The Midnight Hour (1985)

Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchford Cove will never be the same again....or will it?

Director:

Jack Bender

Writer:

William Bleich (as Bill Bleich)

Stars:

Lee Montgomery, Shari Belafonte, LeVar Burton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Montgomery	...	Phil Grenville
Shari Belafonte	...	Melissa Cavender (as Shari Belafonte-Harper)
LeVar Burton	...	Vinnie Davis
Peter DeLuise	...	Mitch Crandall
Dedee Pfeiffer	...	Mary Masterson
Jonna Lee	...	Sandy Matthews
Jonelle Allen	...	Lucinda Cavender
Kevin McCarthy	...	Judge Crandall
Cindy Morgan	...	Vicky Jensen
Dick Van Patten	...	Martin Grenville
Mark Blankfield	...	The Ghoul
Hank Garrett	...	Sgt. Thompson
Sheila Larken	...	Janet Greenville
Dennis Redfield	...	Lester Mitchell
Kurtwood Smith	...	Captain Warren Jensen

Storyline

Phil, Mitch, Vinnie, Mary and Melissa are friends unwittingly wake Melissa's great, great, great, great grandmother Lucinda, who is a witch, and has brought the dead back to get revenge. Sandy is a cheerleader from the 50's who is back to help the kids.

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Plot Keywords:

halloween party | cheerleader | halloween | pilgrim costume | undead | 

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Taglines:

Ghouls just want to have fun!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

In the Midnight Hour

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Video Enterprises,Capital Cities

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An ABC television movie that originally aired on Friday November 1, 1985. The day after Halloween.

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Goofs

When Melissa is playing a game of Hangman with Mary on the high school blackboard, the two Ns on "Ghouls just want to have fun" are already filled out. When Mary loses the game and Melissa fills in the missing letters, she fills in the N on "want", despite the fact that both Ns were previously filled in and that the N in "fun" is still filled in.

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Quotes

Phil Grenville: Captain Jensen, three reports. Don't you think that adds up to something?
Captain Warren Jensen: Sure I do! Werewolves, zombies, vampires, goblins, and little green men add up to... "Let's all have fun with the cops."
Captain Warren Jensen: C'mon, Phil. I told you the fuzz wouldn't be able to help us!
Captain Warren Jensen: ...Fuzz?
Sgt. Thompson: It's been a long time since we heard that.
Phil Grenville: Captain Jensen, this really did happen!
Captain Warren Jensen: Sure it did. I got your report.
[grins smugly]
Captain Warren Jensen: Happy Halloween.

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Crazy Credits

The title "The Midnight Hour" appears on a full moon with DJ Wolfman Jack doing a voice over stating "Look out it's the midnight hour baby!"

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Connections

Referenced in Serial Mom (1994)

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Soundtracks

Get Dead
Music by Richard Gibbs and Philip Giffin
Lyrics by Richard Gibbs, Philip Giffin, Jack Bender, William Bleich (as Bill Bleich)
Performed by Shari Belafonte (as Shari Belafonte-Harper)

User Reviews

A great Halloween Movie

I am a huge horror movie fan...and normally "Made for TV Movies" based on Halloween or horror usually stink (either because of lack of money, lack of real scares and/or gore...lack of plot...etc)...The Midnight Hour, on the other hand, is a great little Made for TV Horror movie!

I remember seeing this film when it first aired in 1985...and just falling in love with it. At that point, I had just discovered "Dawn of the Dead", and was really into the whole "Dead coming back to life" type of movie...and this one really hits the mark. Admittedly, it's tame compared to movies released with an R rating...but it's an incredible movie that both kids and adults can enjoy! And, it's VERY creepy in parts...especially when the two leads are driving through the town square, which has become inhabited by the living dead.

After seeing it the first time in 85, I watched for it every year afterwards...only seeing it rarely. Kind of a disappointment that it wasn't on a lot...but it did make it more special when it WAS on. How happy was I when, about 5 years ago, I found a VHS copy of it in the local video store! I bought a copy, and now get to watch it whenever I want (well...at Halloween anyway).

Let's face it...this movie can probably be seen as kind of cheesy in that it was made in the 80's...we really didn't know how to dress back then! But it has great music (especially the song "How Soon is Now" by The Smiths. Its inclusion happens at a very cool part of the movie), some really good scares...and is a pretty cool movie to watch after coming home from trick or treating on Halloween! If you're looking for a movie where people get ripped apart, swear a lot, show nudity...this isn't going to be the one for you. But if you'd like a fun movie, that is creepy, and has a good story (well, aside from the whole werewolf thing...THAT kind of throws me every time I watch it)...then pick up this one!