User Reviews

Crazed film director escapes from the asylum as he's watching his long lost horror film leaving a trail of 70 bodies behind him.About the same time a screening of the film is scheduled for a midnight showing and strange things begin to happen, the killer seems to be walking loose in the theater and the killings are being shown as part of the film. Retro horror film is a good little horror film that is the sort of thing that might have been made back in the 1970's.(Though it does seem to echo Lamberto Bava's Demons) Creepy at times the film is operating with its own sense of dream logic which makes its ability to scare limited. since we can't always see how it gets from A to B (though sometimes were way ahead of the film.) Flaws aside the film is worth a look on cable or as a rental. Its not great but it is enjoyable.

When a violent '70s horror film is screened at a midnight showing in a small-town movie theatre, a group of friends decide to give the classic cult film a shot. Unfortunately for them, something sinister is afoot when it seems the movie's killer escapes from the celluloid and into their world, looking to make them the stars of the very film they were just watching!

While the plot may have been pulled directly out of the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "The Tale of the Midnight Madness" with a overalled murderer swapped for Nosferatu, it still seemed like an inventive and interesting idea that could easily make for an entertaining modern slasher. I suppose all three of those traits (inventive/interesting/entertaining) are true. But, it still wasn't a great film. For some strange reason, and this rarely happens, but I just kept bursting into laughter throughout the movie, especially within the first twenty minutes or so. I think it was a strange reaction to the bad acting, cheesy dialogue, and that ticket-taker kid that would not stop smiling every time he was on screen. Sadly, however, those are the kinds of a laughs a filmmaker does NOT want for his film. They're the ones that are laughing at, not with. Anyway, as far as the rest of the film goes, it's all pretty subpar. Visually, it's nothing to compliment. The direction & cinematography are all pretty basic, taking no risks whatsoever. The editing is terrible, using tricks like that annoying "MTV-style" editing just to add some style. The acting, as I hinted at, was pretty bad for the most part, but it was watchable. The writing was probably the worst part. Not only was the dialogue extremely silly at times, but the story often made no sense and had plot holes you could drive a bus through (for example, how could two people (the cop & the doctor) who are obsessed with a movie and its director not notice that there are new 'scenes' spliced in with locations & actors that they've never seen before?). There are little-to-no scares or suspense. . . but, the gore is good for the most part, even though the kills are overly repetitive. The killer is, well, somewhat cool, somewhat lame. The Keyser Söze limp is never explained or mentioned to have any significance to the film, but he does have a cool weapon and mask. My only problem with him. . . the dude's like 5'5", 130 lbs. While it does help with the mystery to keep him small, it doesn't help with the scares. In the end, Midnight Movie comes in just under average in quality, but makes up for it in entertainment. It's just far too stupid to really consider anything very good. If all you want is a bit of gore with no real redeeming technical qualities, you can do worse.

Obligatory Horror Elements:

• Subgenre: Slasher

• Violence/Gore: It starts out rather tame with most of the gore & violence off-screen; but, as the film progresses, it does get a bit bloody with some rather cool kills.

• Sex/Nudity: No sex and only a brief topless shower scene. Unfortunate, as there are some very cute girls in it.

• Scares/Suspense: Like most slashers of this type, the goal was entertainment and jump scares. It did have a few of the latter, so I suppose it was a success there.

• Mystery: It tried and threw in a couple red herrings, but I didn't really care enough to wonder.

• - -

Final verdict: 4/10. Pass on this one, unless a little bit of watchability is your only goal.

-AP3-

The basic idea is OK and I love the fact it's reminiscent of 70's horror flick, however it's very middle of the road. It doesn't make me hate it and I don't love it. It's the film version of a flavored rice cake. It has some flavor too it though, not enough to keep it interesting. Not much stands out, but I will list the points where it does stand out and that is what gives this rice cake it's seasoning and what easily takes it away.

