'Midnight Show' is an exciting, gripping and brutal Indonesian slasher flick that delivers a simple yet effective premise, an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere, fun kills and plenty of slasher thrills and chills to keep you more than entertained throughout its runtime. Directed by Ginanti Roma, this obscure slasher gem deserves far more praise and attention outside of Southeast Asia.
The Plot = Set in 1988 during a dark and stormy night where a local run-down movie theatre is having a midnight screening of a brand-new horror movie called 'BOCAH'. Soon enough the staff and movie goers find themselves locked inside by a sadistic masked serial killer.
The movie has everything you could possibly want from a slasher film with its high body count, fun death sequences, interesting and likable characters and plenty of suspenseful set pieces. The movie is well paced as you're constantly on tender hooks throughout and even features some interesting twists and turns that are well handled and adds more layers to what could have been a standard and generic slasher film, which thankfully this isn't. This does share the same name and premise with another American slasher film that came out the same year, but this is a whole lot better as it contains a far better structure and even manages to utilise its location to full effect and switches gears at the halfway point where the kills becomes even more brutal and the creep factor and intensity is ramped up to maximum levels, leading to a brilliant and jaw dropping final climax which totally takes you off guard in the best way possible.
The ensemble cast performances here were great with decently written characters that helps fill out this world effectively.
Overall 'Midnight Show' is an underrated gem that demands your attention and a larger audience.
