What if Sauron had won in Lord of the Rings? That seems to be the central—if unofficial—premise behind Midnight Chronicles, a low-budget fantasy film which is apparently based on a role-playing game of the same name. I don't know anything about the game, but fans of fantasy films and literature will have no problem identifying a familiar genre setting with all the expected features—elves, orcs, evil sorcerers and brave rebels, horrible monsters, etc.
The difference is that this time around, our main protagonist is one of the bad guys. Mag Kiln (Charles Hubbell) is an evil priest of Izrador, a fallen god cast out of heaven for his crimes. (Just keep thinking Sauron and you'll get it.) Mag is sent to a backwater village to finish building Izrador's temple. But the village turns out to be a hub of rebel activity and, possibly worse, even haunted by supernatural beings Mag knows nothing about.
Anyone thinking of renting this flick needs to know certain things going in. First off, it's extremely low-budget. The action scenes are not very well staged and there aren't many of them anyway. Most of the plot is carried forward by dialogue, so if you're expecting a lot of bloody sword fights you'll be disappointed. And the climax—if you can call it that—is a serious letdown. Presumably this is the first in a series of films, which isn't mentioned anywhere on the DVD cover, and so the ending leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.
But for all that, I enjoyed watching Midnight Chronicles. For one thing, it's clearly a real labor of love for Christian T. Petersen, who not only wrote the script but directs the picture as well. The story takes itself seriously, where many films of its kind succumb to campy self-parody, and the cast uniformly keeps a straight face. The film is also surprisingly well-written. The dialogue is exactly like reading a fantasy novel, and helps set just the right tone. Costumes and set design are also surprisingly good considering the obvious lack of funds, and the wicked orcs are especially well-rendered.
The actors are mostly unknown, but for the most part they do well. Charles Hubbell is very good as the "evil" Mag, who may be on the verge of a crisis of faith (one would hope so!). Dawn Brodey is a lovely assistant to Mag named Chazura, and Sam Landman adds some color to the narrative as Mag's sarcastic sidekick, Kruce.
Despite its weaknesses, I look forward to future installments in the Midnight Chronicles, assuming this film does well enough to generate a sequel. It's not for everyone, and can come across as a poor man's version of The Lord of the Rings, but fantasy fans looking for something different should check it out.
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