Review – Midnight

John A. Russo, the “genius” behind this stinker, co-wrote Night of the Living Dead with George Romero. Apparently all the brains were in the other head. This is a cheaply-made, meandering tale of a girl who flees her molesting stepfather and hitches a ride with a couple of guys who are stealing food (despite having the money for hash) as they drive cross country in a van. Around midway through the trio fall into the clutches of a psychotic hillbilly cult, giving the production a Texas Chainsaw feel that oddly enough is actually an improvement over the directionless floundering of the first 40 minutes. However, it’s still stupid stuff. The sad part is I have a vague memory of reading Russo’s book version of this same story, so I had no reason to hope that the movie would be better. Wish I’d skipped it