VIOLENT MIDNIGHT (1964)
aka PSYCHOMANIA
Directed by Richard Hilliard/Del
Tenney
Dark Sky Films DVD
THE FILM
A lawyer, a tormented artist, and
a punk biker walk into an all girl's
college. A black gloved killer watches
through a couple of bushes. Stop
me if you've heard this one before.
You can throw a number of genre-based
buzz words at Violent Midnight
aka Psychomania and the
film will take it. Giallo. Krimi.
Slasher. Three easy slings and you're
done. Or are you?
The fact is, the ingredients of
New England based Del Tenney's first
film as a producer might seem familiar,
but the entire pie is harder to
peg down. Imagine an early Jean
Luc Goddard touch processed through
a strictly American set of exploitation
culture, then fitted with a by-line
from 1940s/50s crime novelist David
Goodis. Not exactly what you'd expect
from the man behind I Eat Your
Skin, eh? The stylish Violent
Midnight is a consuming, haphazard
crime thriller that approaches inner
perfection, but never quite hits
it. Is perfection overrated? Maybe
Elliot Freeman has the answer.
Elliot Freeman (TV vet Lee Phillips)
is a famous, hotsie-totsie oil painter
with a troubled past and the temper
to match. A relationship with his
latest nude model, Delores, comes
to an end in a burst of bar fight
angst, pregnant secrets, and finally,
bloody murder. The killer remains
unknown. Adrian, Elliot's beady-eyed
lawyer, just wants the best for
his client. See, Elliot is the sole
heir to his late father's millions,
so life was pretty good up until
this point. When Elliot's half-sister
(Margot Hartman, Del Tenney's longtime
spouse) blows into town, things
get even hotter. The local deadbeat
falls under scrutiny, both with
intrepid copper Dick Van Patton
and a spicy blonde. College girls
do the frug in their underwear.
The assumptions roam freely, but
through it all, Elliot sticks to
his guts. That's a good thing too;
he's gonna need 'em.
If the plotline of Violent Midnight
is a tangled knot, the visuals sure
help to loosen things up. Cinematographer
Louis McMahon and directors Richard
Hilliard and Del Tenney push the
edges of their backyard budget to
yield a beautifully composed motion
picture. The angles are expertly
placed and the shadows overtake
everything. That alone produces
a level of emotion that really pushes
the script, especially when suspense
falters thanks to an overly sappy
string section...and a few surprising
exploitive digressions. The power
of ragged edits and slicing post-dubs
do much to help the odd, semi-realist
mood, but the mush strikes often;
the tone can't sit still. The characters,
while well acted, aren't interesting
enough to plow through the inconsistencies.
Still, no matter how erratic things
get, the impact of the film is never
less than striking.
Exquisiteness doesn't exist inside
Elliot Freeman's studio gazebo,
but that doesn't mean his paintings
won't impress you. No matter how
commonplace it all may seem.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Making its DVD debut after complete
obscurity on home video, Violent
Midnight looks terrific. Aside
from some very light compression
artifacting, the black and white,
full frame print is a knockout;
next to no defects, crystal clear
clarity, and rich blacks all dominate
the transfer. The mono sound was
a bit scratchy at times, but I'd
take that over a hi-tweak job any
day. Optional English subtitles
are also included.
EXTRAS
In addition to the brief image gallery
(lobby cards, posters, a few stills)
and keen theatrical trailers for
Del Tenney's quintessential The
Horror Of Party Beach and The
Curse Of The Living Corpse,
Dark Sky offers us a welcome treat.
With the help of an uncredited moderator,
Del Tenney himself sits down for
a full length commentary track.
Although the talk offers little
in the way of earth shattering information
(and Del's memory sometimes fails
him), the soft spoken filmmaker
is never less than pleasantly charming.
The broad discussion covers most
of the bases regarding the film,
including locations, actors, and
thoughts on the state of the industry
in the 60s versus making films today.
I particularly enjoyed hearing about
the large part Del's wife, Margot,
played in the development of the
film. Split it up over a few days
and enjoy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Violent Midnight is a surprise
from Del Tenney; a voguish thriller
that keeps its chin a notch above
the usual early 60s exploitation,
but never fully clicks. Love it
or not, it's worth a looksee.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 03.16.06 |
Keep on knockin'
Johnny Angel
Black gazebo
Delores, we knew ye well
|
