I was flipping through one of my old Film Review Magazines published in 1989 last night (pictured above) and I came across an article about the wonderfully oddball and darkly disturbing movie ‘Heart of Midnight’.

Looking at the still images in the article it reminded me of how different this film was and how it had totally taken me by surprise the first time that I saw it on VHS in the early 1990’s. I had gone into this movie totally blind having only bought the film because it starred Jennifer Jason Leigh in the lead and I had loved her powerful performance in the classic Rutger Hauer chiller ‘The Hitcher’ and ‘Heart of Midnight’ also advertised the great Peter Coyote in second billing. I knew these actors from great films such as ‘E.T, Bitter Moon and Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ so I was expecting a somewhat mainstream erotic thriller. But instead I found that what I was watching from director Mathew Chapman, was an exploration of childhood trauma wrapped up in a fever dream, that kept me guessing at every turn and had me glued to the screen wanting to know what happed next to these peculiar characters. The performances in this film are like nothing else I have ever seen, each charter is quirky, up to no good and looking to cut an angle and at the centre is Jennifer Jason Leigh who is lost in the ‘Heart of Midnight’. In brief, the film follows an emotionally disturbed young woman who inherits a night club from her uncle and decides to start a new life for herself running the club in the city far away from her old troubled life. But she soon discovers that all is not what it seems within the hidden passageways and hallways of the nightclub and that the walls hold as many secrets and her own repressed memories. Hopefully that is enough to wet your apatite as I don’t say any more to spoil the strange twists and turns that make this movie so great. I will say for modern audiences ,that the movie is low budget so don’t expect the best production values, it has the look of a late night TV thriller which for me is a genre I really enjoy but it may seem a little dated by todays standards. But the twisted story and great performances more than make up for its lack of production value. There are a few surprises too with actors such as Steve Bucemi and James Reborn popping up as sinister characters in smaller roles. Its fair to say that The Boneyard most certainly recommends this dark, disturbing and quirky thriller. Its best to go into it not knowing what to expect as it holds some great unexpected moments of strangeness and terror. Its a hidden gem thriller that showcases the outstanding charter work and talent of a young Jennifer Jason Leigh, she elevates this erotic thriller and gives it an extra bite that makes this an unforgettable experience. The film is available on DVD for quite cheap from the M.I.A (Missing in Action) label and there was also a short Blu Ray release from Kino which is now pretty expensive, but there was also a decent looking BD-R from the Spanish label Cinema Media International which is around the £20 mark which is pictured below.