Customer Reviews

Midnight Movie [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This at its core a supernatural slasher film. Like all slasher films it is required to have a masked killer who uses a specialised cutting implement to dispatch teens in a particular setting. Like most supernatural films it comes with specific rules and otherworldly occurances and lapses in logic to circumvent said killer. The film works in both its horror subgenres.

Now at first glance the basic premise of the film sounds like Bava's gore/monster classic DEMONS. Sure, that's partially true. It's about a group of people going to see a midnight horror film in an old theater, and then having the horrifying images on the screen come to life and effect the audience in gruesome ways. But that's where the similarities end and the innovation begins. While I love DEMONS, I have to admit beyond the monster effects, soundtrack, cinematography and basic premise, the film brings nothing new to the table that Romero hadn't already in his zombie films. The satire about how movie violence effects its audience is there, but Bava was more interested in the grue, so it gets buried. This film leaves out the satire completely but builds a serious thriller out of it.

First let me praise God, Buddha, Allah, and Jesus that I have seen a slasher film with characters that are likeable and fleshed out--for the most part. There not as in-depth as Hamlet but for this genre they seem real enough. All the characters you're supposed to like, you do. Hell, one character, the Biker, starts off as a loathesome character and then turned out to be my favorite character. The best part about this film is that it works at getting you to like the people involved, but doesn't let that influence who lives and who dies. There are some casualties in this film that will really make you wish they weren't. I was very happy to actually watch a horror film not wishing for the characters' death, but rather rooting for them to escape. Sometimes I was disappointed and sometimes I wasn't....just watch it for yourself if you want to catch my drift.

Now the movie is very violent and even has some intense gross out death scenes in it. How it lays out each murder is rather clever. Every time the horror film on the screen switches to the notorious Killer POV, made notorious by all 80's slasher films, the characters are clued into the fact that they may have to start running for their lives. On the commentary track included on the dvd the director notes how each murder represented a different film style of killing people on screen. The first are off-screen with only the aftermath shown. As the bodycount rises so does the gore level. We even get a torture-porn(on my quest to reclaiming that term still)sequence at the end that involves some toes and a lot of unpleasantness. This is a fun concept for horror movie nerds and finatics.

The ending even goes somewhere you weren't expecting. I won't ruin it, but it's fun and creepy and slips all the way into supernatural fantasy. The film runs short, just about 80 minutes. It's the perfect length for this type of film, a fluff terror piece with an original twist on an old concept. I usually yearn for more when these things run short, but this one got it all right in less than 90 minutes: likeable characters, creative kills, an original idea for a new cineamtic maniac, and surprises and twists.

I really liked this film. It's very under the radar so you might pass it by. I only heard about it because it was elected dvd of the month in Fangoria a couple of months ago. Check it out...NOW.

I'm a big fan of horror films, but there hasn't been much to get excited about lately. This film had some potential, but cardboard characters and a flimsy script kept it from being anything but a routine slasher. The idea is pretty good, kind of like 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' meets 'Last Action Hero', but it just doesn't deliver many chills. The last quarter of the film is better than the first three quarters, but it doesn't save this from being a "by the numbers" horror flick. The acting is decent for this type of film and the killer is pretty cool looking, but the killings are pretty mild for a slasher. It's worth a look for fans of slasher films, but it's pretty forgettable.

Around 12:30 am last night after the Late Night Show Sid cruised the channels in hopes of some fine b. Luckily one of the movie channels just started their showing of Midnight Movie. Previously we had read reviews in favor of the film and decided this would be the feature film of the evening. It offered up a nice concept for horror making it a somewhat original b. Sure it's nothing you must see, but for an avid low budget horror fan it's certainly worth the watch.

The film is centered around a group of people gathered at a dive movie theater to view a cult film called The Dark Beneath. Once the film starts rolling in becomes evident that the crowd of ten is in danger as the killer emerges from the screen taking people out one by one. To sum up the killer, he's a far less scary version of Leatherface who dons a corkscrew as his weapon of choice. The way he kills you is by smelling your fear, much like a bee, causing him to stalk you in a very slow foot dragging motion (hence the Leatherface comparison).

All in all the flick was pretty cool with a nice concept. We loved the idea of a killer popping out of the screen, killing his prey, then dragging them back into the movie for storage. However for it to be well received you should be pretty open to weak acting and lack of scares because it's far from frightening. It's more of that good low budget horror that provides more laughs then anything else, which is always a Sid favorite. This one probably would have been enjoyed years ago, but the lack of nudity may have scared a young elf off.

I'd heard about this by mistake when I was searching for the documentary Midnight Movies. I tried it because the cover was very well done. I wound up liking it.

A group of people are trapped in a theater when the killer from a midnight movie (that *strongly* resembles The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) enters 'the real world'.

A movie that had a very small budget and stars people you've never heard of, but for what they had, it was well done. I'm rating it three stars. I may be overselling it here. I think it's just that I expected *nothing*, so my liking it was a pleasant surprise.

