Last Night At Terrace Lanes

My quick rating - 4.0/10. Last Night at Terrace Lanes sets its sights on retro horror glory, but despite a strong setup and a promising premise, it ultimately gutters before reaching the final frame.

The story centers on Kennedy (Francesca Capaldi), a high schooler on a disastrous date at a bowling alley set to close for good. Her night takes a bloody turn when a bloodthirsty cult launches a surprise assault, forcing her to team up with her estranged, survivalist father, Bruce (Ken Arnold) to survive the carnage. Right from the start, the film channels a fun early '90s horror aesthetic, complete with neon-soaked lanes, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a suspenseful setup that suggests something genuinely wicked this way comes.

To its credit, the cult’s initial appearance is visually engaging and genuinely eerie. There’s a flash of menace and mystery in the way the attackers are introduced that hints at something far more compelling than what the movie eventually delivers. Capaldi does fine work as the lead, solid and watchable amid the escalating chaos. The early blend of comedy and horror works well enough in the bowling alley setting, with a few chuckles landing as intended.

Unfortunately, that’s where my praise mostly ends. After the strong opening, the film starts to unravel. The pacing becomes uneven, the scares predictable, and the once-creepy cult is quickly reduced to generic slasher fodder. The plot loses focus, and any tension that had been built is drained by the halfway mark. What could have been a fun, contained survival horror flick begins to drag, weighed down by weak dialogue and eye-rolling clichés.

The father-daughter dynamic, which should have provided some emotional grounding, grows more grating than heartfelt. Bruce, in particular, becomes more irritating as the movie progresses—his gruff survivalist shtick wearing thin fast. Attempts at character development feel half-baked, and the humor shifts from darkly playful to unintentionally laughable.

By the time the climax rolls around, the movie has lost nearly all of its early charm. Instead of a satisfying showdown or clever twist, we're given a flat, uninspired ending that fails to reward the buildup. It’s the kind of movie that begins with promise but winds up feeling like a rough draft of something better.

Last Night at Terrace Lanes might scratch a nostalgic itch for fans of low-budget horror, but for most, it's a forgettable outing that strikes early but can’t sustain its momentum. What should’ve been a bloody good time ends up more of a gutterball.

You can check this out on Amazon along with these other streamers.

#horror #jackmeatsflix #IMDB