Midnight in the Switchgrass

There was a TV series "Columbo" in the 1970s starring Peter Falk. The novelty was the viewer learned of the murder as the show began and the entire episode was to see how Columbo would go about picking up clues and solving the crime.

This movie isn't quite that clean cut but we do get very strong suspicions very early, soon confirmed, and we watch to see how the agent will unravel clues and solve the crime. The setting is the panhandle of Florida, communities along I-10, and a series of murders of young girls and women are discovered.

There are many very unfair reviews rating this movie as "1" and "don't waste your time" comments. But looking at the actual distribution of ratings "5" is the most common and probably where I would rate it. There is nothing outstanding here but it is mostly well made movie that is about as enjoyable as an extended TV episode of a crime story.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. It was not filmed in Florida, most was filmed in Puerto Rico. It was strange in the end credits seeing they had a "COVID-19 medical team."

I didn't have much expectations with this film so went in basically blind. And unfortunately the movie misfires. Poor acting and rushed plot really let it down.

As my title says, what was the point of Bruce Willis? He was in this movie for around 2 mins max. Said about 6 lines and bailed. And even those 6 lines he acted really poorly. Not a good day in the office for him. The chemistry between him and Megan Fox felt non-existent (her acting wasn't amazing either, but it was better), zero depth into the characters and overall you couldn't really get into them.

The plot. So, to be kind here. The 2nd half of this film absolutely saves it. It had really good suspense and it was edge of your seat action. But the first half of the film was rushed beyond belief. There were parts where I thought I missed scenes, because it jumped from scene to scene so quickly and the convos felt so forced and out of the blue. One minute you're looking at a crime scene and the next Megan Fox is opening up about her dad or something. It was bizarre in all honesty.

Got a bit tedious towards the mid section as well. Due to the lack of character depth and arcs, there was nothing to really keep you going. We knew the killer, it was just a matter of the ending.

The ending again felt a bit rushed. The suspense was kept really well the last 20 mins or so and I was really keen to know the end, but it kind of just ends. More could have easily been added just to finalise the arcs of some characters, but it just fell on flat ears. Again, I wanted more from the ending.

I wanted to like this film and although it had one or two positives, the negatives massively outweigh. Would I recommend? No. 4/10 from me today, just below an average film.

I REALLY hate to "diss" any film, but this is an absolute garbage. There's nothing more to add.

Not a good movie. Not even a good TV movie. I am not even sure why I voted it 3 maybe I feel generous today.

The movie tries to portray seriousness and deep emotion, remains unsuccessful. While the buildup at some places is okay, it never picks up traction. Falls flat in the end, where the climax is barely anything, non-existent rather. Could be a lesson in how not to make a movie.

The poster is just wrong. Mr. Willis is only present in a few scenes that are insignificant. Instead Emile Hirsch would have been a better choice. But this also points to the fact that the viewer is being misled right from the start. Then comes a sub standard dialogue routine, average at best acting, sloppy editing and a bad ending.

Miss Fox should loosen up a little, her acting is very wooden. Emile Hirsch plays a character that is always stressed out but has very little power, another example of bad script writing. Given the physical presence of Mr Hirsch, he should have been given a more powerful character that would offset this trait to some extent.

Conclusion: Don't bother with this one, not recommended even for one time watch.