There are many movies that stick with you forever. I am not talking about the movies that are big blockbusters that everyone and their family has seen. I am talking about the movies that not many people have. At least, you assume that you and your family are the only people to really lay eyes on it. I have talked about Mr. Boogedy and Midnight Madness. Other movies have been talked about on my site but those movies have had a wider audience. They are a little more well-known. This time around, I am talking about a TV movie titled, “The Midnight Hour“. It hit the airwaves back in 1985. It was many years later that I saw it. I remember laying on the floor. My brother and my sister were on the couch. We flipped on the TV and how we came across this movie, I don’t know. Am I glad we did? Yes. I watch this movie on many occasions.
The movie takes place in a fictional town called, Pitchford Cove. A group of high school students unknowingly raise the dead and bring back a group of zombies and a witch. Being a TV movie, this isn’t a big budget horror movie. This wasn’t directed by John Landis. If it was, the movie would have been a hell of a lot better. Not saying this movie sucked but if they got him to direct this movie, who knows how much better and scarier it could have been. The movie was directed by Jack Bender. I am not familiar with the name but after this movie, he has gone on to do some steady work. He directed episodes of Lost, Alias, and The Sopranos. Needless to say, this movie was what started his career (At least I think so). Aside from the director, the movie had a large cast of well-known people from the 80’s and some are still around today. LeVar Burton, Shari Belafonte, Peter DeLuise, Dick Van Patten, and Kevin McCarthy are just some of the names.
The high school kids (Mitch, Vinny, Mary, Phil, Melissa) are readying themselves for a big Halloween party. To create the perfect costumes, they break into the towns historical society and steal the actual outfits worn by their ancestors and a large chest. This isn’t just your ordinary chest. This chest contains a scroll. On this scroll is an ancient curse. To make the night even more exciting, they swing by the local cemetery and recite the curse. No harm, right? Wrong! As the group leaves to make it to the party, the tombstones shake, rattle and roll. In a matter of minutes, the graveyard is crawling with the undead. We don’t just have zombies. We have Lucinda Cavender, a werewolf(?), a serial killer named Vernon Nestor, a sexy cheerleader, and a midget. They are all coming back to tear this town apart.
The town begins to panic and calls start coming in to the local sheriff department. At the time, he was no one in particular. But upon more viewings, I discovers that the sheriff is no other than Eric Forman’s dad on “That 70’s Show”. We don’t see many of the town people get torn apart or transformed into zombies. It would have been nice but again, this wasn’t a big budget blockbuster. The real action takes place all at the Halloween party. The ghouls have crashed it. Being a costume party, everyone is clueless as to who and what they really are.
courtesy of badmovies.org
I hate to criticize this movie but one thing never really worked for me. We have a witch coming back from the dead but she’s a vampire now? Please explain to me hoe Lucinda is a witch but she returns as a vampire? I never fully understood that. I wish I could get an honest answer to that one. It boggles the mind. Oh, well. Just one of those things we’ll never get answered. Moving on…
The below video is a musical number towards the end of the film. It’s obvious that just by watching it and the time it came out, they were leeching off the critically acclaimed, Thriller. That was scary and the below video is the complete opposite of anything scary.
The movie is currently out of print but if you’re willing to pay a hefty price, go buy it from someone on Ebay or Amazon. You won’t regret it. It’s a great movie to watching during the Halloween season. Click the link(shameless plug) to read about Mr. Boogedy, another classic made for TV horror movie. The Midnight Hour is a made for TV movie so you’re aren’t going to see big budget effects or a musical score by John Williams. What you will find is a movie filled with cheesy dialogue and some of the greatest songs from the 50’s and 60’s. Check out the flick and get some popcorn ready. Ignore the cheesy dialogue and the predictability and prepare to ‘Get Dead’!
pitweston
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