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ACTOR
Jennifer Jason LeighBrenda VaccaroJack HallettNicholas Love
DIRECTOR
Matthew Chapman
SYNOPSICS
Heart of Midnight (1988) is a English movie. Matthew Chapman has directed this movie. Jennifer Jason Leigh,Brenda Vaccaro,Jack Hallett,Nicholas Love are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1988. Heart of Midnight (1988) is considered one of the best Drama,Horror,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Carol inherits a night club from her weird uncle. She moves into the place, only to find out just how weird her uncle really was. She begins to remember more about her very special relationship with her uncle as she battles her memories and her surroundings in her new home.
Same Actors
Same Director
Heart of Midnight (1988) Reviews
Dark, disturbing and atmospheric, with a great performance by Leigh
Heart of Midnight is a very strange movie, and I mean that in a good way. Broadly speaking I guess it falls within the horror genre, but it draws upon elements from many different subgenres and works on many levels. You can take it as a haunted-house movie, a ghost story, a psychological thriller and a character study rolled into one. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a superb performance as Carol Rivers, a fragile and sensitive young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown. When her estranged uncle dies of AIDS, she mysteriously inherits his deserted nightclub and, upon moving in, discovers its seedy past as a "massage parlour". From here on in, the story gets darker and more twisted, but suffice it to say that it contains many of the ingredients of full-bore horror: moaning voices in the night, taps dripping blood, secret passageways, beheaded rats, apples that ooze maggots and so on. For much of the film, we're kept in the dark as to whether Carol is privy to hallucinations and sinking into another nervous breakdown, or whether there is actually a dark force living in the empty nightclub with her. Heart of Midnight is not a perfect film. There are some plot loopholes and the usual budget limitations of a B movie, including a pesky boom mic that dips into the frame a few times. But it makes up for its flaws with a strong visual style and a convincingly claustrophobic atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. Along the way there are several recognizable nods to films like Peeping Tom, Suspiria, The Shining and two Roman Polanski classics - Repulsion and The Tenant. Jennifer Jason Leigh really gives it her all in the lead role as Carol. She is an exceptionally talented and striking actress, and Heart of Midnight provides the then 25-year-old with a strong early showcase for her talent. Her portrayal of the frail but determined Carol is passionate, believable and always sympathetic. She's a horror-movie heroine of unusual strength and intelligence, which means we really root for her during this often harrowing nightmare. Peter Coyote, Frank Stallone and Brenda Vaccaro all lend decent support, but it's Leigh who makes this dark journey worth taking.
A visual tour-de-force
From the opening scene of Matthew Chapman's Heart of Midnight, we know we are in for a visual tour-de-force. Jennifer Jason Leigh begins a new life in a bizarre, sinister, Lynchesque apartment complex, formerly occupied by her weird uncle, a pervert of sorts, whom Leigh slowly begins to remember. Writer/director Chapman breathes sinister life into this creepy abode of a building. It seems to take on a life of its own in between the shadows, macabre lighting and ethereal noises that emanate from nowhere. The film instantly draws us into a dark world where we are never sure what is exactly real and what is a figment of Leigh's imagination. Like any good psychological thriller, circumstances and events are revealed to us slowly, as we need to know them, and always advancing the plot. More than anything else, the film sustains a brooding, macabre feel that always keeps us feeling uneasy, which seems to mirror Leigh's character. She is excellent here as a woman trying to comes to grips with both her mental illness and a sordid past. The musical score is both eerie, yet powerful, further drawing us into the film's creepiness. Those who are fans of David Lynch and of movies that create a convincing, yet creepy world of their own, should enjoy Heart of Midnight.
Kinky, unsettling, wonderfully atmospheric piece
Heart Of Midnight is a perverse, disturbing, highly underrated atmospheric thriller with a knockout turn from Jennifer Jason Leigh, a superb actress who isn't afraid of taking risks, going to some dodgy places and travelling to the dark side of the soul in her excellent work. In this film she plays a girl who inherits a dilapidated, out of business night club from her creepy dead uncle in a part of town that's the last place she wants to be in. She takes up residence their and attempts to fix it up, utilizing a lazy construction team that's about as productive as a paper mâché bulldozer. She realizes something isn't right about the place pretty quick though. There are various rooms in this scuzzy labyrinthine hell hole that look like they are for violent fetish rituals and shadowy, illegal stuff. She starts having vivid, surreal nightmares that begin to bleed into her waking life. When she calls the police a mysterious detective (Peter Coyote) shows up, but he's distant and only vaguely cooperative, adding to the mystery. I love this films atmosphere to death. There's an ambient, voyeuristic, abstractly horrifying aspect to the cinematography, that makes us feel like we're in a sleazy Gothic nightmare where nothing makes sense and every clue only points in the opposite direction. It's like Mullholland Drive meets 8MM by way of The Sentinal, with a touch of Ken Russell just for fun. It's not without it's absurd comic relief though. Frank Stallone (Sylvester's brother) is hilarious as a kooky police sergeant. At one point Jennifer walks into his office and the entire staff are in full song as he belts out a rollicking set on a ukulele. That's how delightfully strange this films vibe is. They just don't make these extremely atmospheric, enigmatic fright fests anymore. Or at least not with the hazy, scarily bizarre haunted house vibe they had back then. Be warned though: it goes to some pretty dark, messed up places and is definitely not for the average cookie cutter film goer. It's incredibly niche, relentlessly strange and altogether special just for those reasons. Anyone willing to step over to the dark, weird side, give it a go.
Bizarre, Creepy & Colorful
I was surprised to discover this was really a horror film. I don't know if it's labeled that, but that's what it should be called. It's spooky and creepy and just plain weird. With Jennifer Jason Leigh in the lead, I'm not surprised. She is pretty good at playing disturbed people as she showed later in "Single White Female." For me, however, the best part of this film was the color. This film had a color palette that was fascinating at times. and the audio was good, too, with creepy sounds to go with the colorfully-painted nightclub/house interiors. Some of the story left a bad taste in my mouth, just a bit too sordid in spots. With the exception of the social worker, there are no likable, trusting characters in this film. The one who is hardest to figure out is the one played by Peter Coyote. Yet, despite this not being a particularly attractive story, the haunting audio and visuals keep sucking me back every 5-8 years into this bizarre tale.
Best Actress Performance of 1989
Really fanatical film buffs have long considered Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance in "Heart of Midnight" deserving of 1989's Best Actress Oscar. She was at least as good as runner-up Isabelle Adjani ("Camille Chaudel") and clearly superior to winner Jessica Tandy ("Driving Miss Daisy"). While ironic that Leigh's best performance was in her least seen film, it is understandable considering the subject matter and almost expressionistic style of "Heart of Midnight", which needs at least two viewings to be properly appreciated. The film, which is better directed than it is written, should be seen simply for Leigh's performance but is also a stylish little horror film with a few genuinely scary moments. Leigh plays Carol Rivers and the story (which includes a number of flashbacks) is told from her point of view. Carol seems to have an innate distaste for physical contact and a history of psychological problems of unknown origin. It is slowly revealed in the film that she was abused as a child. Leigh researched the role extensively, speaking with women who had been abused as children and experts in the field. "Heart of Midnight", an odd mix of "Repulsion", "The Tenant", "Exotica", and "The Story of Adele H"; is about Carol's descent into madness. It was probably inspired by the two Polanski films; and Catherine Deneuve's "Repulsion" character was also named Carol. The twist being that this time it is actually a voluntary descent into insanity. For most of the film Carol grapples with why she does not like herself. Once she discovers the reason for this, madness becomes preferable to existing with that knowledge. Although Carol's conduct throughout the film seems bizarre, once you understand her background everything is logical. But it is only predictable in retrospect so many viewers will find the film uncomfortable viewing. Carol is often forced to retreat but admirably forces herself to confront her fears. Leigh has a real gift for communicating the depth of her character's fear and pain. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.