A Hora do Terror

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!

Sometimes on this website I really disagree with what the rating is for a movie on here. I understand though some movies that many other people like I don't or vice versa. But, this is one of those movies.

I suppose I should get to the story. It all takes place in the town of Pitchford Cove and near the beginning Phil Grenville (Lee Montgomery) shares with the audience and his classmates a bad history about the town that also includes his friend and classmate Melissa Cavender (Shari Belafonte). So the gang that also includes Melissa's man Vinnie (LeVar Burton), Mitch (Peter DeLuise) and Mary (Dedee Pfeiffer) go off to the local witchcraft museum in search of costumes for a Halloween party at Belafonte's place. Oh and if some of those last names seem familiar don't worry they are. They are either children or siblings of big stars like Harry Belafonte, Dom DeLuise and Michelle Pfeiffer. After they swipe some costumes they are then off to the graveyard where they accidentally awaken the dead and the terrible curse.

I found the characters in this movie stereotypical and felt I had seen these characters a hundred times before. For a movie with a rating so high I really did not find anything original or for that matter groundbreaking about this movie. I felt it was a tired old script, but perhaps I may be in the minority on that opinion.

The movie though does have some great classic songs though. And when I say classic I do not mean the 80s. I mean the 60s. The songs didn't really seem to 100% fit the characters or even some of the situations. The makeup effects though are really top notch and certainly a plus.

Also starring Kevin McCarthy as Judge Crandall or Mitch's dad. I really enjoyed McCarthy in this role, but it is a stereotypical 80s role for McCarthy. I just love seeing him angry and raging. Cindy Morgan also stars as teacher Vicky Jensen (who in fact is the same age as Shari Belafonte), Dick Van Patten as Phil's dad and Kurtwood Smith as Captain Warren Jensen.

The Midnight Hour is, in my opinion, the best tv movie ever made. It was scary and funny. It had everything a person could want to see on a Halloween night. I watched it when I was five years old when it came on the television. It quite possibly could be the movie that made me the horror fanatic that I am today. I absolutely loved it, especially the musical number towards the end of the movie. Now on amazon.com they are offering a collector's edition for sale. I promptly bought myself a copy and I advise any fans to do so. A movie like this one might not be around forever. People just don't know what they are missing.

Remember when TV was fun? This movie stuck with me too for all these years and I've always wondered why they didn't play it again on Halloween.

If your a big fan of Halloween like I am, this movie will definitely put you in the mood for the holiday.

It has it all. The classic horror, the classic love story.

Come on Disney channel, give it a play.

A DVD release would be Awesome.

A box set with other classic Halloween hard to find gems such as witches night out (A very hard to find cartoon) would be really awesome.

I personally never heard about "The Midnight Hour" before in my life until a couple of friends and myself chose to watch it, but apparently this little made-for-TV film has a modest cult following and I've read in numerous praising reviews that it's a Halloween favorite of many horror fans that grew up during the 80's. It's not a bad film, but definitely not too great neither. "The Midnight Hour" is mainly a comedy feature and "homage" to old zombie movies instead of a typically 80's cheese and gore movie. A group of teenagers break into a costume shop on Halloween night and steal a chest that contains genuine witchery equipment to raise the dead. They all go to a remote graveyard together for a private party and the rest of the plot writes itself. The dead are raised, all right, but there are also several alternative types of creatures coming to life as well, like vampires, werewolves and a 50's cheerleader who seemingly doesn't seem to know how she died. Slow start, with overlong introductions of unimportant characters and a whole lot of Halloween information that isn't even accurate. There's also plentiful of clichéd situations/jokes, like the zombies not being recognized or even looked at as abnormal when they invade a Halloween costume party. I reckon this is a personal favorite of many, but personally I thought "The Midnight Hour" is bit boring and pointless as the zombies never really embark on a brain-eating rampage. It's an overlong film with full-length sing & dance intermezzos, for example a video that seems inspired by Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Speaking of which, the film does have a fantastic soundtrack including horror-themed songs like "Little Red Riding Hood", "Bad Moon Rising", "Clap for the Wolf Man" and of course Wilson Pickett's "The Midnight Hour".