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Released by: Cinema Images
Released on: 11/1/2005
Director: Ray Schwetz, Brian Michel Finnn, Giovanni Pianigiani
Cast: Joe Zaso, Roger Woo, Josi Cotton Lanier, Stephanie Roy, Giada Vadala
Year: 2005
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The Movie:
The basic premise that book ends this anthology film that is told in the style of popular entries such as The House That Dripped Blood or even The Strange World Of Coffin Joe is that a strange and eerie psychic has come to down and will be giving a demonstration of his uncanny abilities at a creepy old theatre called the Red Midnight. A newpaper reporter named Karen Marks (Christine Bonfanti) and her friend shuffle on down there as she hopes she'll be able to get a story out of it, but once they arrive, things take a turn towards the sinister and he relays to the audience three bone chilling tales of the evil and the macabre.
STORY #1 - Anathema, directed by Ray Schwetz
John Kitano (Roger Wu), not too long ago, lost his wife. Since then, he's been a very lonely man but with his grieving behind him, he's ready to get over that hurdle and start looking for a new woman. Not being the man with the most social graces to ever score with the ladies, John decides to use an internet dating service to help him find the right girl.
Having recently moved and finally settled into his new digs, John lucks out and makes the acquaintance of three lovely ladies. He's interested and starts the dating process only to have a serious cog thrown into the wheels of his love machine when the ghost of a woman (cute indie stalwert by Jasi Cotton Lanier, who has paid her debt to society by appearing in no less than three Troma films) appears to him in his new home. This ghost is none too happy about John's newfound social life and she sets out terrorizing the three women he's interested in. Of course, no one really believes John when the cops come looking for him. Someone or something has upset these three girls… was it John or was it the ghost he claims is haunting him?
STORY #2 - The Creation Of Dr. Grecoz, directed by Brian Michael Finn
Dr. William Grecoz (Hugh Daly of Nikos The Impaler) is getting a little older and as he's matured, so too has his love for his son, Billy (Shawn-Caulin Young). Unfortunately, for the last little while, there's been a serious wedge driven between them and they don't get along so well. Grecoz is a clever man though, and he gets to thinking about a way that he'll be able to regain his son's love once and for all - unfortunately, this is far from a healthy plan he's devised and the results are quite distressing to say the least. And then there's all this police involvement….
STORY #3 - Pilgrimage, directed by Giovanni Pianigiani
The final tale, filmed on location in Rome, a sect of Satanists scheme in the sewers and tunnels beneath the surface streets. Their plan? To unleash the horrors of Hell upon the Earth by bringing about a torrent of demons and zombies to wreak their unholy vengeance on anyone unfortunate enough to stand in their way. Thankfully for the sake of mankind, a mysterious F.B.I. agent (Joe Zaso of 5 Dead On A Crimson Canvas, who also co-produced) is on the job. He knows how to stop the devil worshippers from bringing their plan to fruition, but it's not going to be easy and he'll need to make a few arrangements before he can save the day.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The widescreen transfer that appears here letterboxed at roughly 1.66.1 does justice to the decent cinematography used throughout the film even if it isn't anamorphic. Color reproduction is strong with some slight bleeding in the reds. Black levels are solid, they don't break up or pixelate which is nice to see. There's some slight shimmering effects here and there and the occasional scene that looks a little soft but otherwise the movie looks quite nice on DVD.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is pretty solid, making excellent use of the soundtrack without burying the performers in the mix. Sound effects come through nice and clear, dialogue does as well, and while there were a couple of spots where the bass could have been a bit stronger, this is a strong mix overall that doesn't suffer from any hiss or distortion. The score in particular sounds quite good on this DVD.
Co-directors Ray Schwetz, Brian Michel Finnn, and Giovanni Pianigiani are joined by actor Joe Zaso on the commentary track that serves as the primary extra feature on this release. This is a pretty active track that does a fine job of filling us in on the origins of the project and how those who ended up involved in it found themselves there in the first place.
Rounding out the supplements are a decent behind the scenes featurette that shows us the reality of life on a low budget movie set, a decent sized still gallery, and trailers for this and other Cinema Image Productions DVD releases.
The Final Word:
While not every story is a home run, Red Midnight gets enough right that fans of independent cinema should find themselves having a good time with it. There are a few stand out moments, some solid gore, and a couple of nice twists which make this worth checking out.