If Midnight Show (HPS Film Productions, 1979) is not among the worst of its kind, because its kind is among the worst of any kind. This is a bloodless murder thriller laced with very little sex. The suspense generated in this cheaply sensational film is episodic, rising at the time of the kill and receding into boredom at other times. The actors cannot be faulted. They bring more to the story than it really deserves. Lorna Tolentino gives an outstanding performance as Stella, the harried and distressed protagonist. Bembol Roco has the fairly thankless task of saying only what the movie needs him to say, he's limited by the fact that his killer has no real dimension or personality apart from his function as a plot device. Unfortunately, bewilderment comes more naturally to him than intelligence and his line readings, aiming for creepiness, just sound silly. Ruby Anna plays Mylene the dancer, who becomes the bland psycho's target. Ronald Corveau, is more convincing as Ronald, Stella’s dissembling boyfriend.
Midnight Show is so ineptly made that key scenes take place offscreen. Logic isn't the problem with this movie, a lack of humanity is. It's a routine thriller that is, for the most part, slow moving and uneventful. I wouldn't really mind the clichés and the tired old material so much, if the filmmakers had brought energy or a sense of style to the material. But Midnight Show seems unconvinced of its own worth. It's a tired, defeated film in which no one seems to love what they're doing, unless maybe it's a few of the character actors, like Arnold Mendoza and Nello Nayo (as Stella’s father), who have scenes they seem to relish. Director Leonardo L. Garcia is saddled with an emotionally empty script by Diego Cagahastian. The confusing plot is untangled at the end, though loose ends dangle all over. Midnight Show contains all the best clichés from more successful suspense movies. But the clichés exist in a vacuum. The events happen because they have happened in other thrillers and seemed like a good idea at the time.
Cinematography: Ricardo Herrera
Editor: Rene Tala
Musical Direction: D'Amarillo
Screenplay: Diego Cagahastian
Directed By: Leonardo L. Garcia
