Midnight Ride (1990)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Bob Bralver

Writers (WGA):

Russell V. Manzatt (written by) and
Bob Bralver (written by)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Somewhere round the next bend, lies the road to terror

Plot:

A house wife just left her cop husband, when she picks up Justin Mckay she'll wish she never did as she's plunged into a nightmare and the grip of a psychotic killer.

Plot Keywords:

Immigrant | Police | Russian Immigrant | Hitchhiker | Psychotic

Cast

Michael Dudikoff	...	Lawson
Mark Hamill	...	Justin
Savina Gersak	...	Lara
Robert Mitchum	...	Dr. Hardy
Pamela Ludwig	...	Rental agent
Timothy Brown	...	Jordan
Lezlie Deane	...	Joan (as Lezlie Dean)
Steve Ingrassia	...	Man with Joan
Cynthia Szigeti	...	Mrs. Egan
Dee Dee Rescher	...	Receptionist
Regina Krueger	...	Nurse in elevator
Judy Bartram	...	Nurse
Mary Peters	...	Nurse
R.A. Rondell	...	Officer Baker
Suzanne Celeste	...	Cook

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Grover Beach, California, USA

Company:

Cannon Pictures Inc.

Quotes:

Justin: [Joan has crushed Justin's arm in a door, he manages to force it open knocking her to the ground]
[enraged]
Justin: You... hurt me!
[Joan screams]
Justin: [Justin pulls out his Jack Knife and brutally stabs her]

Riders of the storm...

Michael Dudikoff stars as a police officer who spends the entire woman stalking his estranged wife (Savina Gersak), who is in the clutches of psychotic hitchhiker Mark Hamill, seems Hamill wants to go to the loony bin and wants Gersak to be his wife (This movie is so silly.) and during the movie Dudikoff is tied to a hood of a car, while Hamill drives, Gersak screams and Hamill twitches in front of the camera while Robert Mitchum cashes an easy paycheck as he barely looks at the camera as he plays Hamill's doctor. Midnight Ride has all the elements there to be a decent movie but in the hands of Bob Bravler this is all ridiculous with no stab in credibility what so ever. For instance Dudikoff is crippled in the beginning of the film (My guess is that he broke his leg doing one of the stunts for the movie) and yet despite this he still manages to outdo his American Ninja styled heroic actions with plenty of gusto to spare. Ever sprain an ankle? Well you can barely walk, now try imagine trying to beat someone up at the same time? Oh and consider that breaking your leg is much much worse than that. More implausibilities play out. The climax in particular is so ridiculous that it becomes obvious that there is no attempt at credibility to any of the action sequences. What is even more amusing is just how misogynist this flick is. The woman in this film is put through an ordeal because she had the audacity to leave her husband, Hamill's mother was a psychopath (Hamill's sister had an affair with him), another female victim talks back to her boyfriend and the first female victim is shrewish, hence these women are either killed or put through an ordeal. The film also never notes the sharp irony that Dudikoff really is not a good guy, in that he's just as insane as the villain of the movie. Dudikoff refuses to let his wife go as he takes off after her. He offers stock apologies that seem manipulative, he steals cars and furthermore seems to rescue his wife out of jealousy rather than actual love. Of course reading too much into a flick is somewhat pretentious even for me, but there is no doubt that that this thing is somewhat sexist. This of course didn't bother me so much, as the credibility of the action sequences and story. Plus the acting is not very good. Dudikoff comes off the best which says something considering who he is. Mitchum seems embarrassed, Hamill is hammy and Gersak is a rather weak heroine. However the most annoying thing about this movie is just how many times Hamill keeps picking up Gersak. It happens at least 3 times and each time the explanation is absurd. Movies like Midnight Ride live and die by their director's execution and in Bob Bravler we have a guy who has no real sense of distinguishable style so the action sequences are only okay, making it easier to point out flaws in the credibility of how such action sequences are conducted. Therefore the audience sees through the plot and realizes that this far fetched thriller is hardly thrilling.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)