Every Halloween my partner and I watch Hammer Horror films and pass out candy to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Halloween is my favorite time of year and while I love passing out candy I do miss being a kid myself; dressing up, and going door to door. As an adult the most Halloween fun I have is watching lots and lots of scary movies. And every year I write about some of these films but I often don’t have kids in mind when I recommend scary movies to my readers.
This year I am trying something different. This Halloween I am recommending The Midnight Hour (1985) as the movie to watch on October 31st. I think it’s a really fun little picture that’s also suitable for all ages. It also features LeVar Burton which is just awesome. It’s great seeing him play a horny teenager.
The Midnight Hour used to be a staple on television come Halloween night. This made for television film boasts an ensemble cast of major television stars of the day as well as decent special effects. The motto of the movie is “ghouls just want to have fun” which speaks to the tone of the piece which is heavier on comedy than horror.
The opening of The Midnight Hour follows a paperboy in Halloween costume out on his route. We follow this boy all around the small New England town while the music of Brad Fiedel plays. It’s a gorgeous opening that evokes the season in much the same way as Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers (1988). The events that follow are a watered down “PG” version of Return Of The Living Dead (1985) and Night Of The Demons (1988).
The film begins with a group of teenaged friends performing a ritual in a cemetery that summons forth witches, vampires, werewolves and demons. These ghouls begin infecting the townsfolk and all hell breaks loose. A Halloween party devolves into an orgy of vampires, the police become zombies, and werewolves prowl the streets. At the heart of the storm are Phil (Lee Montgomery) and the resurrected Sandy (Jonna Lee) who must reverse the ritual and save the town.
The Midnight Hour predicts the family friendly horror-comedies of the nineties like Hocus Pocus (1993). But The Midnight Hour is solidly of its moment, even featuring a take on Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a kick ass David Bowie costume. Shari Belafonte’s big musical number is the highlight of the movie. The monsters of The Midnight Hour aren’t vicious, they are here to party the night away in this sleepy New England town.
After a night of trick-or-treating there’s no better film to pop on than The Midnight Hour. It’s a film that evokes the look and feel of a picturesque New England autumn that also delivers a few scares and some laughs. It’s an alternative to legitimately scary films that is guaranteed to be fun for the whole family.
