Midnight

This is actually a pretty good low budget horror film. It does bear the marks of a regional production (filmed in Pennsylvania), complete with the (mostly) amateurish acting that fans come to expect in such a thing. It does indeed start slow, so people may have a hard time sticking with it, but it's worth it in the end. The story is a familiar one, but is well realized by writer / director John A. Russo (an associate of George A. Romero who'd co-written the classic "Night of the Living Dead"), who adapted his own novel. Tom Savini supplies some typically well done splatter, but certainly the best aspect to the presentation are the very rural settings that give "Midnight" some potent atmosphere.

Melanie Verlin - in the first of only two movie roles - stars as Nancy, who has to live with a policeman stepfather (legendary tough guy and wildman Lawrence Tierney) who's a lecherous alcoholic. After he harasses her, she runs away from home, hooking up with seemingly nice young guys Tom (John Hall) and Hank (Charles Jackson). After they get her involved with their (mild) life of crime, she ends up in the backwoods where she's soon abducted by backward Satan worshipping lunatics. This lovely bunch of people force their victims into too-small cages in preparation for sacrifices to their dark lord.

One thing from this movie that people will likely remember the most is that staggeringly silly theme song that's heard a few times. Otherwise, this is pretty fun to watch. It's always a hoot to see Tierney in action, especially when his less-than-honourable character becomes an unlikely heroic figure. There's some delicious creepiness going on throughout, and Catholicism is a big theme. Nancy isn't an innocent type, but falls back on prayer when things look their bleakest. Verlin is reasonably appealing, but the standouts are obviously the antagonists: David Marchick as portly and bearded Cyrus, Greg Besnak as bald headed Luke, and John Amplas, star of Romero's "Martin", as Abraham. The electronic music score is priceless stuff.

The climactic action has its fair share of tension, but ultimately "Midnight" ends a little too abruptly. But until then it proves to be decent entertainment.

Seven out of 10.

(**1/2 out of *****) Actually, I'm not quite sure what to think about this movie -- it's very cheap-looking, the original songs have that terrible '70s/'80s cheesiness, it's cruel and sadistic (in the opening, pre-credits scene, for instance, a young girl is caught in a bear trap and beaten to death with a stick!), the acting's mostly pretty weak, and the dialogue is awful (honestly, it couldn't be more stiff if you added heavy starch.) Just the same, there's something so luridly compelling and skin-crawlingly depraved about the whole thing (particularly the second half) that I guess I can understand why it has become something of an underground cult favorite among people like -- well, hell -- among people like me. Nancy Johnson plays a teenager who, after almost getting raped by her alcoholic stepfather (Lawrence Tierney, who ends up being the hero!), runs away from home and is picked up by a couple of young shoplifters (John Hall and Charles Jackson) on their way to Daytona. Unfortunately for them, they get sidetracked along the way in the typical, backwoods, deep-South `town from Hell,' where racist townsfolk, murderous psychopaths and satanic hillbillies (including horror movie vet John Amplas) abound. There are disturbing religious undertones (the movie opens with Johnson, a lapsed Catholic, giving her confessions to a priest) that don't exactly sit well alongside graphic scenes of throats being sliced open and blood being drank at a black mass. Still, there's just enough of a creepy, claustrophobic sort of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" atmosphere to make this one worth sticking out to the grisly finale. The always-resourceful Tom Savini provided the bloody effects (mostly involving long butcher knives and gunshots to heads). Russo also wrote the book (and the screenplay) on which this movie is based, so he has no one to blame for the crummy, stilted dialogue but himself.

HIGHLIGHT: After a so-so first half, the movie takes a nightmarish turn as Johnson finds herself locked up in a dog cage with another girl, waiting to be sacrificed to Satan at midnight on Easter Sunday. Hey, that deserves half a star for some kind of originality.