I think it would make a good double feature with another 'trapped in the theater' horror movie: Popcorn

The only thing good about the film was that it was presented in Blu ray. Glad I brought it used!

A man escapes a mental institution through supernatural means, in order to attend a screening of his 40yo horror film. At the theatre, employees and a handful of patrons (including the world's biggest biker!) await the movie. Uh-oh! The movie is far more than it seems, as the main character -a maniac in a skull mask- emerges from the screen! Many bloody murders occur! Now, while MIDNIGHT MOVIE did remind me (a little bit) of DEMONS, the differences outweighed any similarities. Plus, the finale has quite a nice payoff!...

Midnight Movie (2008) is a slasher film, where the lines of reality become unclear, once the midnight feature begins playing at a small theater. What follows defies logic, as the masked killer from the movie somehow comes to life, and begins ripping out chunks of flesh from those trapped inside the theater.

The killer is Ted Radford, who wrote and starred in 'The Dark Beneath', a seventy's style, black and white, slasher flick. The movie's plot is basic, as a group of four young travelers is stranded by car trouble, and encounter some psycho killers when seeking help at a nearby house. Apparently Radford took his role too seriously, and was sent to a mental institution, where a massacre occurred shortly after a showing of his film. Radford is presumed dead, but Detective Barrons (Jon Briddell) has his doubts.

Jumping ahead five years, it's a slow night at a small Avenue Theater, and just a few customers are in the house for a midnight showing of The Dark Beneath. Among them are Barrons, a biker named Harley (Stan Ellsworth), his girlfriend Babe (Melissa Steach), the theater manager Bridget (Rebekah Brandes), her boyfriend Josh (Daniel Bonjour), and some of her friends are also present. While the movie is playing, the picture transitions to a shot of one of employees being gutted by the masked killer from the movie, then switches to a shot of the victim's body being dragged by the killer, down a hallway and through a door at the end. This process repeats as each victim is slain, but it takes a while before the viewers realize that what they are seeing is real, and that the onscreen killer has come to life. Bridget's younger brother Timmy (Justin Baric), who has sneaked into the theater, is also among those now trapped inside, as none of the doors to the theater will open, and phones do not operate.

Director Jack Messitt's film had a 22 day shooting schedule, and it moves at a brisk pace, once it gets going. The number of victims being dragged down the hall, quickly grows, as Radford puts his deadly tool to use. There is no way to make rational sense out of what is happening, so you need to just go with it and see where it takes you. The actors many not be well known, but their performances are pretty good, with Rebekah Brandes, Stan Ellsworth, Daniel Bonjour, and Melissa Steach, standing out. For a low budget feature, the special effects are quite good. The Killer's spiral metal weapon, does a mean number on human flesh, and the movie features a number of effective looking gut shot wounds, and one nasty head shot. Midnight Movie is a pretty well executed thriller, with a supernatural spin, that some may find a nice change of pace.

I really enjoyed "midnight Movie"..
I'm not going to go through the plot because you can read the synopsis or long boring reviews for that.
My review is why a slasher, horror fan should buy it.
I found it to be highly original .I was interested in the story and characters on the movie screen in the theatre in midnight Movie and particularly the story being told when the killer came off the screen to terrorize the main characters "in" the theatre.
This movie has a killer with an original weapon and original look, the plot on screen was very
"Texas Chainsaw -esque",original ? no , do we love it ? yes..Some say the killer has no personality.How much personality do you have to have to be menacing and make good kills? REALLY~!!!
Do we as slasher fans really care if he prefers Coke or Pepsi? I don't think so,just keep looking freaky and slashing people.
If you are a slasher fan you will Surely like and maybe even love this film.
It has some good kills, a couple of great ones good acting and it's well paced not at all boring.
nuff said.

I heard about this film about a year ago, and I happened to see it a few hours ago at Walmart, so I decided to buy it! It has a really cool looking killer, and a perfect slasher film! A random group of people come to see a midnight screening of a classic horror film. While they watch the movie, they see their friends dying and come to understand that the killer in the film can break into reality whenever he chooses to. All the doors and windows are locked, and the group try to escape from the old theater if they wanna make it out alive. I highly recommend MIDNIGHT MOVIE!!!

This movie reminded me of something that I watched when I was a kid in the 80s on late night HBO. I would not recommend this movie to anyone above the age of 18 who is a horror movie enthusiast. I was expecting much more from this movie after reading the reviews on the standard DVD, but was completely let down. The one good thing I can say about the blu-ray version of this film is the sound and picture quality are extremely crisp, but unfortunately the concept, acting, and storyline were not. I realize it is a low budget film, but does that mean the dialogue and concepts have to be "low budget" as well? EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED and DEFINITELY NOT SCARY!!!!!!! Gave 2 stars for picture and sound quality on blu-ray version, but the movie is t-r-a-s-h.