Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Red-Barracuda The director of Midnight Killer is Lamberto Bava, son of the legendary Mario. Lamberto's era was the 80's and he made several effective and fun horror films in that decade. So it is with some disappointment that I have to conclude that I thought Midnight Killer his weakest effort I have seen. It's very possible that Bava himself wasn't too crazy about this one either seeing as he went under a pseudonym.The story follows a fairly typical giallo plot-line about serial murder. It borrows a bit from other earlier films from the genre like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Torso and Tenebrae. But it never approaches the standard of any of these. While Bava does manage to generate some decent suspense at times, overall the film is a little half-hearted. Even the soundtrack by the usually inspired Claudio Simonetti of Goblin fame is a fairly pedestrian synth score. The mystery itself isn't so obvious to work out but given the insane final explanation that is not really so surprising to be honest. In fact, the final killer reveal is especially daft even by giallo standards. It actually enters into Hanna-Barbera territory! It isn't as gory as many gialli and there isn't really any nudity but there still is a mean spiritedness to the scenes with the killer nevertheless. This is alleviated somewhat though by moments that enter the truly absurd, such as a part when one of the victims tries to defend herself with a kitchen blender! This scene is agreeably moronic and at least good for a chuckle.I have to conclude that overall, while Midnight Killer has some good moments it isn't very good as a whole.

morrison-dylan-fan Having found the last two Gialli that I have seen of Lamberto Bava (A Blade In The Dark and Body Parts) to be fun,easy going,films,I decided to take a look at this near forgotten Giallo of his,which despite Bava's clear dislike for the final movie, (Bava is credited as John Old Jr) looked like a Giallo worth taking a midnight ramble with.The plot:Secretly catching his wife trying some suggestive bra & panties on in front of another man,police officer Nicola Levi violently confronts his wife Sara in their flat over who the mystery man was that she was with.Getting no answer at all from Sara,Nicola starts fighting with her,until Sara gives the KO blow by stabbing him in the shoulders with an ice pic.Not feeling too cheerful about being stabbed,Nicola walks out of the flat and goes to visit a friend.Trying to relax after the blazing fight,Sara decides to take a shower.Shortly after starting the shower,a stranger suddenly appears and uses the ice pic to murder Sara.As the police start trying to gather details about the murder,some of the officers start to wonder,if this killing is in fact a "sign" of a long dead serial killer coming "back" from the dead?.View on the film:For the first 30 minutes of this smooth Giallo,screenwriters Lamberto Bava and Dardano Sacchetti keep the film moving at a very speedy pace,with Bava delivering some eye-catching stylised shots in Nicola and Sara's flat during the rough looking fight,whilst also giving sneak peaks at the motives and face of the killer.Whilst the rest of this Giallo is far from bad,Bava seems to lose most of the excitement that he has for the movie once it crosses the 30 minute mark,which with the exception of one or two unique moments, (such as a girl attacking the killer with a whisk!) ends up feeling like a middle of the road TV episode,with an almost too terrible to watch Scobby Doo pulling off the mask "twist".

chrichtonsworld Midnight Killer is exactly what you would expect from Lamberto Bava.Full of suspense,thrills,twists,turns,red herrings.But also people (mostly women acting stupid). Some of the victims act in such an illogical manner that at one point you begin to think."Don't tell me she is that stupid.Go ahead,kill her already". The pace is really good and you are constantly wondering who the killer is. At one point you can deduce it for yourself. Although I must admit that Lamberto successfully made me doubt a couple of times. He uses some clever tricks to put you off the trail.And in this case I simply loved that.Of course the ending might be too far fetched for some especially since the explanation is fast and short.It did not matter to me since it was effective.Overall Midnight Killer is a very decent giallo that delivers.

Coventry Even though the truly golden years for the Italian giallo had passed since quite a while already, the decade of the 1980's still brought forward a handful of decent & memorable efforts. Two directors in particular kept this magnificent sub genre alive, namely Dario Argento (with his "Tenebrae" and "Opera") and Lamberto Bava. His best known giallo may be "A Blade in the Dark" but this "The Midnight Ripper" is arguable his best effort, alongside "Delirium: Photos of Gioia". Whatever the film lacks in originality and plausibility, it makes up in sheer suspense and gory good killings! When the adulterous wife of a police officer is found brutally stabbed in her apartment, her husband Nikola immediately becomes the prime suspect because he's an alcoholic and doesn't have an alibi. But when more murder occur in the city, a female police psycho-analyst points out that the nature of these killings strangely resemble the style of notorious Italian serial killer. The only problem is that this killer, nicknamed the Midnight Ripper, died in an arson more than ten years ago. No, sadly the plot of this film isn't as convoluted as those of 70's gialli, but it surely holds your attention and Lamberto Bava at least attempted to add some typical red herrings. The musical score is absolutely staggering, thanks to composer Claudio Simonetti (the main man behind the successful cult band Goblin). Ah yes, and then there are the murders.... Anyone who's familiar with other Bava titles such as "Demons" or "Macabre" knows that our director isn't afraid to stuff his films with sadistic violence and graphic gore. The gruesome murders in "The Midnight Ripper" are committed by ordinary kitchenware, such as knives, an ice-pick (eat your heart out, "Basic Instinct"!) and even a blender. It's a very cool film and I'm sure that every fan of Italian horror cinema will love watching it.