A motley assortment of folks go to see the lovably lousy early 70's low-budget horror clunker "The Dark Beneath" at a midnight screening in a rundown old theater. Things get hairy when the crazed ferocious killer (hulking behemoth Lee Main) in the picture comes off the screen and starts butchering audience members for real. Director/co-writer Jack Messsitt and co-writer Mark Garbett craft a clever and affection homage to both 70's drive-in exploitation schlock and 80's slice'n'dice body count fare that benefits from a constant snappy pace, likable and well-drawn main characters, slick cinematography by Messitt, Ruben Ross and Clyde W. Smith (the scratchy black and white look for the 70's feature is spot-on in its endearing crumminess), a roaring hard-rock soundtrack, a gradual build-up which allows for a goodly amount of tension (the last third is especially trippy and nightmarish), a shivery score by Penka Kouneva, an inspired supernatural twist, and, of course, a handy helping of nasty gore (funky splatter highlights include a juicy throat slashing, a heart being yanked out, and a truly jolting electrocution). The capable cast of solid no-name thespians deserve kudos as well: the fetching Rebekah Brandes delivers a strong and sympathetic performance as sweet and resilient heroine Bridget, Daniel Bonjour likewise does well as the amiable Josh, Stan Ellsworth almost steals the whole show with his winningly rowdy portrayal of scruffy rough'n'tumble biker Harley, plus there are neat supporting turns by Greg Cirulnick as obnoxious coward Mario, Mandell Maughan as the foxy Samantha, Melissa Steach as hot motorcycle mama Babe, Justin Baric as Bridget's bratty little brother Timmy, Jon Bridell as the obsessive Detective Barrons, and Jim Wynorski film regular Arthur Roberts as deranged movie director Radford. A fun fright flick.
Review of Midnight Movie
