Midnight Movies (DVD)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Ben Barenholtz, Perry Henzell, Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, George A. Romero
Directed by Stuart Samuels
Distributed by Starz Home Entertainment
Here’s one for the folks out there old enough to remember what the Midnight Movie craze was all about! If you’re too young, let me paint a picture for you whipper-snappers … It’s the witching hour. You, your friends, and every freak in the city would stand in line, waiting to be let into a darkened theatre so that you could:
Ah … the good old days! Some movies just weren’t meant to be scheduled at normal times of the day. These types of films had that something special in them that could only be truly appreciated by the stoned immaculate in the dead of night. Six of these flicks are profiled here: Night of the Living Dead, The Harder They Come, Eraserhead, El Topo, Pink Flamingos, and the ever popular Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Midnight Movies explores what made those films the phenomena that they’ve become by offering stories from the talent and people who put these special adults only engagements into play while splicing in some memorable clips from each. If you haven’t seen all of the above flicks, I can guarantee you that after sitting through this ninety-minute feature, you’ll be sure to hit up Amazon or wherever you get your DVD’s. Still, watching these things at home without a crowd loses some of their tribal joys. It’s just not the same. Ever try watching Rocky Horror by yourself? It’s nowhere near as fun. Besides that, who will help you in and out of your corset?! Midnight Movies gives us a thoughtful look back at the magic of days gone by and makes us yearn for them to return.
The only problem here is that much like watching the above mentioned films by yourself, this presentation doesn’t quite capture the near hysteria of the experience. In fact, it feels very much like a bit of supplemental material stretched out into feature length form. Even sadder, there’s not a single special feature to be found here. At the very least the theatrical trailers for each movie should have been included. Considering the DVD track record of Starz, this comes as a bit of a shock. But I guess we can let them slide this time.
Still, despite its shortcomings, Midnight Movies manages to entertain and will leave those out there who just didn’t get it scratching their collective heads. So come on folks — crank up the sound, fire up your DVD player, and LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!
Psst … don’t forget the pot!
Special Features
3 out of 5
Special Features:
0 out of 5
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