Last Night at Terrace Lanes

Trying to hold a dare night, a couple of friends decide to sneakily hold a date at a bowling alley where her dad works where they find the festivities interrupted by a gang of ravenous cultists looking to fulfill a special prophecy and force them to rely on their survivalist skills to stay alive and stop them.

This was a fairly fun slasher with a lot to like here. Among the better features here is the solid and likable setup that puts everything into place with enough elements to have a solid starting point. The initial start here with the group arriving at the closing facility to try to have the chance to hook up with each other since the couples are secretly in love with the other against their knowledge but she can't let them know the truth about her dad being a worker there sets this one up rather well. It's enough to enjoy the human drama of the situation as the couples try to make their moves on each other in the date which makes everything with the intruding cult looking to use the inhabitants to fulfill a prophecy in their order and begin to slaughter everyone for that purpose that all propels the film along nicely. That allows the film to feature a wide variety of encounters with the cult trying to take over the facility killing off the various guests. The initial ambush when they emerge from the bowling lanes in unison and take out the guests in gruesome, brutal encounters all throughout the central lanes as the surprise of the whole scenario allows them to take advantage to great effect. The later scenes, where the group are able to fight back against the cult with their survivalist tactics or the cult trying to overwhelm the group with their superior numbers as they try to complete their mission statement behind the slaughter, not only generate several solid gags based on the location for it's kills but has enough to like with the light-hearted atmosphere to keep things moving along to a fantastic pace, providing a lot to really like about it. There's not much that holds this one down. The main issue with this one is the seemingly underwhelming structure about the cult itself who are pretty much left to the barest of threads to figure out what they're all about. Given just a glimmer of their purpose in the cold open that never really answers anything about them or what they're all about, the entirety of their assault at the bowling alley is glossed over as well and is pretty much given a barely there explanation about needing bodies to finish this special event in their lore but that is never spelled out. This makes everything feel quite confusing and rather underwhelming about who they are and what they're doing, and it highlights what happens in the finale which is quite confusing to see plat out with no context as it serves to conveniently get everything sorted out without doing anything so there's just a few issues here to being it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Something of an 80s vibe, but with gore effects even more primitive than what was being done in that decade. A lot of the people we're introduced to get killed pretty quickly. The kills themselves are quick too, no bother being taken to add any suspense. The bowling alley location felt underutilized, like they should have taken more time to study the place and storyboard.

Having a Heaven's Gate-esque cult was a decent idea.

"Grab Your Balls, We're Going Bowling" was an amusing song.

Francesca Capaldi is certainly cute. She's not given much to do. None of the characters here have depth or development.

I can't recommend it. Best advice that could be given to a prospective viewer would be to keep looking elsewhere. Odds are pretty good that they'll be able to hit on something better.

Boring and starting with a lot of blood without exciting "Last Night at Terrace Lanes" attempts to blend mystery with psychological drama but falls flat due to its slow pacing and lackluster execution. The plot meanders without clear direction, failing to engage viewers or build suspense effectively. Despite a promising premise of unraveling secrets in a secluded setting, the characters lack depth, making it hard to invest emotionally. The film's attempt at atmosphere feels forced rather than natural, leaving audiences disconnected and ultimately disinterested. Overall, "Last Night at Terrace Lanes" struggles to maintain momentum, resulting in a disappointing viewing experience that fails to deliver on its potential.

I won't lie, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece here. The film was clearly made with an indie budget, and I went in knowing and respecting that. I'm also a huge fan of novelist Adam Cesare, who wrote this film (although not the original story).

The first 30 minutes or so had me hooked - the cult was creepy, their motive was mysterious, and the confined setting of a bowling alley is perfect for a close-quarters slasher. At a certain point, it started to completely fall apart. Horrible acting by the lead guy in particular. I wasn't sure if they made his character intentionally ridiculous or not but it did not serve the film - he was neither funny nor convincing.

And after a cringe-worthy climax, the movie literally just sort of ends. No explanation. What was the goal of the cult? What was their grand mathematical plan? A lack of explanation can be very effective, leaving certain things to the viewers' imaginations. This was not the case here.

Horror comedies are obviously difficult to make - they mostly end up either filled with jump scares or too much "comedy" that rarely, if ever, sticks the landing.

Steer clear of this one, but don't let that stop you from checking out Cesare's novels - the man knows horror and he knows how to write it well.

I thought the cast was great I enjoyed all of them and the characters, from the main ones to the short lived getting their fingers sliced off! It's listed as a comedy but with the exception of a couple laughs I actually found it to be more thriller horror which I loved. Thought the story line was great and loved the father Daughter moments they tossed in making it feel real, I thought the actors playing Bruce and Kennedy did a great job. Wasn't bored at all I enjoyed it till the end, the story line flowed and continued without any laps in entertainment! I loved the outfits the killers were wearing as well, not over done and basic which to me is always creepier! I love finding gems like this and hope more ppl enjoy it, I'd totally recommend.