Midnight Ride (1990)

A house wife just left her cop husband, when she picks up Justin Mckay she'll wish she never did as she's plunged into a nightmare and the grip of a psychotic killer.

Director:

Bob Bralver

Writers:

Russell V. Manzatt, Bob Bralver

Stars:

Michael Dudikoff, Mark Hamill, Savina Gersak

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Dudikoff	...	Lawson
Mark Hamill	...	Justin Mckay
Savina Gersak	...	Lara
Robert Mitchum	...	Dr. Hardy
Pamela Ludwig	...	Rental agent
Timothy Brown	...	Jordan
Lezlie Deane	...	Joan (as Lezlie Dean)
Steve Ingrassia	...	Man with Joan
Cynthia Szigeti	...	Mrs. Egan
Dee Dee Rescher	...	Receptionist
Regina Krueger	...	Nurse in elevator
Judy Bartram	...	Nurse
Mary Peters	...	Nurse
R.A. Rondell	...	Officer Baker
Suzanne Celeste	...	Cook

Storyline

A series of mysterious murders have happened in Montevideo, a small city in California. A policeman's wife is running away from her husband, trying to divorce him. The policeman tries to reconcile and begins to follow her...

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Plot Keywords:

russian immigrant | police | immigrant | psychotic | hitchhiker | 

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Taglines:

Somewhere round the next bend, lies the road to terror

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

In den Klauen des Frauenmörders

Filming Locations:

Grover Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the final battles, there is a short chase-sequence where Justin Mckay (Mark Hamill) and Lawson (Michael Dudikoff) fall down a flight of stairs after bumping into a nurse. Before and after this scene, both their shirts are covered in blood, but during the scene they are white and clean.

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Quotes

Justin: [Joan has crushed Justin's arm in a door, he manages to force it open knocking her to the ground]
[enraged]
Justin: You... hurt me!
[Joan screams]
Justin: [Justin pulls out his Jack Knife and brutally stabs her]

User Reviews

Road Warrior meets Friday The 13th

The basic plot, A young Russian woman named Laura (Savina Gersak) leaves her husband who also happens to be a cop, later on she picks up a young hitchhiker Justin McKay (Mark Hamil) who surprise surprise turns out to be a psychopath and takes her hostage while he goes on a killing spree so he can meet up with his Doctor, while her cop husband is in hot pursuit.

Midnight Ride is a bit of a strange movie, as it tries to blend Action and slasher together and it works most of the time, as I found this movie a hell of a fun ride, although it does having plot holes and lacks suspense, but all that can be forgiven. Mark Hamil plays a part a million light years away from Luke Skywalker here playing a psychopath, which I rather enjoyed, although it was a bit hammy and unconvincing at times. Michael Dudikoff plays the cop husband pretty well, I found him very charming and capable as the leading man. But I didn't find Savina Gersak very convincing at all, she's supposed to be the terrified victim, but I found her very weak and disappointing and I think that this movie would have been better if they had a better actress in that part.

The film has some really great action moments. In particular, there's a terrific Mardi Gras Massacre sequence that's one for the books. Some of the action toward the end is hit and miss (Dudikoff's encounters with the Pentangle in the swamp is kinda anti-climatic) but the finale is thoroughly awesome. It also manages to have its share of solid action beats (the bus chase was pretty good). Plus, it moves along at a steady clip, which helps make you forget about the lapses in logic. But overall I found this movie fun and entertaining, the scenes with Mark Hamil are the real highlight even if they were hysterically funny, like when he tries to attack a female victim, But I did enjoy the final scenes between him and Dudikoff in the steam factory and the hospital scene.

So all in all okay Midnight Ride is a copy of the far superior Hitcher, but it's not a bad one and this should get a DVD release, because I enjoyed it.