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across a farmhouse, and inside finds a teenage girl, Cynthia, playing cards. She asks for a phone, and is directed to another room; when she enters, she finds the man she, Tom, and Hank saw earlier (whom she comes to find is named Cyrus) dismembering two corpses. She is confronted by the two officers, who lock her in an animal cage next to another victim, Gwen. In conversation, Gwen recounts how Luke and
Abraham murdered two police officers the night before and stole their uniforms. Luke, Abraham, and Cyrus return to the campsite and burn the bodies of Hank and Tom. Later, Luke goes upstairs and has a conversation with his dead mother, a decomposed corpse the family keeps in a bed.
325:. This time, Luke drinks Gwen's blood himself. After the mass, Luke prepares to bring Gwen's body outside, but is accosted by Bert, who clobbers him. Bert holds Abraham and Cyrus at gunpoint, and forces Abraham to retrieve Nancy. Just as Nancy is brought outside, Cynthia attacks Bert, stabbing him to death. As he collapses, his gun discharges, shooting and killing both Cyrus and Abraham. Nancy flees into a barn and is chased by Cynthia, but Nancy manages to overpower her and slash her throat with a sickle. Nancy proceeds to pour gasoline on Luke, who has regained consciousness, and lights him on fire. Traumatized, she collapses against a shed and watches Luke burn to death.
290:. Short on money, they steal groceries from a small market and are chased by two local police officers. They lose the police by driving onto a dirt road into the woods. Upon stopping, they witness a man in the woods carrying a large object draped with a sheet. Not wanting to be caught by police, they ultimately decide to camp in the woods overnight.
313:
as they slit Sharon's throat before feeding her blood to their dead mother, attempting to resurrect her. Luke and
Abraham drive Sharon's body to a field the next morning and begin digging a shallow grave, an event witnessed by Bert, who stumbles upon the scene; he hears them discuss sacrificing Nancy
278:
preacher and his adult daughter, Sandra, who they drop off at a cemetery to visit the grave of the preacher's wife. Sandra says a prayer and heads back toward their house; her father remains, and is stabbed to death by a man with a machete. Later, Sandra finds her father's corpse on their doorstep,
293:
In the morning, Nancy goes for a walk, and returns to the campsite to witness two police officers, Luke and
Abraham, arresting Hank and Tom, accusing them of murdering a local woman. The police shoot Hank and Tom to death execution style, and then pursue Nancy, who flees into the woods. She comes
29:
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noted: "John Russo, whose solo filmmaking efforts have never come close to equaling his collaborative work with George Romero on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, deserves praise for this ambitious, low-budget film made in
Pittsburgh."
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wrote: "As horror movies go, this one has two major failings. It's not scary, and it lacks a sense of humor." He added that the film's black mass sequences are "grave and heavy-handed. Russo isn't doing
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referred to the film as a "mediocre shocker". Film scholar Scott Aaron Stine called the film an "adeptly made low budget horror film, despite the simple arithmetic involved," and likened it to
235:. The film was released theatrically by Independent International Pictures in 1982. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the
270:
Years later, teenaged Nancy
Johnson runs away from her home after her stepfather Bert, a police officer, attempts to rape her. While hitchhiking to her sister's home in
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263:. A group of children, along with an older woman they call Mama, arrive, and one of the boys, Abraham, knocks the girl unconscious. Later, the children chant a
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supplied some of the film's special effects/props such as the real life skeleton and the black-faced mother mummy makeup. When Savini left to work on
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prayer over the girl at the behest of their mother, and one of the children, Cynthia, proceeds to brutally stab her to death with a dagger.
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who sacrifice young women in an attempt to resurrect their dead mother. It is based on Russo's 1980 novel of the same name.
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493:; he isn't spoofing satanism or catering to an audience that enjoys silliness and artificiality of horror movies."
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Meanwhile, Bert reports Nancy missing and begins searching for her himself. At the farmhouse, the family conduct a
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Scare
Tactics: The Art, Craft, and Trade Secrets of Writing, Producing, and Directing Chillers and Thrillers
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received a theatrical release through
Independent International Pictures, opening regionally in
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At their next Black Mass, Cynthia sacrifices Gwen, while Nancy quietly recites the
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749:. Nashville, Tennessee. June 11, 1982. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
725:. Tallahassee, Florida. May 28, 1982. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
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on May 28, 1982. It continued to screen in various U.S. cities, opening in
448:(1981), Russo stepped in and finished the remaining special effects shots.
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259:, a young girl screams for help in a rural meadow, her leg caught in an
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774:"With these three current movies, 'B' means bad news for film buffs"
806:. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
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panic The film was re-released in 1985 under the alternate title
556:, was shot-on-video and released by Tempe Entertainment in 1993.
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Sharon, another local woman they have kidnapped, in the name of
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Kermode, Mark; Dean, Peter (July 1, 1993). "Video
Reviews".
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In 1985, the film was re-released under the alternate title
782:. Tampa, Florida. p. 7-D – via Newspapers.com.
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904:. New York City, New York: Hal Leonard Corporation.
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The
Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s
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1982 American exploitation horror film by John Russo
212:. Its plot follows a female hitchhiker en route to
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279:and is also murdered by the man with the machete.
