Starring: Craig Barber ,Liz Hedgepeth, Tony Frejer,
Jake Lief

Written & Directed By: Siko Mike

Released: Halloween 2008

Grade: B+

Midnight Silence is based on the short story by amateur filmmaker, movie reviewer, and all around film fan, Siko Mike. It takes us to 1988 and the occurrence of the “New York Family Massacre”. The man they called the midnight phantom murdered his entire family at the stroke of midnight. It was determined that he was mentally insane and locked away from the rest of society. After years of silence he manages to break out and begins killing any and everyone who crosses his path. A young college couple on their way to a rave appear to be the next victims when he strikes at midnight.

The music is creepy and brings tension to all of the right moments, but it is still not that manufactured suspense that puts music in the place of dramatic tension. There is not a lot of blood, but what we are shown is pretty realistic for the budget it had to work with. In the short amount of time the film has it manages to give us loads of references from other horror films and directors. The story itself has a lot of similarities to Halloween. In both cases, the villain murders his family and ends up spending years in an insane asylum. There is a similar character to Dr. Loomis, although he is more in the back story rather than what we are seeing. The breaking out and killing others in his path as well as the mask and overall silent killer aspect are all here too. The midnight phantom is more random about his killing though, leaving no one safe. He even goes from state to state rather than secluding himself to one specific area. The names are really the most reminiscent of past horror slashers. The Dr.Loomis-type is Detective Mike Myers, clearly taken right from the original villain of Halloween himself. The midnight phantom’s wife he murdered was Laurie, just like our favorite babysitter and his daughter he killed was named Nancy, giving us our Nightmare on Elm Street reference along with the institution the Midnight Phantom was sent too being called the Craven Assylum. During the film, in the students class there is a discussion about this killer and questioning why he would turn on his family in such a brutal way. Rather than looking farther in to the case itself famous movie killers are brought up instead like Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, and Norman Bates. Clearly the characters in the film idolize over these characters just as much as the filmmakers and know a good part of the film’s audience will too. The professor, Professor Carpenter by the way, the name of the very man who created Michael Myers, looks down on the mentioning of these killers as if that means his students aren’t taking it seriously.

With all of these references there is definitely a very fun feel to Midnight Silence. This could be brought out a lot more with a longer running time. Midnight Silence is a great introduction to a story that deserves to be a full length feature. There are quite a few elements that are presented that could be explored much further. For example, there is a definite aggravation between professor Carpenter and the student who mentions the horror movie killers. This aggravation almost seems more like a hatred as if this was a sensitive subject to him. This might be because he has some connection to the Midnight Phantom. Maybe he just has a yearning to bring understanding to murderers who are so easily labeled as crazy without looking any farther. It could even be the very opposite, Professor Carpenter might feel a need to figure out and communicate the motives of this killer from a feeling of great injustices to his victims and even to the society that it is part of. Professor Carpenter is a character that could go in many different direction, but nearly all of them would have a significant meaning attached to them. The Midnight Phantom himself could be developed further as well. We know the incident that made him a murderer and that he is continuing it now. Aside from that though, there is a lot that could be filled in. We don’t know what his life was like before, which could lead us to why he decided to kill his family. Whatever that motivation was could very likely be what his current motivation is. Perhaps it is just the insanity that staying in an asylum for years can cause. Anger at society for locking him up would seem natural and almost understandable. There are a number of things that might drive him to kill. Many horrifying sides to this story could be shown and could still keep many things a mystery. With a longer running time, Midnight Silence could grow in many areas, making this short horror homage in to a full length slasher packed full of fun.

For those interested in seeing Midnight Silence you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6-ui2acxPw