The killer coming out of the movie and design I find at least interesting. The killer's mask and look kinda remind me of Rick from Splatter house video games although much skinnier especially with the design of the killer's mask. I also like the killer's weapon and it coming out of the movie(the basis for the whole thing) is never once addressed how this happens. The Runes Radford uses in the beginning scrawled out of his own blood are never explained or mentioned ever again why he did it or anything just that he does because he's crazy and that's it.

The other gripe I have is the shots of the killer coming out of the basement is and how it's angled is supposed to be a reference to Texas Chainsaw, but it isn't even a small subtle nod it's pretty much the exact shot with now of the scare factor chainsaw had. Also, while the gore effects are done well, there is never a moment were you are taken back by said gore/kill and the movie so short you don't really get to know many of the characters to develop any sort of liking one over another.

Those gripes aside the gore effects are nice and I also liked how it dispenses with the stupid college kids/cop that don't believe until it's too late and they act like actual people. It's cool, what they were trying to do, but you end up with something that definitely feels like a half hearted attempt rather than a labor of love. In the right hands this movie could've been a lot better.

This is your basic horror flick. It moves at a good pace along a strait path.

It's simply a handful of people trapped in a movie theater being killed

It's random. There's no real motivation. There is a decent amount of blood and gore.

For what it is, the acting/direction and dialogue are fine. The effects are believable. And, the atmosphere is good.

This is a decent late night watch.

Considering the premise it's funny how this went to video instead of being shown in theaters.

A motley assortment of folks go to see the lovably lousy early 70's low-budget horror clunker "The Dark Beneath" at a midnight screening in a rundown old theater. Things get hairy when the crazed ferocious killer (hulking behemoth Lee Main) in the picture comes off the screen and starts butchering audience members for real. Director/co-writer Jack Messsitt and co-writer Mark Garbett craft a clever and affection homage to both 70's drive-in exploitation schlock and 80's slice'n'dice body count fare that benefits from a constant snappy pace, likable and well-drawn main characters, slick cinematography by Messitt, Ruben Ross and Clyde W. Smith (the scratchy black and white look for the 70's feature is spot-on in its endearing crumminess), a roaring hard-rock soundtrack, a gradual build-up which allows for a goodly amount of tension (the last third is especially trippy and nightmarish), a shivery score by Penka Kouneva, an inspired supernatural twist, and, of course, a handy helping of nasty gore (funky splatter highlights include a juicy throat slashing, a heart being yanked out, and a truly jolting electrocution). The capable cast of solid no-name thespians deserve kudos as well: the fetching Rebekah Brandes delivers a strong and sympathetic performance as sweet and resilient heroine Bridget, Daniel Bonjour likewise does well as the amiable Josh, Stan Ellsworth almost steals the whole show with his winningly rowdy portrayal of scruffy rough'n'tumble biker Harley, plus there are neat supporting turns by Greg Cirulnick as obnoxious coward Mario, Mandell Maughan as the foxy Samantha, Melissa Steach as hot motorcycle mama Babe, Justin Baric as Bridget's bratty little brother Timmy, Jon Bridell as the obsessive Detective Barrons, and Jim Wynorski film regular Arthur Roberts as deranged movie director Radford. A fun fright flick.

Theater-goers attend(..and the hired staff of the establishment host) the midnight screening of an old 70's drive-in slasher, The Dark Beneath(..written, produced and directed by a psychiatric nut case who slaughtered a hospital's staff with the bodies, and himself, missing from the scene of the crime)featuring a skull-masked psycho in overalls, whose homemade weapon is a cone-shaped, cork-screw blade, who attacks a group of hippies with the misfortune of blowing a tire nearby his loony hick mama's decrepit farmhouse. Those in the cinema will understand the characters' dilemma all too well as they become prey to the killer who seemingly has the ability to remove himself from the film into reality stalking them, following their fear, he has a nose for this emotion. When the victims fall to the stalking supernatural killer, their bodies are carried into the film, and into his dungeon of rooms, a veritable prison for those whose fear he cashed in on.