Extremely low budget, which shows and can be off putting but this film moves with confidence. Scenes may be a little dark or slower than we would like and the dialogue somewhat less than snappy but we have a terrible feeling the tale that is told may not be too far off the mark. Filmed in the backwoods northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this is bleak looking country and pretty bleak people seem to lurk. There is gleeful and brutal killing for the sake of it and then as we proceed more serious devil worship based cult killing involving the kidnap of girls and their being held in cages awaiting their sacrifice. These later scenes are particularly well done and the lighting, dialogue and performances all seem to be upped a gear as we head to the ending with Lawrence Tierney lumbering across the screen to attempt an heroic rescue after all his own misdeeds.

While watching Midnight it is pretty clear to me where the majority of the talent lies in the Romero/Russo relationship. Now, I'm not saying John Russo is a bad screenwriter or novelist, but he's no director. Midnight, based on his own novel, claims to be a cross between On The Road and Rosemary's Baby. That is not accurate at all. It's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre...CLEARLY. It's about a crazy family who kidnaps and sacrifices young people to appease their dead mother (who they keep in the attic). It's pretty straightforward and boring. Mostly it's just bad; on both sides of the camera. Even the special effects aren't anything to write home about...and it's Tom Savini! Along with Savini, John Amplas (Martin) has also come from the Romero camp to help out, but he doesn't add anything significant. Lawrence Tierney is the only name actor in Midnight, but he doesn't have a big part. He's not the villain of the piece, but he is the only truly creepy character here. Just watch Chainsaw again and thank me later.

The book of John Russo's 'Midnight' is a very taught, brief little thriller. The premise is an exciting one though. A young runaway, whom takes up with two college frat boys travelling cross country, runs into trouble with a satanic batch of siblings. This one line premise has all the makings of an excellent drive-in spectacular in the vain of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Race With the Devil, and The Last House on the Left. Not so surprising that it falls in line with such films as Russo was a co-writer of Night of the Living Dead, which set many genre standards in that period of time. Thus it further exemplifies the promise it does NOT add up to.

Sometimes the author has no business taking his material to a new medium, in this case novel to screen. Stephen King fared none to well with 'Maximum Overdrive' as well. 'Midnight' was probably around the time when producers were managing to get their hands back on final cut after the paramount decree, and with this film in particular, it's not hard to see why. The budget here is so non existent that it looks to have been filmed in someone's garage, and I guarantee you some of it probably, quite literally was. With more money, and some bigger producers putting some elbow grease into it, this could have worked much better. The novel wins you over right away, but here, Russo has no creative aspect to his direction. Just setting up a camera and filming. No tension to build up on, and without that, the shock moments are just as dull as the rest of the film. Also, he sets up a very poor and ineffective atmosphere. There is a total lack of vision for what the novel provides as an after school special gone to hell. This needed someone to oversee it on a more end-result basis to assure it was delivered properly and to the completed satisfaction of all parties involved.

The casting is WAY off save for Robin Walsh to rises emotionally AND physically to Cynthia as we are introduced to her in the book. Everyone else, including Romero alumni John Amplas, are simply thrown in and directed to move about as they're told, but with no clear motivation or actions driving what they're doing onscreen. The direction with them is totally uninspired and everyone looks like they'd rather be reading the original novel at the beach instead. Two or three of them (Ellie Wyler as Gwen) are downright horrendous to watch as they clearly have NO talent in this regard. I point out Ms. Wyler in specific because her character is supposed to be defiant and strong willed against the tormentors (Think Phyllis Stone in Wes Craven's 'The Last House on the Left). Here, the uncharacteristic Wyler is simply in a cage saying her lines to no distinction or direction. Very bland and embarrassingly cheap. More so obvious than anything else.

The film DOES have ONE thing going for it, the soundtrack! It features eerie organ music and a soft dark vocal Mass for the satanic rituals that fit quite properly. There is also a fun chirpy pop tune used repeatedly throughout as the theme, known as "Midnight Again". It is VERY addictive to hear and suits the novel much better than the film. Almost too good a thing to be heard here. Alas, moments with the score in tow are actually arousing and engaging enough but they are far and few in between the bad bland acting the the overall lack of proper direction.

It says, here , that a remake is in the works. It's definitely in need of one, but better yet...GO OUT AND READ THE DARN BOOK INSTEAD! The movie in your mind will far outweigh what has been provided here, and what might ever be provided again, if it is to be provided again.