MIDNIGHT KISS   
1993, Academy Entertainment

DIRECTOR: Joel Bender   PRODUCER: Manette Rosen & Marion Zola

STARRING:  Michelle Owens,   Gregory A. Greer,   Michael McMillen,    Robert Milano,    B. J. Gates,    Michael Shawn


Carrie Blass is not a happy woman.   Formerly a hot-shot homicide detective with a handsome husband (also on the force),it all somehow went terribly wrong when she "screwed up" (though it was never explained HOW) an important investigation; hubby stepped in and saved the day, which did not go over well with Carrie.   And now she's labouring in the Sex Crimes Division, where she sees her ex-husband every day, watching from afar as he investigates the cases she feels SHE should be working on.  Perhaps worst is the fact that Carrie could get back into homicide -- IF she sleeps with the sleazy Captain, which she simply cannot bring herself to do.  And so she is adrift, investigating rapes and counselling rape victims, then going home to the apartment she shares with her orange marmalade cat, Jack.  Some life, huh?

But things begin to look up for Carrie with the arrival of a serial killer to LA's streets.  This killer rapes and murders his female victims, draining them of every drop of blood and then disappearing into the night, leaving nary a trace.  The police are stymyied, until one of the killer's intended victims escapes with only a bite to her wrist.  The surviver isn't much help as a witness, though; she's in shock and doesn't seem to be able to talk about the attack.  Enter Carrie, who -- with her brilliant female intuition -- commiserates and comforts the poor victim, who clearly simply wasn't responding to her fumbling, crude MALE interrogators.  In a scene so predictable it's funny, Carrie coaxes information out of the poor victim in record time!

Soon afterward, Carrie is reinstated to the Homicide Division, with one caveat -- her partner is her ex-hubby.  After both partners initially object, they soon settle into a comfortable rapport, and it becomes clear they both still have feelings for the other.  Which is a very good thing, since it begins to become apparent that the serial killer is no ordinary homicidal maniac...., he's a (pause for dramatic effect) VAMPIRE!

RATING:       

If you've seen MIDNIGHT KISS, you might be surprised at the number of head bobs it received, especially since I think the movie basically stinks.   The plot is anorexic, and the heroine -- Carrie -- evokes no sympathetic feelings in the viewer.   She comes across as smarmy and bitter, plus the things she does are entirely predictable -- as I mentioned, the scene where she manages to get the vampire's lone surviving attack victim is worthy of the last five minutes of an episode of Law and Order.   And make no mistake, this movie is mostly only about Carrie -- all the other characters, including the likeable ex-husband, are incidental.  Except for one.

And this ONE character is the reason I LOVE this movie:  The Vampire.   He's a hot, sexy '80's image rocker-type, complete with long, swingin' mane of blond hair, LA-Guns approved wardrobe and dangly earrings.   Plus I enjoyed his campy, Jack-Nicholson-channelled-through-Christian-Slater performance.   And I also appreciated the perpetually-amused, wise-cracking take on the character.  He was the only remotely interesting thing about the movie to me, and he TOTALLY made it worth my time.

Particularly enjoyable film moments for me included: The scene where the vampire (who was given no name) is reading from the bible and laughing; the exaggerated, modified sign of the cross performed before blasting some poor sod's head off with a shotgun;  and the bit where the vampire takes the wooden cross from a cop (who is holding it up for protection) and bops him on the forhead with it while admonishing him "not to believe everything you read."   Also, the basically pointless but atmospheric extended scene where the vampire is rambling the streets of West Hollyweird appealed to me .  Hey man, I'm an '80's hair metal fan -- and I love MIDNIGHT KISS

Two dancers in a strip bar, two naked vampiresses in the morgue.

SCENES THAT MAKE ME GO "HMMM...,":


1. Is it just me, or does this vampire appear to have trouble talking around his fangs?

2. Why does the vampire wear different "costumes" (priest, businessman, milk man) when hunting?  Don't vampires have mesmerizing/mind control powers with which to lure victims?

3. If all the vampire's victims were totally drained of blood, where does all the red stuff come from when the vampires in the morgue get staked?

4. How is it that Carrie can stomach smashing someone's brains out against a wall and staking a vampire through the heart, but she flinches at the sight of rats?

DID YOU KNOW...,:

 -   Sheila, the vampire's victim at the beginning of the film, was played by Celeste Yarnall; Celeste is an actress with an extensive resume, including a role in the 1968 Elvis Presley vehicle, LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE.  She is also the author of two holistic health care books for pets -- one for dogs, and another for cats.

 -   MIDNIGHT KISS has been one of my favourite movies ever since I first saw it way back in the early nineties, but it was only recently that I could justify adding it to this site.   The connection was established when I discovered that the actor portraying the "rock star vampire" (Gregory A. Greer) was indeed a rock musician in Los Angeles.   Greg has an interesting story, which you can read on his page at IDN Music.

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