amesmonde After a group of teenagers unlock a centuries-old curse on Halloween a town becomes overrun by the demons of hell from zombies to witches.Made in 1985 when TV movies still looked filmatic, TV specials were still special and had good production values, The Midnight Hour especially to an outside America viewer is an obscure ABC Halloween treat. Directed by Jack Bender there's some great make up monster effects and it's far from a mediocre made-for-TV horror comedy. With homages to The Wolfman, Dracula and the more recent Night of the Living Dead and Thriller there's plenty of cobwebs, graves and gate crashed suburban Halloween parties to hold attention.As with the risen from the dead 50s cheerleader Sandy (Jonna Lee) highlighting the differences of 1985, that's The Midnight Hour biggest hook as now plays a great piece of 80s nostalgia. There's also a subplot love story town in amongst the TV horror shenanigans. With almost every horror track from Blue Moon to The Smith's How Soon is Now there's also (The Terminator) Brad Fiedel's ambitious fitting score.The cast are above average and include the stunning Shari Lynn Belafonte, LeVar Burton, Jonna Lee, Dedee Pfeiffer as Mary Masterson, Kurtwood Smith cameos and Macaulay Culkin makes a brief debut.Not too scary for junior children, werewolf, vampires, zombies, ghouls, and goblins add up to on screen creepy campy fun, you can't go wrong.

Dagon The Midnight Hour, as my subtitle indicates, was a made-for-TV horror movie (I should probably use that term very loosely here) directed by Jack Bender; unbelievably, the same guy responsible for many episodes of the hit TV show Lost, The HBO original series The Sopranos, and Ally Mcbeal. One could say that's quite a resume for a television director and they'd be right...but when it comes to The Midnight Hour, all I seem to hear are screeching car tires and someone getting thrown out of the passenger seat face first into the asphalt - I was no longer on board.The premise here is a simple one - a group of kids steal historical relics from the town registry and decide to dabble in black magic; conjuring up the dead accidentally, causing a chain of events that unfold throughout the film's duration. It sounds like fun, right? The Midnight Hour is a title that deserves my favorite format - the checklist! So without further adieu....1.) Lavar Burton. Yes, the man most people from my generation are familiar with who starred as the host of Reading Rainbow, initially broadcast in June of 1983. If any of you are Star Trek: The Next Generation fans, he also played Geordi La Forge - the blind, visor- wearing Chief Engineering Officer of the Enterprise. His role as Vinnie Davis in The Midnight Hour actually occurred a year before auditioning for the part in Star Trek. I'm not a huge Lavar Burton fan but I thought it was comical that he chose a part in this movie...recognizing a familiar face is always an added bonus. Which leads me to my next point....2.) Random song and dance routine. Indeed, if this film didn't exude enough 80's energy already, this 3-minute-long sequence definitely pushed things over the edge. It was obvious they were paying tribute to Michael Jackon's video, Thriller, which was released a year prior. Obviously it didn't take long for people to imitate his famous dance scene. What made things even more hilarious is Lavar Burton's dance moves...I had to put things into perspective quickly; otherwise, the shame I felt while watching would've caused me to leap from the balcony to my demise. Since my balcony is only one story high I'm sure all I would suffer is a sprained ankle...left alone to wallow in further humiliation.3.) 20-something-year-olds who play highschoolers. One could argue that there isn't a huge difference in age...but seriously? I definitely recall that while in highschool, people weren't sporting full facial hair and appearing old enough to be someone's father. This small detail was always so funny to me and I'll never not comment on it.4.) A good ol' smattering of zombies, vampires, and a werewolf. Why is there always just one Wolfman? Surely some other creature created him in order for him to exist as well, right? Can there be only one? Do they just meet up in an abandon warehouse somewhere and fight it out with swords, with the victor decapitating their opponent in order to remain the "one"? Hey that sounds like a great premise for a set of movies...possibly even a television series....So after all of these points, how was I left feeling? Disappointed, actually. This film was released on November 1st of 1985 - it's obvious they timed the season of Halloween with it's release. I can imagine families sitting at home watching this...it's appropriate, tame, and lighthearted. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for something of this nature but normally if it's too family friendly I tend to steer clear. Fans should learn to appreciate horror in many formats but the "safe for TV and grandma" target audience features don't interest me. I compare so many 80's horror films like this one to Fright Night; a film that actually got the balance right.

tymaroudas The Midnight Hour has been my all time favorite movie since I was 3. The first time I watched it was on TV and my mother just so happen to catch it before it started and recorded it. The only other time I saw it on TV was in the early to mid 90's it aired on USA, I was really surprised to see it. None of my friends growing up even heard of it so they thought I was weird. I was really surprised at how much it is going for now. I also wanted to mention that I have been searching for the soundtrack on the internet since 1996 or at least the names of the songs. I know them all but a few and those are the opera song, when Melissa's in the restroom with Mary and almost gets bitten by her great x 5 grandmother, and the Gothic song playing after Mary gets bitten by Melissa.

obiemookie I am a huge horror movie fan...and normally "Made for TV Movies" based on Halloween or horror usually stink (either because of lack of money, lack of real scares and/or gore...lack of plot...etc)...The Midnight Hour, on the other hand, is a great little Made for TV Horror movie!I remember seeing this film when it first aired in 1985...and just falling in love with it. At that point, I had just discovered "Dawn of the Dead", and was really into the whole "Dead coming back to life" type of movie...and this one really hits the mark. Admittedly, it's tame compared to movies released with an R rating...but it's an incredible movie that both kids and adults can enjoy! And, it's VERY creepy in parts...especially when the two leads are driving through the town square, which has become inhabited by the living dead.After seeing it the first time in 85, I watched for it every year afterwards...only seeing it rarely. Kind of a disappointment that it wasn't on a lot...but it did make it more special when it WAS on. How happy was I when, about 5 years ago, I found a VHS copy of it in the local video store! I bought a copy, and now get to watch it whenever I want (well...at Halloween anyway).Let's face it...this movie can probably be seen as kind of cheesy in that it was made in the 80's...we really didn't know how to dress back then! But it has great music (especially the song "How Soon is Now" by The Smiths. Its inclusion happens at a very cool part of the movie), some really good scares...and is a pretty cool movie to watch after coming home from trick or treating on Halloween! If you're looking for a movie where people get ripped apart, swear a lot, show nudity...this isn't going to be the one for you. But if you'd like a fun movie, that is creepy, and has a good story (well, aside from the whole werewolf thing...THAT kind of throws me every time I watch it)...then pick up this one!