309:. Observing the mass from a cage, Nancy prays to
231:, Pennsylvania, and features special effects by
438:, Pennsylvania in 1980 on a budget of $ 70,000
282:At a local bar, Tom, Hank, and Nancy encounter
216:who finds herself at the mercy of a backwoods
8:
545:in 2011. It received a Blu-ray release from
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27:
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695:. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. pp. 23,
286:who refuse to serve them because Hank is
885:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.
851:O'Neill, Christopher (August 16, 2011).
685:Uricchio, Marylynn (September 3, 1982).
988:Films about racism in the United States
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227:The film was shot on location outside
998:Films based on American horror novels
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633:
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541:DVD release in the United Kingdom by
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571:
569:
554:Midnight 2: Sex, Death and Videotape
418:Dan Kamerer as Gas Station Attendant
796:Davidson, Jim (September 3, 1982).
421:David McCollough as Man at Station
394:Bob Johnson as Reverend Carrington
125:Independent International Pictures
14:
798:"Horrors! 'Midnight' Isn't Scary"
687:"Another Pittsburgh horror film"
369:Doris Hackney as Harriet Johnson
350:Daniel Costello as Young Abraham
537:Home Video, before receiving a
434:was filmed on location outside
400:Amy Brinton as Girl in the Trap
335:Melanie Verlin as Nancy Johnson
772:Ross, Bob (October 21, 1985).
1:
1033:English-language horror films
237:Obscene Publications Act 1959
204:and starring Melanie Verlin,
1013:1980s English-language films
505:The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
381:Debra Smith as Young Cynthia
973:American exploitation films
881:Stine, Scott Aaron (2003).
701:– via Newspapers.com.
358:Chris Riblett as Young Luke
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415:Lucian White as Man in Car
389:Billy Green as Young Cyrus
817:Writer, Tom. "Midnight".
521:The film was released on
403:Ellie Wyler as Gwen Davis
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1003:Films shot in Pittsburgh
968:1980s exploitation films
853:"Midnight (Arrow Video)"
386:David Marchick as Cyrus
836:Russo, John A. (1992).
692:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
646:Russo, John A. (1980).
406:Maura Minteer as Sharon
378:Robin Walsh as Cynthia
366:Charles Jackson as Hank
1028:Religious horror films
978:American slasher films
588:British Film Institute
508:(1974). Tom Writer of
472:The Backwoods Massacre
245:The Backwoods Massacre
138:May 28, 1982
674:. Melonfarmers.co.uk.
527:Vidmark Entertainment
412:Bud Mellot as Sheriff
397:Jackie Nicoll as Mama
1018:1980s American films
993:Films about Satanism
900:Young, R.G. (2000).
803:The Pittsburgh Press
722:Tallahassee Democrat
485:The Pittsburgh Press
465:Nashville, Tennessee
461:Tallahassee, Florida
375:as Sandra Carrington
355:Greg Besnak as Luke
1008:1980s slasher films
840:. Dell. p. 76.
636:, pp. 186–187.
549:in September 2021.
409:Doug Mertz as Billy
193:is a 1982 American
825:(1). F. S. Clarke.
467:on June 11, 1982.
983:Films about cults
963:1982 horror films
911:978-1-557-83269-6
892:978-1-476-61132-7
779:The Tampa Tribune
657:978-0-671-83432-6
478:Critical response
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741:– Starts Today!"
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650:. Pocket Books.
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482:Jim Davidson of
363:John Hall as Tom
339:Lawrence Tierney
301:at midnight and
288:African-American
206:Lawrence Tierney
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84:Lawrence Tierney
61:by John A. Russo
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717:– Varsity 3"
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373:Lachele Carl
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314:and Gwen on
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257:Pennsylvania
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222:Pennsylvania
200:directed by
195:exploitation
189:
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154:Running time
131:Release date
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543:Arrow Films
539:region-free
347:as Abraham
345:John Amplas
261:animal trap
241:video nasty
239:during the
210:John Amplas
198:horror film
89:John Amplas
66:Produced by
36:Directed by
958:1982 films
952:Categories
862:January 9,
760:Young 2000
634:Stine 2003
622:Stine 2003
601:Stine 2003
560:References
552:A sequel,
517:Home media
440:Tom Savini
436:Pittsburgh
427:Production
299:Black Mass
233:Tom Savini
229:Pittsburgh
202:John Russo
158:94 minutes
142:1982-05-28
49:John Russo
46:Written by
40:John Russo
535:Lionsgate
496:In 1993,
303:sacrifice
255:In rural
182:$ 200,000
106:Edited by
943:AllMovie
938:Midnight
927:Midnight
739:Midnight
715:Midnight
648:Midnight
457:Midnight
432:Midnight
220:cult in
190:Midnight
171:Language
114:Music by
74:Starring
58:Midnight
54:Based on
22:Midnight
875:Sources
452:Release
284:racists
276:Baptist
265:Satanic
218:Satanic
174:English
163:Country
140: (
908:
889:
654:
316:Easter
208:, and
179:Budget
590:: 61.
586:(7).
307:Satan
932:IMDb
906:ISBN
887:ISBN
864:2018
652:ISBN
329:Cast
251:Plot
941:at
930:at
533:by
531:DVD
525:by
523:VHS
311:God
954::
855:.
823:24
821:.
800:.
788:^
776:.
743:.
719:.
698:31
689:.
608:^
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568:^
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318:.
247:.
914:.
895:.
866:.
737:"
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660:.
584:3
144:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
