Violent Midnight

"Violent Midnight" follows a troubled veteran-turned-artist who lives off his family's large inheritance in a small Connecticut town. After one of his portrait models is viciously stabbed to death, he, along with her abusive boyfriend, become the prime suspects.

This effort from producer Del Tenney plays out very much like the dimestore suspense novels of the 1960s, chock full of sensuality, illicit romances, and vicious killings plaguing a small town. It also shares similarities with the giallos of this era, particularly with the first-person POV cinematography of the killer, as well as the shots of the assailant's gloved hands and knife. While it has been likened to "Psycho," it is not quite as egregious a facsimile as something like, say, William Castle's "Homicidal," and is much more concerned with the romantic relationships between the characters which amp up the steam factor. There is quite a bit of nudity in the film, which is surprising for the era, and gives it an extra edge of salaciousness.

One of the film's strong suits is its stark cinematography, which reaches a zenith in the final scene, which takes place in a dark mansion during a violent thunderstorm. The black-and-white photography makes use of shadows skillfully, and the murder sequences (one in a bedroom, the other at a lake) are atmospheric and frightening. The performances here are decent for the type of film this is; James Farentino in particular gives a fun performance as a greaser who can't keep it in his pants. Sylvia Miles makes an appearance as one of Farentino's abused girlfriends.

All in all, this is a relatively amusing period picture that very much embodies the era in which it was made. It plays out like a cheap dimestore thriller paperback, but there is a nasty edge to it that rears its head during the murder sequences which makes it stand out from many of its peers. The atmospheric locations and cinematography also add a sense of foreboding to the proceedings, and the finale, as odd as it is, manages to give the audience a few small surprises. Not high art, but art nonetheless. 7/10.

Psychomania is a neat little slasher flick that has been unfairly maligned by its relationship to the creators of the genuinely dreadful (though entertaining) Horror of Party Beach. The film is shot in stark black and white, with a look that sometimes anticipates Night of the Living Dead and a trench-coated, gloved killer that pre-dates the giallo genre (Bava's Blood and Black Lace was a year away). The cast is also fun to watch, with James Farentino, Dick Van Patten, and Sylvia Miles soldiering away in the early years of their careers. Director Hilliard tries to include as many Psycho style camera shots as possible with quick edits and brief glimpses of blood, and there's even a Hitchcockian scream segueing into train noise! Tenney went on to produce another underappreciated film, Curse of the Living Corpse, the following year.

This film is mostly camp. In fact there is more hoochie cooch and teasing, partial nudity than any chills. I'm sure it was decadent in its day, but of course take now.

Lee Phillps and Jean Hale were both very attractive and capable actors. I can't help but wonder of this exploitation pic hurt their careers, although I doubt many were aware of it.

If you like early 60s tease and sleaze, as well as twist music, you will find this entertaining. If there are any James Farentuno fans out there, they will enjoy seeing him peeled down while in his physical prime.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Giallo", it refers to a genre of movies that are usually Italian and that focus on an unknown killer who brutally murders young women (and the occasional man if he gets in the way) before being unmasked and then dying in some singularly unpleasant fashion. Originally it referred to the cover of cheap Italian paperback pulp fiction that had yellow covers (giallo is yellow in Italian).

The first true giallo was Mario Bava's BLOOD & BLACK LACE in 1964 but this little known 1963 American black & white offering from producer Del Tenney could be considered a forerunner. VIOLENT MIDNIGHT aka PSYCHOMANIA (to cash in on Hitchcock's PSYCHO) takes place in a girl's college and features a trench coat wearing, booted killer who uses an Army combat knife to murder women who get too close to a Korean War veteran known for violent episodes but who now paints for a living. The movie opens with a shocking murder from the past that inspires the killer in the present.

Shot on location in and around Stamford, Connecticut, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT is definitely a low budget affair (it cost $42,000) that has a surprisingly strong cast including Sylvia Miles, James Farentino, and Dick Van Patten who were just starting out in their careers. It also has some moody cinematography, a touch of exploitation, and a surprise ending that really comes out of left field. Meant to be shown in drive-ins, it was successful enough to allow producer Tenney to turn director and create the infamous double bill (THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH and CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE) which was released the following year.

Dark Sky Films has released this title as a single or, if you think you can stand it, all 3 Del Tenney classics are available on a specially priced 3 DVD set. 255 minutes of your life that you will never get back but if you're into sleaze and cheese than it's worth it. All 3 movies look great and sound as good as movies with their budgetary limitations can (which is pretty good). Of the 3, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT is easily the most creative and interesting so it's the one to go for especially at its current single digit price...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

When Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO opened the door, many other films followed, and the early 1960s saw a glut of low-budget, black and white thrillers that held scantily clad women at the point of a knife. Released in 1964, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT (also known as PSYCHOMANIA or BLACK AUTUMN) is fairly typical of the genre but better than most.

When Delores is found stabbed to death in her rooms there are two very obvious suspects: Elliot, the reclusive artist who has employed her as a model, and Charlie, her tough-guy boyfriend. After all, the two men had a bar room knife fight over her the night before! Fortunately Elliot has his half-sister, who has just arrived to attend a local all-girl college, for support. But before too long the student body becomes precisely that, and both Elliot and Charlie come under renewed suspicion.

The cast is unexpectedly solid. Leading man Lee Philips (in the role of artist Elliot Freeman) and supporting actor Shepperd Strudwick (as his attorney) both had long and respectable careers both before and after VIOLENT MIDNIGHT; James Farentino, Sylvia Miles, and Dick Van Patten would go on to notable careers of their own. Even so, there's nothing subtle about the script, which crams everything from biker chicks to college sirens into the mix, and most viewers will probably identify the killer in the first twenty minutes of the film.

Even so, and in spite of a budget that was clearly just this side of zero, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT isn't a bad little flick, and it easily holds its own with the likes of the better-known DEMENTIA 13. It will probably lack appeal for the casual viewer, but fans of 1960s B-movies will have a good time.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer