AllMovie

This low-budget effort goes for a Satanic variation on that Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Hills Have Eyes school of rural terror. A lot of it doesn't work: the dramatic scenes mostly fall flat due to poor acting and clunky dialogue, John Russo's directorial style is of the "point and shoot" variety and a chintzy musical score leans too heavily on its goofy soft-rock theme song. However, the film's raw technique works its favor during the second half when the horror kicks in. The film's depiction of the Satanist family might be a bit cartoonish but it's also fairly unnerving and the scenes with victims being kept in dog cages is difficult to forget. It's also worth noting that a few brief bits of gore are pretty effective thanks to the makeup effects skills of Tom Savini. Ultimately, Midnight is a minor horror entry but has a handful of unsettling scenes that might make it worth a look to the genre completist.