Movies
Midnight Movie (V)
“The film never bothers to explain the how and why of the killer’s abilities which actually works to its advantage here. We don’t need to know why and how, we just accept it as fact. I mean, we accept Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers as fact despite every rational reason not to. In this respect we accept the killer of MIDNIGHT MOVIE as well. Unfortunately, unlike those three splatter film icons mentioned above, the killer in this film lacks personality. “
What was your first “Midnight Movie”? Was it THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with a group of your buddies on a Friday Night? It was for me. It probably was for many of you. After all it’s the quintessential cult film. But Co-Writer and Director Jack Messitt has another kind of Midnight Movie in mind for you all. And his movie is a killer!
A group of friends gather together for a late night screening of an obscure 1970’s horror film titled The Dark Beneath. The film hasn’t been screened in 5-years. In fact the last time it played was in a mental institution where the director has been captive for decades. The result? A bloodbath with nearly 70 people dead or missing—including the infamous director. Now the film is about to play once more and this time the audience is about to discover just what happened that fateful night in the psych-ward.
Kind of a cross between the 1991 film POPCORN and Woody Allen’s PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, MIDNIGHT MOVIE proposes the question what if a cinematic serial killer could come off the screen and kill the audience watching the film. Surely, a quandary of Brechtian proportions but, unfortunately, it’s played out inside standard slasher movie parameters. Simply put, the film sets up its teenage victims in ten little Indians fashion before executing them in a succinct series of uninspired deaths. The concept is there but the execution is lacking. And the most pronounced flaw in that execution is the killer.
Dressed in a pair of baggy overalls and sporting a half-skull face mask that (periodically) mismatches itself (they must have had more than one mask). Out killer murders his victims with what appears to be an oversized conical drill bit fixed to a handgrip. He uses this device—that we often see him sharpening—to essentially gore huge divots of flesh from his victim’s torsos (and in one of the more spectacular deaths…through one dude’s eye). It’s not completely clear that this method of execution is absolutely lethal but it certainly causes a series of flesh wounds that might make The Black Knight even wince a bit. The problem is that it gets real old, real quick and when the silent killer actually mixes it up a bit by channeling a few thousand volts of electricity through one dumb teen, it feels like the filmmakers thought that too. But, despite the jolting death sequence (yea…a pun was intended) it’s soon back to the old grab and stab that we see at least a half-dozen other times in the film. Don’t get me wrong. The blood work and effects are solid stuff but once you’ve seen the masked killer whack a few theater patrons you know what you’re gonna get the next time he pops off the screen.
As far as the look and feel of the film goes, this is some top-notch low budget filmmaking. The set design of the old theater is interesting and the film shifts perspective around the location to avoid stagnation. It also moves from reality to the alternate universe of the midnight movie, a change that might have been a bit more effective if the movie in question—which is supposed to be a low-budget feature that’s 40-years old—looked more like an authentic relic of the period (for tips on what that should look like check out the 2005 retro-horror flick SLAUGTERHOUSE OF THE RISING SUN). Still, despite the relative newness, efforts have been made to age the film (added grain and lines and dirt are all the rage now). Still, the changes in scenery do give MIDNIGHT MOVIE a greater sense of scope—something so many other low budget films are sorely lacking.
MIDNIGHT MOVIE has potential to spare in spite of its relatively derivative subject matter. It’s a slasher film with a supernatural twist. The film never bothers to explain the how and why of the killer’s abilities which actually works to its advantage here. We don’t need to know why and how, we just accept it as fact. I mean, we accept Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers as fact despite every rational reason not to. In this respect we accept the killer of MIDNIGHT MOVIE as well. Unfortunately, unlike those three splatter film icons mentioned above, the killer in this film lacks personality. And like Samuel L. Jackson once said, “Personality goes a long way”.
This week’s big new horror release is of course Evil Dead Burn in theaters later in the week, but you don’t have to wait until this weekend to inject fresh nightmares into your eyeballs.
Five brand new horror movies have already released at home this week.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Tuesday, July 7, 2026!
Director André Øvredal’s (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) new movie Passenger is now available on Digital at home.
Here’s the synopsis for Passenger: “A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.”
