Scott LeBrun This is actually a pretty good low budget horror film. It does bear the marks of a regional production (filmed in Pennsylvania), complete with the (mostly) amateurish acting that fans come to expect in such a thing. It does indeed start slow, so people may have a hard time sticking with it, but it's worth it in the end. The story is a familiar one, but is well realized by writer / director John A. Russo (an associate of George A. Romero who'd co-written the classic "Night of the Living Dead"), who adapted his own novel. Tom Savini supplies some typically well done splatter, but certainly the best aspect to the presentation are the very rural settings that give "Midnight" some potent atmosphere.Melanie Verlin - in the first of only two movie roles - stars as Nancy, who has to live with a policeman stepfather (legendary tough guy and wildman Lawrence Tierney) who's a lecherous alcoholic. After he harasses her, she runs away from home, hooking up with seemingly nice young guys Tom (John Hall) and Hank (Charles Jackson). After they get her involved with their (mild) life of crime, she ends up in the backwoods where she's soon abducted by backward Satan worshipping lunatics. This lovely bunch of people force their victims into too-small cages in preparation for sacrifices to their dark lord.One thing from this movie that people will likely remember the most is that staggeringly silly theme song that's heard a few times. Otherwise, this is pretty fun to watch. It's always a hoot to see Tierney in action, especially when his less-than-honourable character becomes an unlikely heroic figure. There's some delicious creepiness going on throughout, and Catholicism is a big theme. Nancy isn't an innocent type, but falls back on prayer when things look their bleakest. Verlin is reasonably appealing, but the standouts are obviously the antagonists: David Marchick as portly and bearded Cyrus, Greg Besnak as bald headed Luke, and John Amplas, star of Romero's "Martin", as Abraham. The electronic music score is priceless stuff.The climactic action has its fair share of tension, but ultimately "Midnight" ends a little too abruptly. But until then it proves to be decent entertainment.Seven out of 10.

slayrrr666 "Midnight" is a decent enough if mildly unspectacular slasher.**SPOILERS**Running away from home, teenager Nancy Johnson, (Melanie Verlin) runs into friends John, (John Hall) and Hank, (Charles Jackson) on their way to Florida. As they spend more time traveling together, the more they become friends until they make a stop over in rural Georgia. When confronted with crooked police officers Cyrus, (David Marchick) and Luke, (Greg Besnak) for an innocent charge, they are captured and brought back to their house, along with their brother Abraham, (John Amplas) and Cynthia, (Robin Walsh) who turn out to be an inbred redneck family that was taught the Satanic arts by their deceased mother. When her policeman stepfather Bert Johnson, (Lawrence Tierney) becomes worried about her being gone, he gets wind of what's going on and races to get her away from the psycho clan.The Good News: While not terrible, this one does have some good points to it. The main one is that it really does something new and original with the Satanic Cult genre, and here it's mixed in nicely with the slasher genre. It puts them together into something that resembles originality, and by using the opening the way it is into a rather traditional slasher setting makes for a fun time to be had during those scene. In fact, those are the main reasons for this one to get any sort of enjoyment, as watching them partake in the ceremonies is a little chilling, and by recalling what's already been done with them beforehand, there's a little more to be had from these kinds of scenes that there normally would. The few kills in here aren't that bad, restricted to some gory gunshots, an axe in the back, knives slitting throat, a sacrificial sword stabbed in the chest and another is set on fire. Most of these occur in the grand finale, as there's a lot more excitement and action here than anywhere else in the film and it makes for some great times. The only other part that works is the relatively interesting proposal that the film offers in the middle, where it handles the heroes that have been around for most of the film in a rather smart and refreshing manner that aren't seen in most other films. It's also a great scene in the film that has some really great parts to get some really chilling moments to it. These here are the film's best parts.The Bad News: This one does have a couple of rather big flaws. The most obvious is that there's so much time spent with the three friends that it begins to wear on after a while. It takes a while to get going out on the road as it deals with family issues, which it then completely ignores later on after a conversation detailing what's going on that changes the rules around significantly, and these here just take up time and energy away from the film when it had something other to do than the really weak beginning. Even worse is that it leaves these parts to focus on the traveling misadventures of the group and their ways, and this is even duller and more boring. When the crooked cops turn up, it gets a little better, but it's still relatively dull until it gets to the last part. This one is so short on action for a film as long as it is a huge crime, and it really takes away from the film for a big problem. The only other flaw is that there's way too many scenes that are dark beyond belief. There's a real problem where it's hard to tell what's going on in the few scenes that are supposed to provide the film's excitement. Trying to pick out what's going on when you're supposed to be enjoying the scene is a wrong reaction, and it would've helped to brighten it up a tad. Otherwise, this here is somewhat decent.The Final Verdict: This here is a really tough sell, as it's not spectacular but isn't that memorably bad either, falling more in the middle. Give it a shot if it sounds interesting, or have a predilection for these kinds of films, otherwise it won't be that memorable for others.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Brief Nudity and themes of incest

Jonny_Numb John Russo has long stood in the shadow of ex-partner George Romero, and "Midnight" is a good example of why. This tale of a devout Catholic girl (Melanie Verlin, possessing the tomboyish looks of a young Jodie Foster) fleeing her groping, drunken police-officer stepfather (Lawrence Tierney--"Reservoir Dogs") only to run afoul of a wacky family of Satan worshippers living in a backwoods shack (that auspiciously sits in the heart of suburbia) is equal parts "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Night of the Living Dead," but with far less imagination. While Russo gets decent mileage out of his cast of unknowns and occasionally employs a nifty camera angle (a close-up of kicking feet as a man is stabbed to death, for instance), it cannot save a plodding story that is frequently interrupted by scenes of talky exposition. I realize that low-budget films are frequently forced to tell instead of show, but Romero has proved time and again that it's a matter of directorial skill in keeping the audience hooked. Even the makeup FX (credited to Tom Savini) play on a distinctly lower tier. Yet "Midnight" isn't altogether bad...I have a feeling it would be great fodder for a drunken get-together, and Russo's use of rural Pennsylvania locales lends a bit of rough-hewn realism to the otherwise absurd tale. And hey, it's a chance to see John Amplas ("Martin"; "Day of the Dead") play one of the psychotic brothers! (Note: Lionsgate has released "Midnight" to DVD with the kind of misleading sleeve art usually reserved for a Ulli Lommel flick; the disc is full-screen and contains no extras, which might have gone a ways in redeeming the film.)

Tikkin Midnight is a true lost horror gem. Why this isn't more talked about I will never know. Perhaps it's the title, after all when you type in Midnight on IMDb it's not the first film in the list.It's hard to describe just how creepy and disturbing Midnight is - think of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with elements of Deranged, The Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes and Night Of The Living Dead all thrown in. The camera-work is fantastic, and of course, very similar to Night Of The Living Dead. It's so atmospheric. The grainy quality only adds to the creepiness and makes it feel like a 70's film. The music isn't always spot on - some of the synth is cool, but the cheesy song that plays over the end credits does the film no favours. There are many creepy and disturbing scenes, the most notable being the scene with the police officers, and my other favourite is when the killer jumps out from behind a gravestone. Other highlights include a girl being beaten to death with a stick and girls held captive in dog cages. There isn't a whole lot of gore, but Midnight is still quite violent. It kept me entertained throughout and there was so much to take in that I'll need to watch it again at some point. My only complaint is that the running time was a little too long, which took away some of the impact. Overall, if you're the sort of horror fan that enjoyed such films as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is definitely for you. It seems to be a hard title to find, but you can get the lions gate entertainment DVD from Amazon. This is a lost horror classic and one that all true horror fans should see at least once.