Change Your Image
Rrrazorback
Reviews
Vampire at Midnight (1987)
Boring Waste of Time at Midnight
Paul Andrews, who already submitted a review for this film, hits the nail on the head. When I saw the VHS cover for this film many years ago, I really wanted to watch it. It had very alluring cover art and some interesting screen-caps on the back, the whole premise of a deranged doctor acting out his vampire fantasies sounded promising. Plus it had a restriction of 2-18! Being a bit under age at the time and in an obscure video store near my dads office, it was no go. But the memory stuck.
I got the film for next to nothing and watched it last night. Two things struck me immediately, the first being the quality of the DVD. Or rather lack of. The film looks like it was recorded straight off of a VHS tape in somebodies squalid basement. It's very grainy, but I did not expect a digitally remastered classic, so no big deal.
Secondly, they screwed up the title on the DVD menu screen. Renaming it VAMPIRES at Midnight, in the most cheesy horror font you could cut off of a packet of Monster Munch.
Now I love B-grade, but this was really bottom of the barrel stuff. A god-awful script combined with bargain basement extras and tacky sets does not a stylish inner city vampire flick make. Nudity and gore are severely lacking as well. Some boring malformed breasts and the occasional blood splatter. I don't know if its a reflection of todays society, but this would have a 13 age rating if released today.
The plot and pacing are beyond redemption. Attempts to come across as arty seem more like efforts to patch up areas where the writer just gave up on his own film (and future Hollywood aspirations too I hope.) The detective is unintentionally hilarious too. His infatuation for his dull neighbor comes across as obsessive and creepy. (Climbing out of bed and watching her through his window with binoculars, constantly harassing her and other such romantic gestures.) The vampire had potential, but he soon degenerates into something quite pathetic and gets frustrated and panicky a lot of the time. He also seems to own only one suit. (Which he also sleeps in.) He wears this same suit to public appearances and high brow parties. (Keeping in mind he is not a real vampire, so any supernatural connotations to him being constantly immaculate go right out the window.) Despite being clearly wealthy he lives in a sparsely furnished house and sleeps on what looks like a table, with no cushions. He is also addicted to cigarettes, which kind of lessens the fear factor.
As Paul mentioned, the most frightening parts of this film manifest in visual/audio results of a couple doing some funky "dance moves". If the movie was attempting to build any kind of creepy atmosphere, these scenes tear it down and defecate on the violated remains.
Frank the Fish indeed steals the show and I enjoyed his screen time. After a while I just wanted all the other characters to choke on their own rubbish dialogue and rot for all eternity.
Stay away.
Gacy (2003)
Dull and insulting
I could save you some time by advising you to track down the far superior "To Catch a Killer." If you want to see a disturbing and accurate portrayal of the Gacy killings, then don't waste your time with "Gacy" itself.
What I found to be the worst thing about this flick are the numerous attempts the filmmakers made to garner sympathy from the audience for "poor John Wayne Gacy" Let's get something straight, homicidal rapists are not people to be pitied or idolised, they have lost their rights and place in society by causing horror and pain beyond anything their victims could have imagined. Try picturing yourself being sexually tortured and strangled to death by a sweating overweight slob, not a pleasant thought is it? Not only does this film insult the audience by painting a portrait of a tortured Gacy, it also takes severe liberties with the story itself, if this is not meant to be a true life story, then please rename it to Killer Klowns 2 or some such, the blending of facts with utter fantasy makes for some frustrating viewing.
The depiction of the "police" work is laughable at best and for those wanting to see the actual horrific details of the tortures and murders, no luck, if anything this Gacy is the original's gentle twin.
Disturbing scenes including images of the bugs in the crawlspace and Gacy drowning a youth in his bathtub, but honestly, this whole dumb film made for painful viewing.
Give it a miss.
Split Second (1992)
Has potential, but suffers from bad script, worse acting.
I watched this film years ago, when I was about 10. Hey I loved it, blood, breasts, monsters. All the elements of great movies.
I watched it again last night...and I was both impressed and appalled.
Visually the film has some great moments...though everything does seem overly dark and overly blue...which might begin to irritate some. More on the visuals later though, because where this film really fails, is the script...Good grief...it's awful. The film tries to carry a heavy mood throughout...this is disturbed by unbelievable moments of comedy relief which just do not seem to fit...and most of it derives from the "hard as nails, seen it all cop bouncing off the fresh faced but versatile rookie college kid." Not only that...but the characters reactions to otherwise disturbing and serious developments is unintentionally funny and otherwise unbelievable. With continual comments about the lead cops sanity...which do not seem to reflect his ability to have full access to the cop stations arsenal of ultra-destructive weaponry. Even after he bumps into his boss and informs him he is chasing a supernatural entity with a fully automatic shotgun...the scene spirals down into comedy. It just does not fit.
The acting is pretty shameful in most parts as well...with lines coming off stiff and heavy (though with a script like that...) Good points? A nice opening sequence...moody cyberpunk atmosphere of a futuristic London work quite well. The mould of the killers teeth was a shocking moment...which gets downplayed unfortunately...the killer itself has a really cool costume and normally provides an intimidating presence...(strong enough to run through brick walls!) But...he/it also has some inexplicable moments of stupidity...and acts without logic...how he committed the first murder with such ease in a public place, yet struggles with the rest is still beyond me.
All in all, a pretty mindless film which is just interesting enough on a visual level so as not to be a complete bomb.