Midnight Movie (2008)

Director:

Jack Messitt

Writers:

Mark Garbett (writer)
Jack Messitt (writer)

Release Date:

6 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The New Face Of Horror

Plot:

A midnight showing of an early 1970's horror movie turns to chaos when the Killer from the movie comes out of the film to attack those in the theater. |

Plot Keywords:

Supernatural Power | Double Murder | Survival Horror | Hiding In Closet | Slaughter

Awards:

2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 19	2:05 AM	TMC
Mon. Nov. 23	12:30 AM	TMC

Cast

Rebekah Brandes	...	Bridget
Daniel Bonjour	...	Josh
Greg Cirulnick	...	Mario
Mandell Maughan	...	Samantha
Stan Ellsworth	...	Harley
Melissa Steach	...	Babe
Jon Briddell	...	Detective Barrons
Michael Swan	...	Dr. Wayne
Michael Schwartz	...	Sully
Justin Baric	...	Timmy
Brea Grant	...	Rachael
Shaun Ausmus	...	Kenny
Carol Stanzione	...	Mother
Lee Main	...	Killer
Ashley Black	...	Jackie

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody horror violence/gore, language, some sexual content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut)

Filming Locations:

Chandler Valley Center Studios - 13927 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bigfoot Entertainment

Quotes:

Radford: You're gonna wish you could die.

Movie Connections:

References "Punk'd" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Seen It All

Not excellent but a solid horror film

Since Scream made the "post-modern" attitude of the horror cinema popular (particulary the slasher sub-genus),many movies have tried to copy that style,some ones with more success than other ones.And although it's been 13 years from that excellent movie,that tendency is still active,something which does not surprise me in sight of the rebirth of the slasher sub-genus inside the huge amount of low-budget films which take advantage of the modern technology for having specialized and segmented spectators as a target.Midnight Movie is one of that movies,and although it is not great at all,it obtained certain success with its aim thanks to its ingenious premise and its competent screenplay.The mixing of supernatural elements with the classic masked killer does not always work and although Midnight Movie manages that combination with certain skill,I found some inconsistencies and logic fails which take out some points to the generally solid screenplay.The performances were not completely good,because they lack of realism and dramatic weight.It is true that most of the characters are cannon fodder...in other words,just future victims chosen for their physical attractive and not for their histrionic talent.But,we have seen in movies like Fritt Vilt and Wrong Turn 2 : Dead End (just to mention two examples) that the narrative becomes richer because of the presence of realistic characters performed by credible actors.But,let's go to the positive elements now.I previously mentioned the screenplay and I insist that is the best element from this movie,in spite of having some fails.It is obvious screenwriters Mark Garbett and Jack Messitt (the last one is also the director) are fans of the horror cinema and that they perfectly know the clichés from the slasher flicks and from the horror cinema in general.So,Garbett and Messitt use them with ingenuity.For example,I will mention this scene from the movie : the spectators watch a murder in the screen from the cinema they assisted and one of them comments : "There is not too much blood".That is exactly what I had previously thought before that character mentioned it.And after that commentary,it comes the answer from another character : "It is just the second murder...there will be more blood near the ending".And that is completely true.Midnight Movie is not a great horror film but at least,it is a competent one which kept me entertained.I think that with more polished performances and some adjusts to the screenplay,this film could have been memorable.But,although it was not like that,I can recommend this movie because I had a good time watching it.