Midnight [Blu-ray]

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

Overview

A teenager (Melanie Verlin), abused by her step-father in Pennsylvania, decides to run away to California. On the trip, however, she falls in with thieves and later sacrificial cultists. The 1981 film was both directed and written by Russo, the co-scripter of Night of the Living Dead.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/28/2021
UPC:	0760137644583
Original Release:	1981
Source:	Severin
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	33,209

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.