‘The Night Time World’ Review: A Vampire Anthology Film with Mixed Results

There are some definite highs and lows to be seen in The Night Time World.

The Night Time World began streaming on January 28, 2025.

Table of Contents

What is The Night Time World About?

The Night Time World (2025)
The stories in The Night Time World have very different takes on vampire fiction. (pictured: Nina Donnelly in “Scarlet”)

The Night Time World is a horror anthology film containing four stories about vampires. The frame story connecting the four short films focuses on a podcaster whose live show is derailed by a caller who claims to be a vampire. The host of the show tells us the stories that we watch as he continues talking to the mysterious caller.

The Night Time World features different directors for each segment. The frame story was directed by Timothy Paul Taylor. The directors of the story segments are Brandon Lescure for “The Backpage,” Sean Brien for “Scarlet,” Chasz Dray Schoenbeck and Adam Michaels for “Sorry for the Blood,” and Gene Blalock for “Indictment.”

The Night Time World Review

As with many horror anthology films, The Night Time World is a mixed bag. The vampire theme is interesting, and each story takes wildly different approaches to the subject matter. However, the first and fourth story segments are much better than the second and third.

The Night Time World (2025)
Lilith (Annabel Leah) gets close to Paul (Brendan Krick).

The first story, “The Backpage,” is a comedy about a nerdy guy who calls a masseuse from the back page of a newspaper with the hopes of getting a happy ending. The dialogue is cleverly written, and the three main actors—Brendan Krick, Annabel Leah, and Joe Welkie—have great chemistry together. This segment is genuinely funny and gross, and it takes the wildest approach to the idea of a vampire out of all of the movie’s story segments. This is also the longest segment in the movie, which is a good thing since it’s the most entertaining.

The Night Time World (2025)
Scarlet (Nina Donnelly) bares her fangs.

The next story, “Scarlet,” is the shortest. It also contains the least amount of story. It’s about a man who tries to kill a female vampire, but the segment is more about providing vibes than it is about telling a story. There are a few interesting shots in the short film, but they are edited together oddly. There just isn’t much here to sink your teeth into.

The Night Time World (2025)
Adam Michaels is credited as “Vampire,” but he looks like Morbius.

Next is “Sorry for the Blood,” a superhero-esque story about a tortured vampire who fights a bunch of people on his way to save a woman from a large, shirtless man. This feels pretty much exactly like Morbius fan-fiction. Down to the way the hero becomes a “vampire,” to his look with pale skin and a little vertical chin-beard, “Sorry for the Blood” is like an adaptation of Morbius from Marvel Comics. The segment is pretty much all action, and the action is just okay.

The Night Time World (2025)
Nico (Derrick Scott) shifts the balance of power away from Officer Truman (Robert Hugh Starr).

The final story segment is “Indictment.” It’s about a Black man who wakes up in jail for a crime he has no memory of committing (and maybe didn’t commit at all). The segment is rather short, but it gets its point across well in the time it has. Derrick Scott as the imprisoned man and Robert Hugh Starr as the antagonistic officer are good, and the tension between them drives the story. “Indictment” is a nice way to end the story segments of the movie.

The Night Time World (2025)
Doug Henderson, as the character Nada, has a perfect voice for podcasting.

The frame story connecting all of the segments is okay. It does it’s job, but the limitation of taking place almost entirely focused on a man sitting at a desk makes it difficult to keep it visually interesting. The story itself doesn’t have much punch when it reaches its resolution, but again, it’s really just there to establish that this is an anthology of vampire stories, and it does that well enough.

The Night Time World Rating and Recommendation

The Night Time World (2025)
Nada grows tired of listening to his mysterious caller.

Star Rating: 2 out of 5

The rating here is easy to add up. One star each for “The Backpage” and “Indictment,” and that’s all. Whether or not those two segments are enough for you to invest your time in the entire film depends largely on how much of a fan of anthology horror you are. If you love this type of movie, with its highs and lows, then check it out.

The Night Time World is currently streaming on TVOD platforms including Amazon Prime Video.

Further Reading

Meet The Author

Chris has a degree in film studies at Temple University’s campus in Tokyo, Japan. He is a renowned expert on horror cinema.