Moon Crime

MIDNIGHT FEAR is a virtually forgotten, low budget serial killer movie. It starts out as predictably as you'd expect, with boozy cop David Carradine investigating a particularly vicious murder (the victim was skinned) before turning into something different...and rather unique.

After the first half hour, the narrative becomes a set-piece centred around a remote farmhouse and the suspicious characters who inhabit it. The plot seems fairly straightforward, almost a slasher movie with a few brief snippets of unpleasant gore, but then it throws in a twist straight out of left field which had me reeling. What a surprise! What quality writing!

Yeah, I'm not going to get too carried away here, but MIDNIGHT FEAR is a lovely little surprise for fans of the genre: a tense, tightly-plotted little movie with an intriguing script, good acting, and an extremely downbeat climax. Apart from Carradine, we get fun performances from the likes of Craig Wasson (BODY DOUBLE) - who relishes his bad guy role - and twitchy, crazed Page Fletcher, giving the best acting job as the former asylum inmate. Altogether I found it to be a little gem of a film, so why not see what you think?

I really enjoyed this dark and brooding psychological whodunnit. A woman is murdered in a most unpleasant way. She has her foot severed at the ankle. She is then skinned alive. When she is finally dead the killer decides now would be the best time for some sex... Yuck! On the scene of the crime is Detective Hanley (Carradine) who, having seen more than his fair share of depravity, chooses alcohol as his work partner of choice. Meanwhile, across on the other side of the town, a couple of men have turned up at a farm looking for a telephone as their car has broken down. At the stables, they find Jenny (West), who is house and horse sitting for her friend while she and her brother go on spring break. There's something not quite right about these brothers, Paul (Wasson) and John (Fletcher)...

It's at this point that the story starts to get good and twisty. The trouble is that the writers and director go a little heavy-handedly about dropping hints as to the twists in the story. I have to admit this was the only off-putting thing in the film for me. Apart from these little bits, the story is strong and well structured. But the best thing about it is the ending, which is brilliant, and probably one of the truest endings on film - as well as the most ironic.

The acting is above average and I found all the characters to be realistic and believable... except for one scene towards the climax of the film. This had John and Jenny playing out a scene. It's Jenny's behaviour, at this point that really angered me. The character that we've seen, up to this point, wouldn't do, act, or say the things she does in this scene. I know that's vague but I don't want to spoil the film for anyone. And besides, this is only a slight annoyance and shouldn't stop anyone from watching this film. But when you get to this scene and you'll know and be ready for it. I think this flick also shows how underrated David Carradine was as an actor. He really does get the alcoholic detective fighting the monkey on his back down pat. It's not Oscar material, but it is good.

And I have to give respect to Bill Crain who was great at using light to create atmosphere and tension... some of it is pretty striking while others are quite subtle. Take the climax around the pool, very artistic. I also loved how he ceased all sound when you were looking out of John's eyes as he was a deaf-mute. This added a different perspective, even if it was just a few seconds at a time. There are some really nice camera shots too. The climax in the bedroom is especially beautiful and sad, as well as being beautifully lit.

Though this isn't the greatest film ever made it does have a lot going for it. It's one film that I wouldn't mind watching again... maybe, even a few times. I would say to all psychological thriller lovers, murder mystery fans, armchair detectives, and whodunnit pundits give this one a go - it's worth it.

Young and likeable Jenny is looking after a farmhouse whilst the family go away on vacation, their son David has the hots for her and hangs around. She is not the slightest bit interested and who can blame her, when it comes to being a nerd he is off the scale! I breathed a big sigh of relief when eventually he does go to join his folks, only for him to soon reappear as he won't take no for an answer off poor Jenny. Meanwhile two psycho brothers invade the farm. They have already skinned a woman alive and the drunken Sheriff (David Carradine) is on (and off) the case. This film can't decide if it wants to be a home invasion shocker, a slasher movie or a cop thriller. It's a bit of each all rolled up. There are a few very gory moments but the body count is too low to really qualify as a slasher. "We got a real loony on our hands" says one cop, without giving anything away there is more than one loon and the "twist" is very difficult to swallow. Quite frankly it's rather ridiculous. The two nasty brothers are well played and Carradine is very watchable as the drunken cop (sadly he had a drink problem in real life and perhaps to some extent he was playing himself). Jenny is a nice girl but she is far too calm when taken hostage, as for David the Nerd I rapidly began to hate this incredibly annoying character. On the soundtrack we are treated to some Beethoven and Bach, the contemporary music is too overdone though. The movie is very downbeat and I applaud it for that but sadly the plot is just too silly and this (plus David, arghhh!) really lets it down.

those twists and turns should keep you a bit surprised at the end. this is sort of a hybrid movie a mix of slasher horror,mystery & drama.Its the tale of a sexy young coed staying on a farm with her just a friend male college buddy who is a bit strange & immature. later She is held hostage by two brothers one a deaf mute and maybe violent[a bit of Mice & Men]who are looking for a way out of the area. but all three are being stalked by another killer. David Carradine is the drunk cop on & off the case who in a drunk stupor figures it all out. Decent all around performance and a decent plot with a few cheap thrills throw in make this a viewable movie.

Good example of a worthy little seen film here, not only is Midnight Fear pretty decent stuff the cast gives it some good credentials for b movie lovers. But first the story, we have a drunk and washed up sheriff investigating a nasty murder, while at the same time a nice young lady and her nerdishly inappropriate housemate are visited by an intense deaf mute and his edgy brother. This is just the starting point of course, but it's a little more than I knew before I sat down to watch it, and its one of those films where its best to just let things unfold. Seeing where these two plot strands are going and how they come together is all part of the intrigue, well it intrigued me at any rate. Director William (Blacula) Crain lets things quietly bubble, slow pace and isolation are the most prominent weapons in this ones arsenal. There's a likable sense of control to the way things slowly come to the boil, interrupted every now and again with jolts of violence presented in offbeat, near arty fashion. A little blood, some shock value, arresting blips that mostly help to crank up the unease. Actors drive the film, we have David Carradine as the boozy sheriff and it's a fine turn, a tired and ragged demeanour wrapped about a keen mind comes out very nicely. As the deaf mute brother Page Fletcher conveys constant unrest, boiling over into torment with an unpredictable power, while Craig Wasson does a good job as his more talkative, nervy sibling. It's a nicely written role, his occasionally slightly awkward chat never comes across contrived, just someone trying to fill a void in communication, its sympathetic even when he comes across menacing. August West is suitably fresh and likable as the imperilled young Jenny, while Evan Richards does the right part obnoxious, part naïve moves as her housemate David. The isolation of the settings is mirrored in the characters, everyone is a bit disconnected from the people around them, the whole thing has a "not quite right" pallor to it, and since the nastier stuff is offscreen its hard to ever quite settle down. The approach is cunning though, setting everyone up for an intense climax that rains twisted jabs and comes right to the edge of off the rails. It definitely could have been a little better controlled but the way things go down on screen is quiet enough to offset the hysteria of events, so the film doesn't quite turn to schlock. It does shock though, unpredictable and cruel. I was rather taken aback in fact and the whole business takes the film from workable suspenser to somewhat of a minor humdinger all in all. Definitely worth a look if it sounds appealing I'd say.