Rebekah Brandes is Bridget, the young manager of the theater who takes care of her brother, Timmy(Justin Baric);both were a victim of fatherly abuse so their emotional wounds are still rather fresh. Daniel Bonjour is Bridget's very honorable and courageous boyfriend, Josh, who comes to her aid as protector when the situation grows more and more terrifying and the death toll ratchets upward. Greg Circulnick is Josh's obnoxious buddy, Mario and we see how much of a cowardly jerk he is when the killer has his girlfriend Samantha(Mandell Maughan)trapped with her hands pinned in a window seal. Jon Briddell is Detective Barrons, at the midnight screening in the hopes that it's creator might show up. Michael Swan is Dr. Wayne, the one who witnessed how bloody his hospital was at the hands of an escaped patient, and hopes that the lunatic will return to the theater where his film is playing. Also attending the show is a biker couple, Harley(Stan Ellsworth)and Babe(Melissa Steach)who are annoyed at the teen audience for talking during the movie. Rounding out the cast, Brea Grant as Rachel, the candy-popcorn counter girl with a lousy attitude, Shaun Ausmus as Kenny, wishing to improve his status in the theater begging for Bridget to allow him managerial duties so that he can show how responsible he can be, and Michael Schwartz as Sully, an opinionated hanger-on who wishes to join his teen peers and instead causes much disturbance when his body doesn't react too well to the popcorn and raisins. Arthur Roberts has a chameo role as the escaped crazy who made The Dark Beneath, quite memorable in his brief screen time.

Surprisingly brutal supernatural slasher with a sadistic killer who buries his corkscrew weapon deep into the bellies of victims. One victim gets the blade slammed into his face, while another receives it into her back shoulder as the killer twists it ripping deep inside. Brandes is quite a cute little lead actress establishing pretty much right away that she's sensitive and guarded due to past trauma and Bonjour's Josh is exactly who she needs, a person sympathetic towards her..Bonjour has that kind of "knight in shining armour" role. Ellsworth is fun as foul-mouthed, hulking Harley and his gal is the very sexy Steach(..her screen name, Babe is quite appropriate), who stands by her man always no matter how inappropriate his behavior can be at times(..ultimately, though, Harley has a heart, revealed when he finds out what Bridget has been through upon seeing scars on her arm)..he is certainly someone you'd like to have on your side if being chased by a maniac. I think if you dwell on the film's wacky plot, determining logic, then this will be certain to alienate you..it's more for slasher fans anyway, who can dispense with logic, embracing the loving nod to psycho-thrillers which appeared in Grindhouses. The killer's look is really effective, as is his weapon. The killer often dissolves in and out of reality, returning to the film to assault the characters. The theater setting has an ungarnished, archaic look representing a relic on it's way to being condemned. I'm not sure anyone will find the film on screen(..where the killer comes out of)a realistic example of 70's exploitation, however. Startlingly grim conclusion.

No one can appreciate low budget slasher films more than me. I've been a huge fan for years and seen just about every type of killer you can imagine. Midnight Movie looked like a perfect match. I've also certainly seen some real stinkers that are done on such an incredibly low budget that they look and feel like they've been shot with a home video camera but high school kids on a project. Midnight Movie sits somewhere in the middle of all that. They took what probably had the potential to be a decent story and slapped it together on what little money they likely had. Unfortunately I think they took a cut to a lot of what they would have wanted to do and just left it as is making Midnight Movie just average and really only entertaining to the hard core horror fans and even then its mostly a write off. Slasher flicks survive on a really solid killer with a great story, and also a variety of really cool death scenes from the gory, to the insane, to the completely outrageous and ultimately Midnight Movie's killer is a one trick pony who in the middle of the film mixes it up with a rather cool electricity kill. It also tries very hard to play the same sort of ironic satire that the Scream series was so successful at but it doesn't have the brains to pull that off.

