Midnight Horror

Even though the truly golden years for the Italian giallo had passed since quite a while already, the decade of the 1980's still brought forward a handful of decent & memorable efforts. Two directors in particular kept this magnificent sub genre alive, namely Dario Argento (with his "Tenebrae" and "Opera") and Lamberto Bava. His best known giallo may be "A Blade in the Dark" but this "The Midnight Ripper" is arguable his best effort, alongside "Delirium: Photos of Gioia". Whatever the film lacks in originality and plausibility, it makes up in sheer suspense and gory good killings! When the adulterous wife of a police officer is found brutally stabbed in her apartment, her husband Nikola immediately becomes the prime suspect because he's an alcoholic and doesn't have an alibi. But when more murder occur in the city, a female police psycho-analyst points out that the nature of these killings strangely resemble the style of notorious Italian serial killer. The only problem is that this killer, nicknamed the Midnight Ripper, died in an arson more than ten years ago. No, sadly the plot of this film isn't as convoluted as those of 70's gialli, but it surely holds your attention and Lamberto Bava at least attempted to add some typical red herrings. The musical score is absolutely staggering, thanks to composer Claudio Simonetti (the main man behind the successful cult band Goblin). Ah yes, and then there are the murders.... Anyone who's familiar with other Bava titles such as "Demons" or "Macabre" knows that our director isn't afraid to stuff his films with sadistic violence and graphic gore. The gruesome murders in "The Midnight Ripper" are committed by ordinary kitchenware, such as knives, an ice-pick (eat your heart out, "Basic Instinct"!) and even a blender. It's a very cool film and I'm sure that every fan of Italian horror cinema will love watching it.

I recently watched the Italian giallo 🇮🇹 You'll Die at Midnight (1986) on Tubi. The storyline follows a man who gets into an argument with his wife, who shortly thereafter ends up stabbed to death. He goes on the run from authorities and decides to stay with his ex-girlfriend, who reluctantly agrees to help him. As he searches for clues to clear his name, he's fortunate that his ex-girlfriend is assigned to the case. However, as bodies start piling up, it becomes increasingly hard for him to hide.

This film is directed by Lamberto Bava (Demons) and stars Valeria D'Obici (Escape from the Bronx), Leonardo Treviglio (Titus), Eliana Miglio (Demons), and Paolo Malco (The New York Ripper).

This is a unique giallo that keeps the audience guessing until the very end. The storytelling and dialogue feel like an 80s soap opera at times, despite having a unique and interesting premise. The opening shower scene was disappointing and a far cry from Psycho. The kill scenes are classic giallo, with stalking elements and limited gore but enjoyable stab scenes. The diverse kill settings add an extra layer of interest. The killer's mask was cool and reminded me of Mr. Bean. The final reveal was solid.

In conclusion, You'll Die at Midnight is a mediocre addition to the giallo genre but is still worth a watch for genre fans. I would score this a 5/10 and recommend it with appropriate expectations.

'You'll Die at Midnight' also known under other titles such as 'Midnight Ripper' & 'Midnight Horror' is a rather cheesy and quite enjoyable Italian made for TV Giallo/slasher flick from the 1980's directed by Lamberto Bava. This movie's plot is fairly routine and oddly structured and given its time period its lacking some much needed stylish visuals and interesting set-pieces that could have elevated things.

The plot begins with a man named Nicola (Leonardo Treviglio) who discovers his wife is cheating on him and after a violent argument she is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect. Soon more young women begin to die at the hands of the maniac, is Nicola the killer or is it someone else?

Trying to find a classic Giallo flick from the late 80's onwards is a hard task, and you'll have to look through a lot of lesser efforts just to find anything decent. But sadly, this movie isn't quite a lost gem waiting to be discovered, instead this is a by the numbers Giallo that has been forgotten for a reason. The lack of suspense and violent or interesting death scenes really hurts this film and given that it was a made for TV production I can't fault the director on that one. Instead we get a mystery that isn't very compelling and a bunch of flatly written characters and wooden performances.

Overall 'You'll Die at Midnight' is certainly not the worst Giallo out there, it's just very average at best.

Midnight Killer is exactly what you would expect from Lamberto Bava.Full of suspense,thrills,twists,turns,red herrings.But also people (mostly women acting stupid). Some of the victims act in such an illogical manner that at one point you begin to think."Don't tell me she is that stupid.Go ahead,kill her already". The pace is really good and you are constantly wondering who the killer is. At one point you can deduce it for yourself. Although I must admit that Lamberto successfully made me doubt a couple of times. He uses some clever tricks to put you off the trail.And in this case I simply loved that.Of course the ending might be too far fetched for some especially since the explanation is fast and short.It did not matter to me since it was effective.Overall Midnight Killer is a very decent giallo that delivers.

A police officer, Nicola, violently argues with his rich wife, Sarah, because of her affair with a man, and goes to his female friend, Anne, a psychologist/ professor. But Sarah was murdered in the bathroom of the house, and most parts of the police think Nicola is the primary suspect, except Piero, an inspector of the case, who realises that what the still-unknown-murderer really wants is his daughter, Carol who is one of the students of Anne... If one expect something cinematically new in this film, (s)he will be disappointed strictly because there is almost nothing new. But (s)he is a fun of Giallo films, I think (s)he can love this because whole the film consisted of selective elements of Giallo films, notably of Dario Argento's TENEBRE and FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET. For instance, the music composer of this film is Claudio Simonetti of the GOBLIN (and he does an excellent job here), and Lara Wendel of TENEBRE's youngest victim, Maria, plays the short-haired fair heroine, Carol (and her boyish attractiveness adds a fresh atmosphere to the film). But above all, particularly with the regard to the plot, the influence of FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET is much stronger, and one can even say this film is a post-TENEBRE remake of it.