Midnight Movie is a supernatural slasher film that has gathered some inexplicable praise. It even apparently won best film at the Chicago Horror Film Festival; I don't want to watch the runners-up.
The plot has a group of movie theater patrons becoming trapped when a cursed horror film from the early 1970's is shown. The film within the film is a variation on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with a group of hippies breaking down and seeking shelter in the home of a psychopath. The murderer from this film within a film comes out of the screen and begins killing the audience members, sort of like the much superior 1985 film Demons.
I worked in a movie theater. I was never a projectionist, but I did visit the booth from time to time. I know what 35mm film projectors are supposed to look like. What's more the filmmakers of Midnight Movie should know this as well since this is their field. The film within a film here is playing at a movie theater on a 16mm projector and consists of one reel. How long would that make the film within a film? I would guess fifteen minutes, maybe twenty. Also, throwing in a line about how cheap the theater is does not justify the set up. A cheap theater would run second run product of recent movies. A black and white horror film from the 1970's (?) which is known for having caused its director to go insane would not be randomly playing at a mom and pop theater in the 21st Century. This film would be showing as a gala event at a film festival or a cult theater like The Alamo Draft House!
Midnight Movie is a lame horror movie with a promising central idea. Unfortunately, bad directing, bad acting, and too bright lighting (almost like a soap opera) kill all the tension. Nothing, nothing in this film (or the film within a film) convinces for a moment.
The plot has a group of movie theater patrons becoming trapped when a cursed horror film from the early 1970's is shown. The film within the film is a variation on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with a group of hippies breaking down and seeking shelter in the home of a psychopath. The murderer from this film within a film comes out of the screen and begins killing the audience members, sort of like the much superior 1985 film Demons.
I worked in a movie theater. I was never a projectionist, but I did visit the booth from time to time. I know what 35mm film projectors are supposed to look like. What's more the filmmakers of Midnight Movie should know this as well since this is their field. The film within a film here is playing at a movie theater on a 16mm projector and consists of one reel. How long would that make the film within a film? I would guess fifteen minutes, maybe twenty. Also, throwing in a line about how cheap the theater is does not justify the set up. A cheap theater would run second run product of recent movies. A black and white horror film from the 1970's (?) which is known for having caused its director to go insane would not be randomly playing at a mom and pop theater in the 21st Century. This film would be showing as a gala event at a film festival or a cult theater like The Alamo Draft House!
Midnight Movie is a lame horror movie with a promising central idea. Unfortunately, bad directing, bad acting, and too bright lighting (almost like a soap opera) kill all the tension. Nothing, nothing in this film (or the film within a film) convinces for a moment.