All unknowns in this cast for me but some were pretty solid performers. Lovely and sweet looking Rebekah Brandes is the scream queen of the film and she is actually really good in the role. One of the things sacrificed in the film is any real in depth look at any of the characters but for what she is given she is perfect as the pure virgin-like heroine of the film. Daniel Bonjour is her love interest and protector in the film. He is there strictly for that purpose and does fine at it but literally has no other reason to be there and does not stand out on his own merits. Same could be said for Greg Cirulnick, and Mandell Maughan who play their couple friends who are created for nothing more than to be victims and do exactly that. However, another solid performance is given by Stan Ellsworth, who doesn't have a lot of credits to his name but still is solid as angry biker "Harley." I wish he had been given more to work with because I think he was a fun and strong and excellent anti-hero to the story. His love interest and newcomer Melissa Steach is pure fodder and nothing else. One of the more veteran actors of the film is Jon Briddell as the determined detective who could have been an incredible hero the story but is written as pure boring and is portrayed as such. Lee Main is okay as the killer of the film with no real name or purpose other than his film drives people crazy. This is his one and only film and he does decently given that.

So in some ways Midnight Movie has all the proper ingredients. Certainly the film makers have watched a slasher flick before and they said "Oh we can do that!" then they threw it all together instead of really taking their time but then money obviously played a part. Director and co-writer Jack Messitt has only this to his directorial credit. The entire film takes place in the confines of the theatre which makes things even harder and the film that is playing is so incredibly corny (a take off of Texas Chainsaw) that its hard to get involved in the film. Now with all that being said the concept is sort of clever. A film made by an eccentric director causes him to go insane and kill and kill again showing the whole thing on screen amidst the actual film. The supernatural element is downright brilliant managing to close any gaping plot holes like why they can't escape the theatre, break a window or simply stop the film. And one of the kills is incredibly cheeky and funny in a morbid way when the detective says "If you want her you'll have to go through me" and he does...literally. Midnight Movie is not a write off...its simply potential that will never be fully realized. Sloppy character creation, and less than stellar back story and deaths make this one more miss than hit. 5.5/10

After watching a few big budget bombs, it's fun to watch a little movie that could.

The plot is that an insane film director is shown his grind-house quality film in an insane asylum, but oddly enough, the entire staff of the asylum vanishes.

Flash forward 5 years, and there is a midnight showing with some horny kids, a couple of bikers and a cop and doctor who are still on the case, hoping the director will show up at this showing. The film itself appears to be a low-budget film in the theme of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The plot logic is the killer can pop in and out of the movie while it is playing and pick people off if they are afraid. It actually takes a few of the plot flaws of a film like this, such as why doesn't anyone call for help on their cell phones or why not just turn off the projector, and deals with them. Extra points for that.

More imaginative and fun than other films of this genre.

WARNING: This comment contains some minor spoilers.

Admittedly, the acting and character structure of the protagonists was one of only two reasons why this film did not get the straight 10 out of 10 from me. I mean, I know no one should expect great acting from a straight-to-DVD movie. I will give it its due credit, though. It was convincing when it needed to be.

The story concept in and of itself was some of the most brilliant work in horror film history. I absolutely LOVED the idea of a supernatural killer that brings the audience and the movie theater into the movie, and everyone and everything involved become bound by the rules of a horror/slasher film...no one escapes, nothing works, and nobody can help you. I thought that idea was, again, one of the most awesome concepts in horror film history.

The other reason why this movie did not net the 10 out of 10, was because it left too many questions unanswered. I won't spoil what questions those are, for the benefit of those who haven't seen it yet. Suffice it to say what is left unanswered definitely lends itself to a much-needed sequel.

Overall, I do recommend this film to anybody with a taste for horror films.

I have two movies in my queue that sound similar. One is a 1985 film called Demons, where two girls attend a special screening of a horror movie in an isolated theater. The film is so involved that it takes possession of the viewers and transforms them into zombie demons who attack other theater goers.

And, there is this one where some grind house aficionados become the unwilling stars of an old slasher flick when the film's crazed killer leaps off the screen to hunt them down, drag them back into the movie and kill them.

Now, I would never compare something modern to a foreign classic, but I haven't seen the earlier film yet, so I can't compare. I'll just judge this on it's own merits.

I was surprised at the first time the killer jumped out. No one else had a clue. I can't believe no one recognized the victim.

