Heart of Midnight (1988)

Carol inherits a night club from her weird uncle. She moves into the place, only to find out just how weird her uncle really was. She begins to remember more about her very special ... See full summary »

Director:

Matthew Chapman

Writer:

Matthew Chapman

Stars:

Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brenda Vaccaro, Jack Hallett

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Carol
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Betty
Jack Hallett	...	Lawyer
Nicholas Love	...	Tom (as Nick Love)
James Rebhorn	...	Richard
Tico Wells	...	Henry
Sam Schacht	...	Uncle Fletcher (as Sam Schact)
Nina Lora	...	Carol as a Child
Steve Buscemi	...	Eddy
Frank Stallone	...	Ledray
Denise Dumont	...	Mariana (as Denise Dummont)
Peter Coyote	...	Sharpe / Larry
Jim Geallis	...	Lt. Sharpe (as James Geallis)
Ken Moser	...	Ledray's Sidekick
Nicholas Cimino	...	Boy with Kittens

Storyline

Carol inherits a night club from her weird uncle. She moves into the place, only to find out just how weird her uncle really was. She begins to remember more about her very special relationship with her uncle as she battles her memories and her surroundings in her new home.

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Plot Keywords:

nightclub | waterbed | leg cast | hole in wall | pedophile | 

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Taglines:

Between the madness of what is real and the horror of her imagination lies the... Heart of Midnight.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film features a short stag film called "Apple Knockers and Coke," on a B&W television (at around 16 mins); which was sold to the director as supposedly starring Marilyn Monroe. In actuality, the film stars 1954 Playboy model Arline Hunter, who had a slight resemblance to Monroe.

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Alternate Versions

The Italian and German VHS and TV editions run 1:29:01 at PAL speed; the UK DVD edition runs 1:46:25 at PAL speed, so it's 17 minutes longer. Nevertheless, it's missing a bit during the rape scene: for a few seconds the hardcore cartoon showing on TV is replaced by less rude images. The cartoon is intact in the other shorter editions.

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Connections

Referenced in There's Nothing Out There (1991)

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Soundtracks

Baby, What Else Can I Do
Performed by Ethel Waters
Written by Gerald Marks (as G. Marks) & Walter Hirsch (as W. Hirsch)
Published by Mills Music, Inc.
Courtesy of RCA/Bluebird Records

User Reviews

Hey, this was pretty good.

Can't see why this movie has gotten such low ratings. For a thriller movie, not my favorite genre, it was really good. Maybe watching it at 3 AM muddled my critical sensibilities, but from where I was sitting, Leigh nailed every line in the film, and she was totally convincing and sympathetic. Did anyone else out there appreciate the classic slight-of-hand approach to the "paranormal" the film took, as well as the serious issues it raised? In my opinion, a scary movie has to include something real to be scared about. Monsters and boogymen just don't do it for me. Not that that there weren't a few "aaaaaghh!" scares in this film, there were [the medicine cabinet scene scared the hell out of me!], but it was the movie itself, not any specific spooky part, that gave me the heebie-jeebies.

I don't know. Maybe my tastes aren't as exacting as they used to be, but I'm not afraid to say I think this was a damn good film. So there!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Corazón de medianoche

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$113,275

Company Credits

Production Co:

Virgin Vision, AG Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 106 min (PAL DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1