Les sorcières de la nuit

After a high school teacher dies in a tragic, fiery "accident", we're introduced to honor roll student and Homecoming Queen, Vivian Sotherland (Melissa Sue Anderson). It's made clear right from the beginning that Vivian is a practitioner of the dark arts, spouting incantations and performing devilish mumbo jumbo in her bedroom.

Viv's oblivious father (Gordon Jump) is wrapped around her pinky, while her mother (Cathryn Damon) sees through her daughter's overly-sweet veneer.

When new student, Robin Prentiss (Mary Beth McDonough) enters the picture, daring to befriend Vivian's boyfriend (Patrick Cassidy), things get very interesting. Vivian is about to discover that Robin might not be an ordinary girl.

MIDNIGHT OFFERINGS is a wonderfully wicked, made-for-TV horror film, delving into deviltry, and allowing Ms. Anderson to shed her wholesome, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE image. She's perfect in her delectably eeevil role!

Fearful fun right up to the final showdown...

A new student from the East Coast (Mary Beth McDonough) enrolls in Ocean High in SoCal where she immediately meets a potential beau (Patrick Cassidy), which means becoming the rival of his dubious ex, who just so happens to take the black arts seriously (Melissa Sue Anderson). Cathryn Damon plays the mother of the latter while Marion Ross is on hand as a wise mentor.

Although "Midnight Offerings" (1981) was originally released to TV, it's a formidable witchcraft-oriented horror featuring several iconic television stars from the 70s and the younger brother of Shaun Cassidy. It's basically a mixture of "Carrie" (1976), "Summer of Fear" (1978) and the forthcoming "Christine" (1983).

It works well because the story draws you into the drama of the romantic triangle and everything culminates with a hellish, but fitting, climax. King D no doubt ripped-off the set for the occultic rituals for his diabolic photo ops.

The film runs around 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B.

I remember this movie. I was always a fan of TV horror movies. This one takes the cake. Melissa Sue Anderson, who played Mary Ingalls, sister of Laura, daughter of Charles, on "Little House on the Prairie". She was sooo innocent in that TV show. Then, later, TV execs hired her on to play Vivian Sotherland in this movie. She played the part soo well! NOT so innocent anynmore! Downright evil! A very satanic, wicked witch, with a black cat, and reciting spells and incantations in Latin at the beginning of the movie. While she's conjuring evil spirits, and casting spells, we see a car driving down the street. It suddenly crashes and bursts into flames. The driver dies. Vivian got the powers from her mother, originally. Her mother doesn't use them anymore. She wants Vivian to relinquish the powers, and be a normal girl. Vivian won't have any part of that.

A new girl has settled into the town, and is going to the high school attended by Vivian and her boyfriend Dave. Her name is Robin Prentiss, who played Erin Walton on "The Waltons." She was goody two shoes in that TV show, like Mary Ingalls. Well, she doesn't wander far from home in this movie. She's got powers. She's a good witch, but doesn't really realize it until later in the movie. She's trying to protect herself from Vivian. She makes boats move through the water, makes it really windy, and does other harmless things, just to practice her witchcraft. Vivian knows the powers Robin has. She also knows the hold Robin has on her boyfriend, Dave. Jealousy has lead to death threats against Robin. Vivian has given Robin two days to leave town, or she's dead. With the help of the mystical Emily Moore, who played Marion Cunningham on "Happy Days", Robin realizes her special abilities, and masters them, somewhat. They are no way as powerful as Vivian's, but they do protect her from harm half-way through the movie.

In an exciting cliffhanger, we see who wins at the end. This was a pretty good movie back in the day. I remember it like it was yesterday, and have a taped copy from the sci-fi channel.

Melissa Sue Anderson is surprisingly menacing as a California high school senior whose peers and teachers have a way of falling ill around her--or dying! Seems Anderson practices witchcraft and worships the Devil (or is that redundant?); she has plans to use her powers to get everything she wants, but another student (Mary Beth McDonough as the good girl) may stand in her way. TV thriller featuring television stars out of their usual element (Anderson on leave from "Little House on the Prairie" and McDonough temporarily leaving Walton's Mountain behind). Director Rod Holcomb mounts the story well, and he handles Anderson's continual slow-burn without an overlay of the expected camp, but Juanita Bartlett's teleplay runs out of ideas too soon, leaving the third act riddled with "Bewitched"-like special effects. Bartlett confuses telekinesis with witchcraft, turning her lead characters in Carrie-wannabes.

I saw this when it first came out, probably because I had a big crush on Mary McDonough (that hasn't changed). I was amazed how many of the lines I remembered, particularly in the classic kitchen confrontation between Vivien and her mother (a superb Cathryn Damon). Seeing it again, I was startled 40 minutes into it to realize that there were virtually no special effects at all. Everything was done by suggestion, and by showing Vivien's malice and its effects on others. It took itself completely seriously -- no effort to be hip, no constant pop culture references, no embarrassment at being a witch movie -- and that is the ONLY way to do a good scary movie. A lot of people have mentioned Melissa Sue Anderson's portrayal of Vivien, and she was great, but I think some people miss how perfect Mary McDonough was as Robin. Her beauty has a kind of introspective, far-away quality that perfectly suits the shy new girl in school, who is nonetheless hiding a troubling secret. Now I just have to find Stranger in Our House (Lee Purcell and Linda Blair) and wait for the first installment of Friday the 13th the Series (Robey, John Le May, Chris Wiggins) to come out and I'm set!