They recognized the second and third victims and thought it was a joke. The cop (Jon Briddell) and the doctor (Michael Swan) knew it was real as they were after Ted Radford, the director of the movie on the screen.

The double kill was brilliant.

Josh (Daniel Bonjour) figured it out, but the killer (Lee Main) outsmarted him.

Blood, gore, neat special effects and a lot of suspense. It was worth the ride.

Midnight Movie starts at New Haven mental institution as inmate & raving loony Ted Radford (Arthur Roberts) is sat down by his doctor to watch the old black and white horror film the Dark Beneath he made several decades ago, once the film starts all hell breaks loose & over seventy ward patients & staff go missing leaving nothing but bloody stains everywhere. Jump forward 'Five Years Later' & an old cinema is about to have a special midnight showing of The Dark Beneath, the first time it has been shown in public for forty years. Pretty teenager & cinema manager Bridget (Rebekah Brandes), her boyfriend Josh (Daniel Bonjour) & several other teens decide to watch the film along with a few other people including surviving psych ward doctor & investigating cop who still puzzle over the unsolved massacre at New Haven & feel the answer lies with the film & when the audience starts getting killed one by one it seems they may be right...

Co-written & directed by Jack Messitt one has to say that I thought Midnight Movie was a pretty terrible teen slasher with unexplained & rather baffling supernatural elements that make little sense. The basic script has various people watching a teen slasher obviously ripped-off from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) & them being killed off by the killer from the film who just sort of randomly pops up every so often with a silly looking weapon that resembles either a corkscrew or a piece of abstract modern art. So if you decide to give Midnight Movie a look what ends up happening is that the audience (us) watch a teen slasher film about a teen audience in a cinema watching a teen slasher film, got that? Midnight Movie is a sort of crap cross between The Last Action Hero (1993) & The Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you can imagine such a thing. The biggest problem I had with Midnight Movie was that nothing is explained or given any sort of rationalisation, there's no explanation as to why the film The Dark Beneath has the unusual effect of turning it's fictional killer real, why he kills anyone anyway, what Ted Radford actually had to do with it in the first place, why the victims are dead in reality but alive in the film, why the cop couldn't see the people screaming for help or why the doors are locked tight & the glass seems to be bullet proof to prevent anyone from leaving. There's also the lame revelation that the needs his victims to be scared of him for him to be able to kill them, what? To add insult to injury if the main slasher film wasn't bad enough we also get various chunks of black and white footage from the film actually playing at the cinema The dark beneath which is also crap. The teen character's are crap, the authority figures are incompetent & there's even an annoying little kid actor who doesn't get killed. There's a lot of time spent running around the cinema before the last survivor gets taken back into the film & the setting changes but not to any great effect as it's still the same sort of thing. At 80 odd minutes at least it's short & there are one or two mildly gory kills but there's little here to recommend & there are so many much better teen slasher films out there there's really no need to bother with this lacklustre seemingly random film.

The killer here is never revealed as to who he is but like the Leatherface rip-off he is he wears a face mask made out of stapled together bits of skull bone & for some reason the makers have given him a limp. There's some gore here with a fair bit of blood splatter, wrist biting, a slit throat, some toe torture & the killer shoves, twists & pokes his corkscrew weapon into various people. There is no nudity here apart from one breast shot which doesn't help. The film within the film The Dark Beneath plays in black and white & starts off with some very fake looking scratch lines which miraculously clear up & is frankly just as bad as the main film. Theree are no real scares here & the tension is low & if the killer can materialise wherever he wants why doesn't he materialise inside locked rooms where people are hiding towards the end?

With a supposed budget of about $1,000,000 according to the IMDb this looks alright & has reasonable production values, apparently film in Los Angeles. The acting isn't that good with even the main lead leading female not that much to look at.

Midnight Movie is a forgettable title for a forgettable slasher that has no explanation behind it's seemingly random plot & a killer who is a blatant Leatherface rip-off, not even a short 80 minute duration & some minor gore can save this one.