Violent Midnight Movie Review

Del Tenney produced only four movies over his career -- which span from 1964 to 1964 -- though he's still kicking today and restarted his career as an executive producer in 1999, 35 years after his last credit. And yet his name is synonmyous with raunchy schlock horror,

Tenney's Violent Midnight (though I greatly prefer the original title of Psychomania) is the only one of the four films that Tenney didn't also direct. The story is one of a painter (Lee Phillips) who is suspected of murdering his models and other lady friends. As the body count rises, so do the suspects and the signs pointing to Phillips as the killer. Before the 90 minutes are up, someone will hack their way through a sorority slumber party, a tryst in the woods, and a host of other pseudo-naughty scenarios.

Tenney had a way with the ladies, and their various stages of undress -- starting with the first scene -- must have been shocking at the time. In fact, they're a little titillating even today, 42 years after its creation. And yeah, that's Dick Van Patten in his first movie role ever.

This is still a low-budget thriller/slasher movie, of course, and the plot is alternately thin, confusing, and silly. But Tenney and director Richard Hilliard pull this all off with style to spare, making Violent Midnight a must-rent. Maybe.

Aka Psychomania.