Monstrous bosses have been in the news quite a bit recently, but luckily, we haven’t gotten any stories of Hollywood execs eating human flesh… yet. Without giving too much away (although I kind of just did), having a monster of a boss serves as the narrative jumping-off point for Too Late. Director D.W. Thomas (in her debut feature) takes on this fraught subject matter by running the genre gamut from romantic comedy to body horror to social satire.  

Alyssa Limperis stars as Violet, an overworked assistant and aspiring comedian. Violet is at her boss’s beck and call day and night, recruiting fresh talent for his comedy showcase “Too Late,” all while promoting her own small scale stand-up show and writing her own material on the side. Known mainly for her online character sketches, Limperis carries the movie in every direction it wants to go while keeping it all grounded.

The supporting cast is rounded out with comedy talent, including a small part for world-famous funny-man Fred Armisen, and Ron Lynch, who makes a meal of his role (so to speak) as Violet’s monster-boss Bob Devore. The other standouts are Violet’s love interest, the up-and-coming stand-up Jimmy Rhodes, played by Will Weldon, and her best friend Belinda, played by Jenny Zigrino. 

Visually, the filmmakers immerse us in the nighttime world of stand-up comedy, keeping things sufficiently spooky and dark with the occasional bright flash of neon from a theater marquee. Coupled with the moody cinematography, the superb special makeup effects provide some legit scares. This joyful ode to low-budget genre filmmaking packs a lot in to 80 minutes. If you want some scary summer fun, check out Too Late.  

80 minutes. ‘Too Late’ will be distributed by Gravitas Ventures, and starts playing in select theaters and On Demand this Friday, June 25.