The Midnight Hour

"Ghouls just want to have fun..."

1985 1h 34m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 60

ComedyHorrorTV MovieRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchford Cove will never be the same again....or will it?

“Ghouls just want to have fun...”

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Cast

Jonelle Allen
Lucinda Cavender
Shari Belafonte
Melissa Cavender
LeVar Burton
Vinnie Davis
Peter DeLuise
Mitch Crandall
Jonna Lee
Sandy Matthews
Kevin McCarthy
Judge Crandall
Lee Montgomery
Phil Grenville
Cindy Morgan
Vicky Jensen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Bender
Writers: William Bleich
Languages: English, Portuguese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jack Bender, shot by Rexford L. Metz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David A. Simmons shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jonelle Allen and Shari Belafonte and LeVar Burton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Ghouls just want to have fun...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089593 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Bender directs. Rexford L. Metz behind the camera. Brad Fiedel scores. David A. Simmons cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.
3Directed by Jack Bender, shot by Rexford L. Metz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor David A. Simmons shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jonelle Allen and Shari Belafonte and LeVar Burton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Ghouls just want to have fun...".
8IMDB entry: tt0089593 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 60 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rexford L. Metz
Original score: Brad Fiedel
Editing: David A. Simmons
Production design: Charles L. Hughes
Costume design: Ron Heilman
Makeup / hair: Steve LaPorte
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Midnight Hour (1985)

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Jack Bender

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-04-07
★ 6/10
The dead are raised on Halloween night in a New England hamlet In a Massachusetts town, five high school kids inadvertently unleash witches, zombies, vampires and werewolves after reciting a curse from a paper scroll on Halloween. Originally released to TV, "The Midnight Hour" (1985) came out 23 months after Michael Jackson’s hit “Thriller” video and was obviously inspired by it. You get other items relevant to the 80s, like Eric Carr’s The Fox makeup when the protagonist dresses up for the Halloween party. If you’re in the mood for a colorful Halloween flick that has spooky elements but isn’t very scary, has little gore and zero nudity, it fills the bill. Comparable flicks in tone include "Monster Night" (2006), "Saturday the 14th" (1981), “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark” (1988) and “Monster Island” (2004). The requirements of a movie like this are obvious: A good assortment of youthful protagonists, from kids to late-teens (e.g. Lee Montgomery, LeVar Burton and Shari Belafonte); an equally good cast of adults (e.g. Dick Van Patten and Kevin McCarthy); a quasi-horror ambiance; a fun, silly spirit; corny, but amusing humor; a simple story with a sense of adventure; an assortment of good-lookin' women, young and older (e.g. Jonna Lee, Dedee Pfeiffer and Cindy Morgan); an energetic and rockin' soundtrack; and a runtime that doesn't overstay its welcome. It helps that some quality human interest is thrown in with the sympathetic character of Sandy (the winsome Jonna Lee). The movie runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot at Universal Studios, Universal City, California, including the Courthouse Square backlot used in flicks like “Back to the Future” (1985) and “Back to the Future Part II” (1989). GRADE: B-/B

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