Use
of Budget
With a budget of only $2,000, the filmmakers of The Midnight
Special did a pretty good job at stretching that out
to a feature-length film. Their budget was spent on an extra
camera, hard drives, gas, Kraft services, and props. I think
perhaps the best money spent was on the guns used, as they
looked very realistic, plus for the special effects in the
shootout scene.
Though I do think that more time could have been paid to
structuring the movie before shooting began as to avoid
confusing the audience later on, as well as to addressing
some of the visual issues that have already been mentioned.
And, as a minor complaint, it might have been a good idea
to get better fangs for the vampires shown at the beginning
of the film. Even though the footage was shot at night and
a bit grainy, it still looked like the vampire’s fangs were
about to fall out of their mouths.
Lasting
Appeal
The Midnight Special has some really great moments
of humor to it, as well as great acting and add-libbing
and some nice special effects. It is very entertaining to
watch, however there are a few big issues that detract from
the main experience.
The biggest problem is with the story and its structure.
The random order of the film works well with its comedic
elements, but once it suddenly begins to get serious, the
audience isn’t sure whether to laugh or not. They might
also feel behind since scenes vital to the plot are scarce
during the first forty-five minutes. It would definitely
be a good idea to spread the plot scenes out more evenly
throughout the film, as well as to decide on the genre itself
– whether to eliminate some of the more heavy drama or the
crazier comedy.
Also, it might be a good idea to fix some of the visual
elements mentioned above, particularly giving the night
vision shots a consistent color and perhaps doing a re-shoot
of the underlit indoor scenes.
Overall
Comment
Despite some of its flaws, The Midnight Special is
still quite an entertaining film to watch. These filmmakers
show a lot of promise, particularly in their skills at add-libbing.
It is also encouraging to know that this film has opened
up distribution opportunities for them. However, I do think
it would still be a good idea to tweak the structuring a
bit, or to at least remember to do so in future.
