Of the many attempts to update the vampire myth, George A. Romero’s 1973 film Martin was one of the most successful and the story with which this movie has the most in common.
Jacob is a thin, pale young man forced to work as a night security guard because his skin condition means he cannot be exposed to sunlight. He is a painter of some talent, but appears to have no friends. He has another problem no matter how many pizzas he eats he never seems satisfied until he drinks some blood off the bottom of a plastic steak wrapper.
The only good thing that happens to Jacob is when he meets Mary at a bar. She finds his shyness and quirky ways endearing, but when she visits his flat, snorts some coke and gets a nosebleed he has what appears to be a fit.
On mentioning the word vampire’ Jacob rents out some videos, but none of the silly plots devices, such as fangs, crucifixes and negligees seems to fit with his condition.
Jacob’s situation worsens and he tries to steal some blood from a hospital. The porter catches him but takes pity on him, giving him some blood for free. There’s a catch of course from then on it’s going to cost.
Mary and Jacob become more intimate, but when his eyes change colour during sex she realises there’s a problem. After a woman is murdered near his building he fears he may have done it, but has no memory of it at all.
Clearly we’ve seen plenty of stories like this before, but what sets Midnight Son apart is its tone and mood. Jacob is a sad, desperately lonely young man, permanently lost in a headache-inducing world of strip lights, empty malls and after-hours bars. His fragile relationship with Mary herself a nervous, feckless woman is beautifully played and multi-layered. She mistakes his reticence for cool, he is desperate not to infect’ her.
The pair of unknown leads are completely convincing and pull you into the story. The pay-off at the end is not totally convincing, and Jacob’s paintings are actually pretty awful sure it’s a low-budget movie but surely someone could have knocked up some better pictures.
Those are about the only complaints though in what is a thoroughly successful project. Watch out for more from this young director.
Overall verdict: Worthy updating of the vampire story which looks and sounds great, has convincing performances and a sustained mood.
Reviewer: Mike Martin