One of the best entries available
"Midnight Movie" is an absolute blast of a slasher and has a lot going on for it.**SPOILERS**
Preparing for a movie showing, Bridget, (Rebekah Brandes) Rachael, (Brea Grant) and Kenny, (Shawn Ausmus) get the theater ready for a showing of a cult horror movie that hasn't been screened in years. Letting in patrons, her brother Timmy, (Justin Baric) friends Mario, (Greg Cirulnick) Samantha, (Mandell Maughan) Josh, (Daniel Bonjour) and Sully, (Michael Schwartz) as well as horror fans Harley, (Stan Ellsworth) and Babe, (Melissa Steach) they settle down to watch the movie, with all of them enjoying the film. When they start to notice each other dying off in the movie, they realize that the killer from the movie is in the theater with them, killing them one-by-one using their fear of him to track them down. Realizing a way to stop him, they band together to find a way out of the theater alive.
The Good News: There was a lot to like about this one. One of the best features is that it manages to feature one of the more original concepts in the genre and works in plenty to make it feel unique and creative. While the basic premise, about a killer stalking theater-goers during a horror-movie-marathon, isn't that new, this one goes about it brilliantly by having the killer be the physical manifestation of the one from the movie using supernatural powers to stalk them inside the theater, overall making it different enough to stand out. This makes the stalking to this one quite nice, which is a good plus as there's some really fantastic ones here. The early ones, where it shows the killer stalking the people in the theater as the film the patrons are watching, are absolutely fantastic with almost nothing wrong with them, aside from the black-&-white hampering the view, but even still, these are great fun. The back-talk as they comment on the situation, unknowingly at first but once it gets longer and extended a little more, this one has a really great air about it because of these scenes, and the revelation by the cast make it all the more fun. Other stalking, including those through the theater's surprisingly long, darkened twisting hallways are really well-handled as well, making for a series of surprisingly suspenseful stalking sequences. The scene in the basement is superb for it's creepy atmosphere and complete inability to know what's going on, while those that prefer more visceral stuff can find the encounter in the main hallway or the chase into the control booth, which both come complete with stand-out kills to spice them up as well. In general, this one has just a lot of fun stalking scenes and all are pretty much enjoyable, beyond those mentioned here. Also quite fun is the killer's appearance, which is quite unique and slightly chilling at first glance. With the skeletal upper-half mixed with a strange mask over the jaw that meshes with the teeth, leaving a distinct impression when combined with the spectacular killing tool in a hand-drill, this is an imposing killer. There's also a ton of fun to be had with it's kills, which are messy and brutal and just perfect for the type of film. From the drill being repeatedly rammed through the stomach of one victim, enough to the point of penetrating out the back so as to impale in the back the victim behind, a slit throat, being sliced to shreds, a scythe in the back, numerous impaling in various body parts and one who has the drill thrown into the eyeball, this one is pretty gory and messy at times. The last plus here is the furious pace, which is just outstanding and doesn't have anything wrong with all, going by at the proper tempo to never get boring or cut-short it's good stuff. This one is an outstanding slasher film.
The Bad News: There wasn't that much really wrong with this one. One of the flaws is the fact that this one really doesn't have it's rules for the killer set in stone, resulting in some plot holes or just plain confusing scenes. This is incredibly predominant in the finale, which has a lot of these scenes where the killer bends it's own rules merely for the sake of giving a scare or attacking a victim, making the scenes really action-packed but lacking logic, which can be found only when thought about though. It's a sign for the film that it doesn't make you aware of that, but it's still noticeable. The only other part here that doesn't work is the film's length, which is a big problem. This one here barely lasts eighty minutes, including credits, and it tends to just drop out immediately when it could've gone on for a little bit longer, which would've helped in explaining the finale a bit more. These here are what's wrong with this one.
The Final Verdict: An incredibly enjoyable and entertaining entry with very few flaws and much more, and more worthwhile, good points to easily counteract them. Hardily recommended to fans of 80s slashers, slashers in general or those who are interested, while there isn't a whole lot who won't find something good here.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
score 9/10
slayrrr666 10 July 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2095048/35254
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