Decent low budget thriller in the Blood Simple / Shallow Grave tradition. Fun, but not as good as either of those films.

Midnighters is a well done but ordinary film that explores basics of human relations and question its conventions. The premise is very interesting and it develops through good performances and great editing. The story is very interesting and keeps you in dark for the right amount of time to understand what is happening, but once you do it becomes a very predictable ride, in most part due to it's not so natural and too explanatory dialogues, also the geographically confusing but beautiful photography doesn't help the view. The good direction and pace fixes most of the issues of this film. Worth watch for sure. Just don't expect to see anything new.

One of the very best thrillers you will ever see.....Great all around the board; script, directing, actors....the way Hollywood used to do it before they only cared about the dollar...

Thriller opens with pretty Lindsay Pittman (Alex Essoe from Starry Eyes and The Neighbor) tied to a chair and gagged with duct tape. Then we go back a few hours to find out how and why she's there. Driving home from a New Years Eve party, down-on-their-luck couple Lindsay and Jeff (Dylan McTee) hit a man on a remote road in the woods. The man appears to die before they can get help and the couple take the body home, concerned with the consequences of the man being dead and that they both were drinking. That's when things start to go wrong. The man is not dead, has a gun and after surprising Lindsay's sister Hannah (Perla Haney-Jardine), is really killed when she gets hold of his weapon. Even worse, when going through his things, Jeff, Lindsay and Hannah find their home was the gunman's objective all along. And thus begins a tale of hidden money, betrayal, double-crossing and murder.Flick is well directed by Julius Ramsay from a script by Alston Ramsay and is a solid thriller. Film sets up a tense enough situation with a couple already facing hard times, thinking they killed a man and not wanting to deal with the consequences. Things get worse as they find the man had a gun and their address in his wallet. Who was he and why was he heading to their home? The story slowly unfolds, as thrillers like this traditionally do, as Police come knocking at their door, a mysterious detective (Ward Horton) shows up soon after and a cache of cash has everyone turning guns, duct tape and other household torture devices on each other. It's well done and while not quite as gripping as hoped, it is still solid entertainment that offers up some nice betrayals, twists and some horror movie level violence, murder and bloodshed. By it's satisfying conclusion all secrets are revealed, questions answered and a fitting trail of bodies left. To say anymore would be to spoil some deviously entertaining moments.The Ramsays have a fairly good cast to support their script and direction. Alex Essoe once again proves she's an actress to watch with a solid performances as Lindsay. Mrs. Pittman seems to be caught in the middle of all this and Essoe gives her some life, depth and resourcefulness as we watch a woman toughen up and try to turn things in her favor in an increasingly disturbing situation. She's a good actress and can play both sympathetic and strong very well. Dylan McTee was efficient as Jeff, but could have used a bit more intensity. Maybe it's just that his character is not at his best when our story begins and is, when all is said and done, not as strong as his wife. He's not a wuss, but his character could have used a bit stronger presence. Perla Haney-Jardine is solid as Hannah. She's not new to trouble and it's no surprise that some of the Pittman's current woes might have Hannah's fingerprints on them. Finally we have a malice laced performances by Morristown, N.J. native Ward Horton as the mysterious Detective "Smith". Let's just say he's not a nice guy and his being a detective may be questionable, too. Horton makes for a slimy and charismatic villain which always benefits movies like this.Overall, this was a solid and entertaining thriller that rolled out the story nicely and deviously. It could have used a bit more intensity, but was still a well done movie with some nice backstabbing and other kinds of stabbing to keep us in our seats. There were some good performances, especially from lead actress Alex Essoe, which enhanced the characters and thus the effectiveness of this blood-soaked thriller. Recommend for a night of noir-ish thrills and entertainment on the couch.-MonsterZero NJ