Midnight Movie: The Killer Cut is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Jack Messitt and starring Jason Crowe, Jessica Lowndes, and Michael Ironside. The film follows a group of friends who are stuck in a movie theater overnight with a killer on the loose.
I won’t cover the basic storyline of Midnight Movie since we’ve already reviewed that, this review will pretty much assume that you’ve already seen that version (review here). Don’t worry we’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
So what’s new with the Killer Cut? Well firstly they’ve added in new special effects for Radford. These new effects highlight his supernatural nature even greater and yes it does serve the movie well. They’ve also re-edited a lot of the movie, in particular the beginning, which streamlines and enhances the mystery of the movie also. Dr. Wayne’s ‘agenda’ is no longer spelled out blatantly at the beginning as it was in the original version, although it’d be easy to infer i guess. There’s been a lot of minor treachery with the editing and some newly shot material also. Don’t expect any Blade Runner type alterations that dramatically change the nature of the characters etc. A lot of the changes are subtle but they are good.
So, is the Killer Cut worthy of being picked up? Well that depends on you I guess. What could be definitely said for a fact is that the Killer Cut is the definitive version of Midnight Movie (so far). Thus if you haven’t seen this movie already this is certainly the version you want to see. If you have seen Midnight Movie or even own a copy then it’s a trickier proposition. Certainly for hardcore fans I’d recommend you to get a watch of this, simply for the fact it’s the leaner and meaner version of the movie. For more casual fans however, it’s perhaps worth a rental first before you jump in with both feet and buy.
The new director’s commentary by Jack Messitt is very informative and thought provoking and definitely worth listening to if your looking for more insight into the making of Midnight Movie.
To conclude the The Killer Cut is definitely the better version of Midnight Movie (not that the original version was chopped liver) so therefore I’m gonna recommend this one to fans and if you haven’t already seen Midnight Movie this is a great time to grab a copy! Recommended.
The film is a fun and suspenseful ride that kept me on the edge of my seat. The acting is good, especially from Jason Crowe and Jessica Lowndes, and the kills are creative and gruesome. If you’re a fan of slasher films, then I would definitely recommend checking out Midnight Movie: The Killer Cut.
Synopsis
In Midnight Movie: The Killer Cut, a group of friends gather at a local movie theater to watch a midnight showing of a much-anticipated horror film. However, they soon realize that they are not alone in the theater; a masked killer is stalking them, and picking them off one by one. As the body count mounts, the remaining friends must band together and use their knowledge of the film to survive the night. With the killer closing in, they must use every trick in the book to make it out alive.
Movie Details
Director: Jack Messitt
Writer: Jack Messitt
Actors: Michael Madsen, Shane Van Dyke, Cerina Vincent
Release Year: 2011