Movie Review: The Midnight Hour

The Midnight Hour was released for a made for TV in 1985. I was 5 years old however when I first saw it. Let me tell you, it scared the ebbie jeebies out of me.

Now the review before me says that it's okay to show this flick to the little ones. I would say go ahead and let them watch it, that's if you want them up all night, imagining some huge werewolf ripping at them under the covers, and end up sleeping in your room. In my opinion this movie is a bit too scary for some younger children.

Lets get to the movie itself though.
This movie is my all time favorite horror. There doesn't go a year that my family doesn't gather to watch this on Halloween.

Bill is the main character, he is your average nerdy type teenager, with a small group of friends. He has a group of 4 friends total; all whom need a costume for Melissa's Halloween party.

They decide that its a good idea to go and borrow some clothes/costumes, from a local wax museum for authentic costumes.
2 of the teens have ancestors in the museum, as wax figures. So naturally they decide to wear there ancestors original clothes.

They stumble upon a trunk hidden in the corner of the basement. They open the trunk, and realize there are some cool props inside for them to use for the Halloween party. Bill urges them not to take anything, but he's a one man army up against the rest of the group.

For some odd reason one of the teens thinks it would be a cool night to go to the local graveyard and hang out with everyone.

They end up opening the trunk here completely. Inside is a scroll, sealed shut with wax stamp.
Melissa grabs the scroll, opens it up and begins reading it, as she sways back and forth, in a trance like state.

She faints, only to get up saying, "It was only a joke".
They leave quickly afterwards, seeing how no one saw the humor and head for home.

There is then a small cut in the scene, and you now get to see the graveyard beginning to, what looks like; breathe. Dirt goes flying up, you get to see some ripping at the wood inside their coffins, to get out. Some zombies rise up in anger, others just seem to roam aimlessly.

This is the best visual I think I've ever seen in any rising dead horror movie. The make-up and costumes are perfect, the mood of the movie is always up to par, and the music will take you right back to the big 80's.

Oddly however, a werewolf is somehow mixed in, as well as Melissa's ancestor; the witch, who comes back as a vampire. Which is strange. Theres even a little midget thrown in. I think he was the coolest little zombie, and his costume and make-up were spectacular. Some ghouls, and a lot of semi slow moving zombies. It's an awesome scene. One must see the movie to fully appreciate it.

Also in the zombie mix arises a 1950's cheerleader still in uniform. Shes the only one that seems like she doesn't belong in the group of half rotten zombies.

The teens are completely unaware of it at first. Till Melissa's Halloween party. This is where the ghouls were able to blend in perfectly in the crowd. As each teen at the party is bitten, they turn into a zombie themselves. Not cute zombies either. I mean full fledged scary running zombies.

Bill meets up with Sandy on the street, he left the party early. So he was one of the lucky ones who got spared. She asks him for directions to the malt shop. It seems she is not aware shes dead, and she is talking about shops, and places that once existed when she was alive in the 50's.

A small romance is shared between the two, up until they realize they have to save the town from the ghoulies.

This is where the movie turns from semi-scary, to full blown horror fest.
They have to get the ring off of a dead ancestors finger in the graveyard to seal the scroll before midnight.

This tasks proves not so easy, seeing how they have an entire mob of undead chasing them. All of whom were once Bills friends. The chase is probably the scariest part in the movie.

The ending is full of suspense, and will have you actually anticipating the result. I'm telling you the ending is frightening, but I will not ruin it.

I would recommend this movie to families with children no younger than 6. A definite watch for Halloween or All Halo's Eve.

Its just a great 80's horror film that's owed a lot of due credit. I wish they'd play it on TV every year, however they do not. You can buy it on DVD for $80, that's if you can find it. The DVD is no longer being made. Another reason I'm glad my mom taped it, when it was shown in the 80's.