MIDNIGHT MOVIES From the margin to the mainstream.

Canada, 2005, 88 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Stuart Samuels.

This documentary (88 minutes) is a must see for movie buffs. It is also a must see for students of sociology, of social change and the movies having social effect and changing ways audiences perceive and accept different types of movie-making, especially the sardonic irony that pervades films since the 1970s.

The format is straightforward. Six films that succeeded in cinemas at midnight screenings from 1970 to 1977 are put forward as key films in changing audience consciousness. They are Jodorowsky’s El Topo (the first midnight movie), the 1930s antidrug film, Reefer Madness, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, John Water’s Pink Flamingo, Perry Henzell’s Jamaican reggae feature, The Harder They Come, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and David Lynch’s Eraserhead.

The directors are seen with frequent comments plus Richard O’Brien?, creator of Rocky Horror. The film clips are quite abundant, more than enough to get a helpful impression of each film, its style and impact. And it is interesting to be reminded at the end how successful Romero, Waters and Lynch still are.