Midnight

Director: John A. Russo, John Russo John A. Russo

Overview

In this occult horror film, director John Russo, best known for Night of the Living Dead, has created a few twists on the plot of a heroine escaping one evil, only to encounter another, even worse. Some asides on the nature of racism are thrown in for good measure. After Nancy Johnson (Melanie Verlin) runs away from home because her drunken stepfather (Lawrence Tierney) tried to rape her, she is given a ride by two men who are actually thieves, and they all end up prisoners of a Southern family of Satanists. They plan on offering Nancy to the Devil himself at midnight on Easter Sunday. Some cinematic goofs -- Easter Sunday apparently falls in autumn since the leaves are turning color outside, and the "South" looks a lot like Pittsburgh -- are somewhat off-set by the make-up artistry of Tom Savini and a lively performance by Lawrence Tierney. Yet the pace is slow and the lesser protagonists solidly one-dimensional, tipping the balance more toward the minus -- which may be a plus to some viewers.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/28/2021
UPC:	0760137644699
Original Release:	1981
Source:	Severin
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	58,370

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Melanie Verliin	Nancy Johnson
Lawrence Tierney	Bert Johnson
John Hall	Tom
Charles Jackson	Hank
Doris Hackney	Harriet Johnson
John Amplas	Abraham
Robin Walsh	Cynthia
David Marchick	Cyrus
Greg Besnak	Luke

Technical Credits

John A. Russo

John A. Russo	Screenwriter,Director,Director
Daniel Kennis	Executive Producer
Donald Redinger	Producer
Tom Savini	Special Effects
Samuel Sherman	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Don Redinger	Producer
Dan O. Kennis	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

This low-budget effort goes for a Satanic variation on that Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Hills Have Eyes school of rural terror. A lot of it doesn't work: the dramatic scenes mostly fall flat due to poor acting and clunky dialogue, John Russo's directorial style is of the "point and shoot" variety and a chintzy musical score leans too heavily on its goofy soft-rock theme song. However, the film's raw technique works its favor during the second half when the horror kicks in. The film's depiction of the Satanist family might be a bit cartoonish but it's also fairly unnerving and the scenes with victims being kept in dog cages is difficult to forget. It's also worth noting that a few brief bits of gore are pretty effective thanks to the makeup effects skills of Tom Savini. Ultimately, Midnight is a minor horror entry but has a handful of unsettling scenes that might make it worth a look to the genre completist.

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