horror tale. For now, though, enjoy what is and stay alert so that you yourself doesn’t pass through the veil until you’re ready.
Screening during SXSW 2026.
Releasing in Japan June 2026.
For more information, head either to the official Never After Dark SXSW webpage or Japanese film webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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