The event’s that were midnight movies took place a bit before my time and pretty much ended when I was a toddler. That’s not to say that I haven’t experienced some of these films on video and DVD during my time. But I never knew that some of them became famous as films that only played during a smoke filled theater at midnight.
Midnight Movies is a documentary that talks about the rise and fall of the midnight movie during the late 1960’s and into the late 1970’s. Such films included in this documentary are Night of the Living Dead, Pink Flamingos, Eraserhead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, El Topo and The Harder They Come. There are also interviews with George Romero, John Waters, David Lynch, Roger Ebert, Richard O’Brian, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Tim Curry, Perry Henzell, Lou Adler, Ben Barenholtz, and New Line CEO Robert Shaye.
There is really not much one can say about a documentary that celebrates the history of the cult cinema following these films had. It’s really cool to hear the filmmakers stories and how they worked their asses off to get their films shown in theaters back in the nineteen seventies. I also learned a lot about some of these titles that are mentioned in the film and the trials and tribulations that each filmmaker went though to not only get the film made but to get it noticed.
Some of the stories that are mentioned in the film include Romero’s drive to into New York with his print of Night of the Living Dead and hearing on the radio that Martin Luther King was killed. John Waters talks about the infamous Poodle shit eating scene in Pink Flamingos and David Lynch talks a lot about how he was able to get Eraserhead noticed. One thing that did stand out as a childhood memory for me though was that their was documentary footage that was shot in a theater that I used to go to as a kid. They played Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight every weekend, and even held meet and greets there. It was a big theater that had a few indoor screens but had a drive-in theater as well. It was knock down about fifteen years ago and is now a Home Depot. But it was cool to see that the theater I used to go to see films at the drive in was included in this documentary.
Overall; Midnight Movies is a must buy for fans of Romero, Lynch and Waters; or fans of any of theses films. It really teaches the viewer a lot about this time in which the midnight movies ruled and were considered the dark and forbidden films of their time. It’s not only an enjoyable feature but it gives you an educational history of these film as well.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