André Øvredal told Bloody Disgusting in an exclusive chat, “It’s a road movie, which is what I really fell in love with. It’s totally unique for me as a horror movie. Bridging the road movie with a haunting, essentially, on the road. I think it’s the scariest movie I’ve made.”
The cast includes Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Tony Doupe, Bonni Dichone, Devielle Johnson, Jessica Cruz, Miles Fowler, and Alan Trong.
The screenplay is written by Zachary Donohue (The Den) and T.W. Burgess (Mister Howl). Former Warner Bros production executive Walter Hamada, who steered the Conjuring and It franchises, is producing via his 18hz as part of his first-look deal with Paramount. It screenwriter Gary Dauberman is also producing via Coin Operated.
Supernatural horror, psychological suspense, and an eye-catching creature take center stage in The Leaching, now available on Digital from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment.
“After waking up in a grave on her father’s isolated forest property with no idea of who she is or how she got there, Vivian must use her limited memory to piece together the nightmarish truth, all the while being tormented by the undead, a giant leech monster, and her ‘father.’
“Over the next few days, she will uncover the framework of a truly nefarious supernatural scheme, but will it be too late?”
The Leaching is written and directed by Evan Showalter (Ante Mortem, Bad Music Terry).
“The Leaching is an exploration of faith, the loss of self, and the monsters (literally) that emerge when people surrender themselves to something greater than they can understand,” says Showalter. “It’s an isolating horror film that plays with a very uncomfortable question.”
A film student finds herself trapped in a giallo nightmare in lo-fi horror movie City Wide Fever, which is now streaming exclusively on the Midnight Pulp streaming service.
The meta horror movie is from debut writer/director Josh Heaps.
In City Wide Fever, “Sam, a young film student, discovers a USB detailing the life and career of forgotten Italian horror director Saturnino Barresi.
“As she begins to investigate his mysterious disappearance, Sam finds herself pulled into a violent conspiracy eerily similar to those of the films she adores.”
Diletta Guglielmi, Angelica Kim, and Nancy Kimball star with Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood), Larry Fessenden (You’re Next), Carolyn Farina, and comedian Ian Fidance.
Paul Lê wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “This isn’t just a case of throwback filmmaking that’s been achieved with contemporary technology; the director used era-authentic equipment to help create this striking and nostalgic piece of modern horror. The end result is a movie… teeming with enough verve and style to make it feel fresh.”
A Gen Z slasher that pays homage to ’90s teen slasher movies, You’re Dead to Me is now available on Digital outlets at home courtesy of distributor Dark Star Pictures.
In the slasher film, “Three high school seniors skip prom for a secluded weekend party free from parents, school, and responsibility, but their escape turns terrifying when they learn one of their classmates has been brutally murdered.”
Denise Richards (Valentine) stars alongside Siena Agudong (Sidelined: The QB and Me, Sidelined 2: Intercepted), Jessica Belkin (“Baywatch” ), Ella Anderson (“Henry Danger,” Song Sung Blue), and Conor Husting (“Boo, Bitch”, Hollywood Stargirl).
The film was directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz.
You’re Dead to Me was co-written by Sarah Howard and Terry Castle, the daughter of the legendary producer and filmmaker William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler).
Steven Quale (Into the Storm, Final Destination 5) directed the supernatural thriller Black Box, which has now taken flight on Digital outlets courtesy of Aura Entertainment.
The film is based on the short film The Vessel, and an original screenplay from horror writer Stephen Susco (The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Hell Fest).
Black Box (Flight 298) follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines 298 from New Orleans to Seattle.
Tom Brittney, Holly Leena White, Betsy Blue English, Dane Whyte O’Hara, Kaja Chan, Asa Ali, Boadicea Ricketts, Ceallach Spellman, Georgina Leonidas, Molly Belle Wright, Hanneke Talbot, Danny Mack, and Weronika Rosati star in Black Box.
Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (Barbarian, Boy Kills World) and Jon Oakes (Drive, The Guilty) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Warren Zide (The Final Destination, American Pie), and Susco. Ruzanna Kegeyan and Roman Viaris of Capstone, and Clark Baker (Vessel) will executive produce.
What happened to Flight 298? Find out on Digital outlets now.
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