Midnight (1982)

User Rating:

2.9/10   

Director:

John A. Russo

Writers:

John A. Russo (novel)
John A. Russo (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 December 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

A Startling & Shocking Adventure - As Three College Students Take a Strange Detour to the Land of the LIVING DEAD!

Plot:

A teenage girl runs away from home because police officer/stepfather puts the moves on her. Hitchhiking to California...

Plot Keywords:

Loss Of Mother | Psychotronic | Pet Cage | Catholic | Car Chase

Cast

Melanie Verlin	...	Nancy Johnson (as Melanie Verliin)
Lawrence Tierney	...	Bert Johnson
John Hall	...	Tom
Charles Jackson	...	Hank
Doris Hackney	...	Harriet Johnson
Bob Johnson	...	Reverend Carrington
Lachele Carl	...	Sandra Carrington (as LaChele Carl)
David Marchick	...	Cyrus
Greg Besnak	...	Luke
John Amplas	...	Abraham
Robin Walsh	...	Cynthia
Jackie Nicoll	...	Mama
Amy Brinton	...	Girl in Trap
Debra Smith	...	Young Cynthia
Daniel Costello	...	Young Abraham

Also Known As:

Backwoods Massacre

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Congregational

Movie Connections:

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Soundtrack:

Midnight Again

A missing link

I believe Midnight to be one of the lesser-known horror films which Rob Zombie included in his tribute to the horror films of the 70's, House of 1000 Corpses. Granted this was made in 1980 but if you watch HO1000C you'll see bits of it there. A band of devil worshiping loonies live in the boonies in PA, and are always on the lookout for sacrifice material, especially around Easter. Along come 2 young men and young girl, the guys on their way to Ft. Lauderdale for Spring break and the girl on the run from her abusive stepfather, and there you have it. If you can ignore the fact that these folks have been on the road for quite some time and are still in PA, this is a good film. The landscapes are most certainly "Night of the Living Dead" territory, gloomy and desolate. This is certainly the best film that John Russo ever was involved in, and the connections with George Romero are Tom Savini doing special effects and John Amplas ("Martin") as one of the crazy folk. And now you can enjoy this on DVD courtesy of Lion's Gate. I take back everything I ever said that was bad about them, at least for the time being. Anyway, Midnight is a decent little early 80's gem and well worth seeing if you like the films of that period. 8 out of 10.