Heart of Midnight

From the opening scene of Matthew Chapman's Heart of Midnight, we know we are in for a visual tour-de-force. Jennifer Jason Leigh begins a new life in a bizarre, sinister, Lynchesque apartment complex, formerly occupied by her weird uncle, a pervert of sorts, whom Leigh slowly begins to remember.

Writer/director Chapman breathes sinister life into this creepy abode of a building. It seems to take on a life of its own in between the shadows, macabre lighting and ethereal noises that emanate from nowhere.

The film instantly draws us into a dark world where we are never sure what is exactly real and what is a figment of Leigh's imagination. Like any good psychological thriller, circumstances and events are revealed to us slowly, as we need to know them, and always advancing the plot.

More than anything else, the film sustains a brooding, macabre feel that always keeps us feeling uneasy, which seems to mirror Leigh's character. She is excellent here as a woman trying to comes to grips with both her mental illness and a sordid past. The musical score is both eerie, yet powerful, further drawing us into the film's creepiness.

Those who are fans of David Lynch and of movies that create a convincing, yet creepy world of their own, should enjoy Heart of Midnight.

This film has haunted me since I first saw it on cable. The acting is excellent, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh, and the story (from the author of The Color Of Night) is creepy and intriguing. I would give it a 7 1/2

Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a psychologically devastated young woman who has inherited an adult club from her recently deceased uncle. She initially remembers only his kindness to her, and wants nothing to do with his past business life. Her goal is to transform the closed building into a dance club and to try to make it on her own. She sets up housekeeping in her uncle's former living quarters, and pays a contractor to oversee the renovation. The film contains some graphic sexual content, but it adds to the horror rather than plays a purely exploitive role. The story is about the irreparable harm caused by abuse and it is a powerful celluloid indictment of sexual predators who leave few obvious physical scars on their victims.

The movie died a quick box office death. It was not designed for the fans of X-rated fun & games, and it was too dark and unsettling for most regular viewers looking for a pleasant night out. Leigh's character is the only role fully developed. Most of the other acting is B-movie quality at best and the dialogue is often wooden. Nonetheless, her performance and the story are good enough to carry the picture.

The story functions best as a psychological horror story and the cinematography contains some truly frightening visual images of things she sees or thinks she sees. These elements work well to underline her insecurity and instability. They also highlight her courage in trying to make it on her own in a world ready to accept that she is merely weak-minded and unable to cope. The script is not at the same level as that of "Spoorlos" or "Sixth Sense," but it is as good as many quality thrillers. There are very few pictures that deal with this subject area in more than an oblique way and rarely from the perspective of the abused. Give this movie a chance to work. Realism in cinema is hard to find, and this is an imperfect but realistic exploration of a difficult topic.

'Heart of Midnight' is an unusual, bizarre thriller. Jennifer Jason Leigh, in her trademark weird roles, plays an emotionally disturbed young woman who leaves home after a bout of extreme instability and tries a spat of independence upon inheriting her mysterious uncle's strange nightclub and home. But, cheerful Uncle Fletcher is not quite the endearing relative that the young woman remembers as she discovers more and more things about the house--many rooms designed for some weird sexual fantasies.

After an attempted rape, the young girl alerts the police who become involved in an investigation. Well, actually, one man does. Claiming to be a police detective from internal affairs investigating the death of one of the culprits, killed when fleeing the police who had arrived on the scene. But, the detective is not who he seems, and the young woman's paranoia becomes increasingly more unbearable for her and those who around her. The game of cat and mouse introduces a bizarre psychological thriller, although a doubtful one at that when it seems that the young woman sees hints of another presence in the house, but can't convince others of the same, never having enough evidence to make such claims credible.

The movie is especially bizarre, given the motives of those responsible for bothering the girl. The viewer is given little backstory on the uncle and his strange habits are eluded to only through what evidence the woman also receives. What are all of these rooms for? What was her uncle like? And so forth. Just as the girl's own background is strange, the viewer experience everything with such suspicion and to some extent, revulsion, as she does since we only get as much detail as she does. It is done stylishly so, at least as far as visual efforts, but may be for a certain audience. For those who enjoyed the early 90s noir thriller, Liebstraum, you might enjoy this less sophisticated, but equally odd tale of suspense.

From the opening scene of Matthew Chapman's Heart of Midnight, we know we are in for a visual tour-de-force. Jennifer Jason Leigh begins a new life in a bizarre, sinister, Lynchesque apartment complex, formerly occupied by her weird uncle, a pervert of sorts, whom Leigh slowly begins to remember.

Writer/director Chapman breathes sinister life into this creepy abode of a building. It seems to take on a life of its own in between the shadows, macabre lighting and ethereal noises that emanate from nowhere.

The film instantly draws us into a dark world where we are never sure what is exactly real and what is a figment of Leigh's imagination. Like any good psychological thriller, circumstances and events are revealed to us slowly, as we need to know them, and always advancing the plot.

More than anything else, the film sustains a brooding, macabre feel that always keeps us feeling uneasy, which seems to mirror Leigh's character. She is excellent here as a woman trying to come to grips with both her mental illness and a sordid past. The musical score is both eerie, yet powerful, further luring us into the film's creepiness.

The only flaw in the film is the villain, a victim of Leigh's Uncle's sexual perversions. Where the character makes sense from a psychological standpoint, the writing here is definitely over the top, a circumstance which takes away some of the film's credibility. Yet, it is a movie not to be taken so seriously so that this character does any major damage. The overall effect is left intact.

Those who are fans of David Lynch and of movies that create a convincing, yet creepy world of their own, should enjoy Heart of Midnight.