Somewhere just outside of Pittsburgh, a mother and her four children are hunting a little girl for their satanic ritual. This family really loves Satan! God bless ‘em! Fast forward to “Yesterday” (sometime in 1982, that is) where we meet Nancy (Melanie Verlin), a teenage girl with an unfortunate haircut. When her creepy cop stepdad Bert (Lawrence Tierney) tries to sexually assault her, she cracks him on the head with her transistor radio and runs away from home. Nancy hitches a ride with Tom and Hank, two college kids headed for Ft. Lauderdale.
After they shoplift some groceries to feed their broke ass bellies on the trip, the trio runs afoul of some very aggressive police officers who are rather enthusiastic about police brutality. Nancy thinks she’s gotten away momentarily but she runs smack dab into even more trouble! Remember that family of Satanists? Well, guess what? They’re baaaaaaack! Will sleazy stepdad arrive in time to rescue Nancy from the clutches of these evildoers and if he does, can he keep his disgusting hands to himself this time? Watch and find out!
Boy oh boy am I glad that revisited this one? I caught John Russo’s Midnight (1982) way back when it was on that Lions Gate DVD, and I wasn’t all that impressed. Thankfully, my tastes have devolved- oops, I mean uh… matured! I meant to say matured. This wicked little slice of exploitation really hits the spot if you’ve got a craving for a bleak freak fest. No one is safe in Midnight and can get gotten at any time. Helping matters along very much are the overcast skies, dreary locations, an effectively unsettling music score by Paul McCollough and Mike Mazzei, and some gore effects by Tom Savini.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how good this cast is. The actors portraying the irredeemable villains turn in some truly demented performances. John Amplas, best known to horror fans for playing Martin the vampire in George Romero’s Martin (1976), is gosh darn menacing as a real son of a biscuit who takes great pleasure in doing evil things. I really wish Robin Walsh, who plays Cynthia the leader of the satanic fam, had gone on to do more horror films. She’s just grand. As for the good guys, Melanie Verlin is excellent as Nancy, a devout young lady who maintains her faith even when faced with the darkest of circumstances.
John Russo is quite an interesting character. His co-scripting Night of the Living Dead (1968) helped him get his foot in the door of horror filmmaking. He would return to that well one time too many in 1999 with a dreadful 30th Anniversary Edition of NOTLD that should be avoided at all costs. I really love how he has several novels based on his screenplays out there bouncing around on Ebay. And the films he has written and directed are pretty much totally nuts. Check out The Majorettes (1986), a slasher that goes above and beyond to set itself apart from the rest, and Santa Claws (1996), a trashy Christmas confection starring the one and the only, Debbie Rochon.
Severin really pulled out all the stops for Midnight. This 1.66:1 print looks and sounds fan-freakin’-tastic and there’s plenty of extras to dip into as well. There’s an interview with Russo himself discussing the origins of the story and the challenges of getting the film finished. Legendary exploitation producer Sam Sherman gets into his part on making sure that Russo finished Midnight when things weren’t going awry. Actor John Amplas talks about all the great people he worked with on the film and a fun story about being blotto on the set.
But wait, there’s more! Tom Savini discusses how busy he was in the early 80s and confesses to barely remembering working on Midnight. There’s an alternate title card for the film’s The Backwoods Massacre title. The disc also features a trailer and a radio spot for the film. And yes, there’s one more extra. Jeez Louise, Severin! There’s also a feature where you can watch the film with just the isolated music score and some commentary by composer Mike Mazzei.