Reviewing "The Midnight Hour" and the Film's Hat Trick of Vampire Villainesses

Happy Halloween, all! Halloween and the month it falls on are truly the best. The entire month of October is dedicated to the horror genre, and while I believe any day and any month is a good time to enjoy horror, it just seems, well, right when we see it all in October (with one exception being the moments where Treehouse of Horror hits early November). I try my best to get in some good scares, chills, and thrills in October, and that includes this film, The Midnight Hour.

I learned this telefilm a long time ago, and I had seen bits and pieces of this film a number of times. Last year, I watched this in its entirety for the first time. This year, I watched it again, doing so to prepare for this review.

In the town of Pitchford Cove, Massachusetts, everyone is preparing for Halloween--some more than others. The most emphatic characters doing so are a group of high schoolers: Phil Grenville, Melissa Cavender, Mary Masterson, Mitch Crandall, and Vinnie Davis. They are later greeted by their substitute teacher, Vicky Jensen, and it's followed by Phil giving a report on the town's haunted history. Eerily enough, both Phil and Melissa are connected; Melissa's ancestor, Lucinda Cavender, was a powerful witch who plagued the town centuries ago, until she was sought out and hunted down by Nathaniel Grenville, Phil's ancestor. WOW!

So the quintet headed to a historical museum and took some costumes to wear for a party thrown by Melissa, and we later see them at a cemetery where they also take out a scroll, which had an incantation that is read aloud by Melissa, mainly for laughs, because they expect nothing to happen. The kids leave, but after they do, that's when it happens. Every ghoul, monster, and thing that goes bump in the night crawls out into the darkness, and that does include Lucinda Cavender, making her presence felt.

The party commences, and it's quite a fun one, but we later see Lucinda appear and greet her descendant, Melissa, while also making an attempt to lunge at her. That attempt is stopped, but later on, Melissa is approached by Lucinda in the wine cellar, and this time, Lucinda unleashes her vampire fangs and sinks them right into her descendant's throat. While that's going on, a werewolf attacks and turns a transient, and the newly turned werewolf goes after Phil and a teenage girl named Sandy Matthews, who is actually a ghost who returned with the monsters, but she's very kindhearted and sweet. As for Melissa, she's now a vampiress herself, and she sinks her teeth into Vinnie, among many others, while fully aligning with her evil ancestor in her attempt to turn the town into a monster wasteland.

Phil and Sandy are basically the town's only hope, and they return to the party to see everyone becoming monsters. The pair escape in Phil's car, where Vicky's hiding out, apparently from the monsters. Phil drives to the cemetery, and he knows what has to be done: the scroll has to be sealed in order for the monsters to be sent back where they came from. One problem. Just as Phil's about to open the crypt, Vicky suddenly flashed vampire fangs and lunged at Phil, only for Sandy to take her down with a flashlight. Even so, that's one monster down. The duo had a lot of others to deal with, while being trapped in the car. Phil did manage to use his ancestor's dust to seal the scroll, while Sandy (in a moment of realizing that she would be gone as well) gave Phil a kiss and told him that she loved him.

With the scroll sealed, everything back to normal, in fact, everything that happened was undone. The film ends with a dedication from beyond the grave, Barbara Lewis' hit song, Baby, I'm Yours, was played via a request by Sandy, as she still remembered that great Halloween she spent with Phil. I'll be honest, that part didn't get to me last year, but when I watched it again late last night, it kinda did. I think it's because it was after I pretty much bared my soul moments after the Yankees lost the World Series, and touching moments like that already added to the emotions I felt as a Yankees fan.

And now, on to the villainesses:

Vicky Jensen

Despite the Halloween setting and the fact that this film is a Halloween treat, ABC actually aired this telefilm on November 1, 1985. We were treated to three wicked vampire villainesses, and let's talk about the latest revealed of the three, Vicky Jensen, played by the late Cindy Morgan. Vicky gave off a bit of a sultry vibe at first, and she was shown to have quite a good rapport with the students at that party. I shouldn't have been surprised over Vicky's heel turn in that climax, but it was a nice shock when we suddenly see the genial teacher flash vampire fangs and go after Phil. Vicky Jensen was an interesting character overall, but that evil moment of hers was absolutely her best moment.

Sadly, Cindy Morgan passed away on (around) December 30, 2023, with her passing not officially reported until January 6, 2024. She is best remember for her role in Caddyshack (which was her first film), and she also appeared in the classic film, Tron.

Check out Vicky Jensen's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Melissa Cavender

The telefilm boasted a pretty star-studded cast including Dedee Pfeiffer (the sister of Michelle Pfeiffer), David DeLuise (later of Wizards of Waverly Place fame, and one of the sons of Dom DeLuise), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), LeVar Burton (Roots, Star Trek: TNG, and the current host of Trivial Pursuit), and Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show). The centerpiece of all of this Halloween fun was the legendary Shari Belafonte as Melissa Cavender, and I loved the energy that Belafonte brought in this role. She had that mischievous edge to her even in her introduction, but once Lucinda sank her fangs into her, we are treated to a deliciously dark and evil side to Melissa that I just adore.

I truly believe that Belafonte enjoyed acting out that dark side to Melissa in the second half of this film, which included an amazing musical number performed very well by Belafonte. I would love to see Shari Belafonte as a main villainess in a horror-centered Lifetime film of sorts; she'd really shine if given the opportunity. Belafonte is best known for playing Julie Gilette for five years on Hotel, and also starred on the short-lived series, Beyond Reality. She currently plays on the BET series, Sistas, and she recently appeared in episodes of 9-1-1 and Station 19.

Check out Melissa Cavender's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Lucinda Cavender

Saving the most diabolical for last, we have the evil vampire witch Lucinda Cavender, played brilliantly by Jonelle Allen. Lucinda was quite the character for sure. From the moment she makes her appearance, the vibe of creepiness and darkness is all around her. We see it as she's outside Melissa's house, and we definitely see it during her first encounter with Melissa. The best moment of the film was definitely Lucinda's attack to Melissa in the wine cellar; she knew that was her best chance to pounce, and she did just that. Allen's performance was absolutely epic. She acted out Lucinda's evil demeanor to absolute perfection; an absolute scene stealer, indeed.

Jonelle Allen has the epic distinction of having played an evil vampire and an evil werewolf in her career. Two years later, Allen appeared in an episode of Werewolf as surprise werewolf villainess Emily, and regarding her other TV appearances, Allen appeared in episodes of What's Happening!!, Cagney & Lacey, Police Woman, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, among many other shows.

Check out Lucinda Cavender's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Another reason why, IMO, The Midnight Hour was so good: it was directed by Jack Bender. He seems to direct some good films, with his ultimate masterpiece being Child's Play 3, which came out six years later. So there's that awesome attribute as well.

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