By Geno McGahee
Why didn’t Wes Olsen make more movies? That was my question after watching the 1984 low budget slasher “THE DARK SIDE OF MIDNIGHT,” a horror/action hybrid movie with all the elements that make a near no budget movie special. We have the bad acting, so bad it’s good dialogue, silly scenarios and, most of all, heart. Wes Olsen may have only made one movie, but he made a pretty damn good one.
Chief Cooper (James F. Moore) has a problem. There is a serial killer in town that has viciously murdered a college girl. Despite having little evidence, Cooper concludes that the killer did it “for the hell of it” and his partner notes that the killer was “as strong as an ape.” Mayor Reilly (Dave Bowling), a “sniveling wimp”, has plans to bring a university to town and has a lot of money riding on it. He demands that the murder and any others get zero press coverage. Why the mayor is wearing an ever-changing fake mustache throughout this film is a mystery. In fact, all of the actors in this film have a mustache.
Despite the reluctance from Mayor Reilly, Cooper hires on a detective that has dealt with serial killers and is the best bet to save the town. Brock Johnson (Wes Olsen) comes down and stays with Cooper, but they have issues immediately when Cooper’s daughter, Jan (Sandy Schimmel), takes an interest in the new house guest. Much like every other character in this film, Cooper speaks to himself aloud, expressing his emotions for the audience. He calls the nerdy Brock a “Don Juan” and a “sex fiend” and says he “won’t get a wink of sleep” knowing that his daughter is a room over banging the new guy. It’s rather funny that every character feels the need to talk when they are alone, but they also read newspaper articles out loud. It’s not realistic unless you are just beginning to learn how to read, but it was amusing.
Since the Mayor is playing defense, Cooper holds a press conference to announce that the “Detroit Creeper” is loose and has been committing the murders. The Mayor flips and pulls a few fast ones, arresting a homeless man and calling him the killer to save the university deal. Brock and Cooper continue their quest and eventually track him down to his shack of a home, leading to a less than great conclusion to this surprisingly entertaining film.
Watching this production, I couldn’t help but to think of Don Dohler. Dohler produced movies on a shoestring budget (that’s being generous) like GALAXY INVADER, ALIEN FACTOR and FIEND, but there was a level of quality and heart to it. So much so, that his films made it to cable TV, which wasn’t that easy at that time. You can see the heart of Olsen in this film. I don’t think he should have cast himself as the “Don Juan” tough detective Brock Johnson, but it was his movie and his call. You see this a lot with indie films. The star is also the writer/director.
THE DARK SIDE OF MIDNIGHT has charm and the questionable editing and acting add to it. You can tell that those involved wanted to make something good and they did the best with their efforts. It was over the top and silly at times, but as the saying goes “if it’s entertaining, it’s good” and this is absolutely entertaining.
I highly recommend THE DARK SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (AKA – CREEPER), especially if you have an appreciation of low budget film. It was a pleasant surprise.
Rating: 7/10