Midnight Movie: The Killer Cut

Borrows its premise from Bava, but does the master one better.
This at its core a supernatural slasher film. Like all slasher films it is required to have a masked killer who uses a specialised cutting implement to dispatch teens in a particular setting. Like most supernatural films it comes with specific rules and otherworldly occurances and lapses in logic to circumvent said killer. The film works in both its horror subgenres.

Now at first glance the basic premise of the film sounds like Bava's gore/monster classic DEMONS. Sure, that's partially true. It's about a group of people going to see a midnight horror film in an old theater, and then having the horrifying images on the screen come to life and effect the audience in gruesome ways. But that's where the similarities end and the innovation begins. While I love DEMONS, I have to admit beyond the monster effects, soundtrack, cinematography and basic premise, the film brings nothing new to the table that Romero hadn't already in his zombie films. The satire about how movie...

Corkscrews are no longer just for wine bottles
Around 12:30 am last night after the Late Night Show Sid cruised the channels in hopes of some fine b. Luckily one of the movie channels just started their showing of Midnight Movie. Previously we had read reviews in favor of the film and decided this would be the feature film of the evening. It offered up a nice concept for horror making it a somewhat original b. Sure it's nothing you must see, but for an avid low budget horror fan it's certainly worth the watch.

The film is centered around a group of people gathered at a dive movie theater to view a cult film called The Dark Beneath. Once the film starts rolling in becomes evident that the crowd of ten is in danger as the killer emerges from the screen taking people out one by one. To sum up the killer, he's a far less scary version of Leatherface who dons a corkscrew as his weapon of choice. The way he kills you is by smelling your fear, much like a bee, causing him to stalk you in a very slow foot dragging motion (hence...

PREDICTABLE, BUT ENDS BETTER THAN IT BEGINS! 2 1/4 STARS!
I'm a big fan of horror films, but there hasn't been much to get excited about lately. This film had some potential, but cardboard characters and a flimsy script kept it from being anything but a routine slasher. The idea is pretty good, kind of like 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' meets 'Last Action Hero', but it just doesn't deliver many chills. The last quarter of the film is better than the first three quarters, but it doesn't save this from being a "by the numbers" horror flick. The acting is decent for this type of film and the killer is pretty cool looking, but the killings are pretty mild for a slasher. It's worth a look for fans of slasher films, but it's pretty forgettable.

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