|
|
|
Vampire at Midnight
R0 - America - MVD Visual Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (29th May 2025). |
|
The Film
 Hollywood’s “Vampire Killer” has struck nine times and left his victims drained of blood. The media is playing up the vampire angle, and even some of the cops think there’s something creepy about the elusive killer. When Detective Al Childress (Village of the Giants' Robert Random) ends up with his throat slashed and his body drained of blood, colleague Roger Sutter (Flesh Gordon's Jason Williams) wants in on the case; however, his less than diplomatic means of dealing with the press put him in hot water with image-minded Captain Takato (Ted Hamaguchi). Meanwhile, “private session” clients of psychoanalyst/hypnotherapy guru Dr. Victor Radikoff (Lethal Weapon's Gustav Vintas) have been helping him dispose of his drained victims before he finishes them off. One of his clients, stand-up comic Lee Keller (Jonny Solomon) tries to warn Sutter, who dismisses him as a head-case. In spite of that, Sutter ends up paying Keller a visit, but Radikoff and his latest pet Amalia (After Dark, My Sweet's Jeannie Moore) get to him first and Sutter barely escapes death. He manages to shoot and kill Amalia, but the three clear shots he gets at the barely-glimpsed Radikoff have no effect. Sutter is suspended pending an internal affairs investigation; however, that gives him time to kindle a relationship with concert pianist hopeful neighbor Jenny (Lesley Milne). Jenny invites him to a Hollywood party where she will be playing, but nerves get the best of her and she falls prey to Radikoff’s promises of using therapy to build up her confidence and unleash her repressed talents. After a visit to Radikoff’s Hollywood Hills mansion, Jenny’s renewed dedication to her craft drives a wedge into her budding relationship with Sutter (as does, her strange nocturnal trips of which she claims to have no memory). When Sutter notices that Jenny’s cross has been replaced with a necklace also worn by Amalia, he realizes that she may be the next victim of the “Vampire Killer” or worse… One of many ower budget eighties vampire movies in the wake of Fright Night, its sequel, and The Lost Boys, Vampire at Midnight is fairly predictable, but the notion of a psychoanalyst literally feeding off his clients is novel. With its big hair and smoke machines, the film is in good company with other eighties would-be chic low-budget vampire flicks like Graveyard Shift or Dracula's Widow, To Die For, and Dance of the Damned. The direction of Greg McClatchy is generally assured, but the editing occasionally calls too much attention to itself; he does, however, achieve one brilliant transition from Radikoff biting a victim to Sutter necking with Jenny. McClatchy was a trailer editor at Kaleidoscope Pictures, the company that did the post-production on Bud TownsendAlice in Wonderland – in which Williams played the fey White Knight while Cheerleaders Wild Weekend was directed by another Kaleidoscope editorJeff Werner. Cinematographer Daniel Yarussi (Graduation Day) gives the film an MTV-style 1980s sheen Robert Etoll's score is occasionally interesting, but the track scoring Jenny’s premonitions is a little cheezy and the opening/closing cocktail theme song "Midnight Kiss" does little to evoke the right mood. The gore effects of Mecki Heussen (Curfew) are sparingly used but proficient. Radikoff’s house in the hills is the Wattles Mansion, a Hollywood hills estate which predates the area’s film industry and the other mansions that sprung up later also used in Empire Pictures' Ghoulies while Radikoff's party sequence was shot on the grounds of filmmaker John Milius' home since Williams was a friend of Millius' wife. Star/co-writer/producer Williams – who also also acted in, co-scripted, and produced Cheerleaders Wild Weekend, Time Walker, the Danger Zone series, Death Riders and Wild Malibu Weekend – is personable as usual as a sub-Dirty Harry-type leaping off of roofs, taking on multiple gunmen solo, necking with one gal and engaging in bondage with another. Vintas has the showier role and (pun intended) sinks his teeth into it, having made a career out of sinister foreign characters including Norman Thaddeus Vane's Midnight. Milne is an attractive heroine and looks great being victimized by the vampire, but the whole central romantic relationship is obligatory and uninteresting (which is unfortunate because Jenny is offered up as a contrast to the weary and wary Sutter’s work life). Moore is better in the flashier and sexier role of the vampire’s latest pet. She also appeared in Madonna’s music video for “Express Yourself” as a prison warden. Esther Elise (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers) plays a “friends with benefits” rookie cop who wears skimpy lingerie under her uniform and regularly cuffs Sutter to his bed (Elise also appeared as a dancer in the arty Midnight Cabaret). Rocker-haired Christopher Nee (billed as "Shendt") has little to do as the vampire’s bodyguard other than beat up Sutter with a shovel. One also wonders if Williams’ got stand-up comedian Solomon through Bill Osco – Williams appeared in Osco’s Flesh Gordon and and Cop Killers – who was in with the LA’s stand-up comedy crowd in the 1980s and inflicted "The Unknown Comic" upon us with a video spin-off of his The Gong Show appearances. 
Video
Distributed domestically by Skouras Pictures – who also released The Dead Pit as well as art house films like Blood Simple and The Comfort of Strangers among others – Vampire at Midnight made its VHS bow on Fox-offshoot Key Video and a 2011 DVD from Code Red featuring an open-matte transfer of the film seems to have been sourced from the old 1" video master. That same source has been used for MVD Visual's 1.33:1 transfer which is presented pillarboxed in a 16:9 window (presumably got get around some DVD and Blu-ray players which automatically stretch 4:3 content to 16:9). The image softish but clean and the red-gelled scenes have – along with the black and red Skouras Pictures logo looks a bit harsh – are a bit noisy. It really looks no worse than before but one wonders how much better it could have looked. Presumably the rights owner either has no film materials left for the film or MVD determined it would be of limited appeal to strike a new transfer. 
Audio
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio fares better although it is not as adventurous as some of the more ambitious eighties vampire films and MVD has added SDH subtitles. 
Extras
The McClatchy/Williams commentary and Vintas interview from the Code Red release have not been carried over here. Instead, we get a Skouras Pictures trailer () for the film from a Danish video source. 
Overall
By no means a definitive release, MVD Visuals' DVD of Vampire at Midnight does put a nifty low-budget eighties vampire film back in circulation at an affordable price.
|
|||||
|