Taglines: Murder by design.
Mid-Century Movie Storyline. Academy Award nominee Bruce Dern, Stephen Lang, and Shane West highlight this stylish, intense horror-thriller Mid-Century. Architect Tom Levin and his wife, Dr. Alice Dodgeson, rent a mid-century modern home for a weekend. They find the place untouched since the 1960s. Left alone with Alice at a job interview, Tom discovers the home was built by his idol – legendary architect and known occultist, Frederick Banner.
Tom begins interacting with a striking ghost from the past who slowly brings Tom under her spell. Alice returns to find her husband missing, someone stalking her, and comes to the realization that she and Tom are pawns in the diabolical plot of the legendary architect who never left this home – even after his death.
Mid-Century is a 2022 American horror thriller film directed by Sonja O’Hara and starring Bruce Dern, Stephen Lang and Shane West, the latter two serving as executive producers. In February 2022, it was announced that Blue Fox Entertainment acquired international rights to the film. The film was released in theaters and on demand and digital platforms on June 17, 2022.
Film Review for Mid-Century
There were quite a few surprising developments here, which I always find refreshing as a reviewer. It isn’t necessarily original material, as many hardcore horror goons will name the sources of all of the derivatives here. However, the narrative is impressive in the arrangement of these well-worn bones as well as several flourishes that O’Hara whips out at the end. There is one magic point where the visuals genuinely get stuck in the 60s in the grooviest way possible. While the director mostly behaves throughout, when she misbehaves is when she shows how much she has up her sleeve.
The acting is outstanding throughout Mid-Century, taking advantage of the well-seasoned drama that makes up the muscle of the movie. Gilligan steers her lead with a strength that lifts her above the fray. I am already a fan of West as I thought his performance as Darby Crash was one for the ages. He takes a difficult role and makes it both his own and, against all odds, likable. The tone of the film fits his talents well.
Dern is horrifying, and he still has his mojo working after all these years. Lang, who I remember in Last Exit to Brooklyn but has become more famous off Avatar and Don’t Breathe, nails the evil Banner with a gleeful menace. Some guys just do evil so well. Hay emerges as the “spiritual” center. She shines like a comet in the sky. Hopefully, this becomes a springboard for her into more work as she can handle it.
Overall, Mid-Century is a worthy example of the power of quiet horror as the terror slowly creeps in. The excellent performances will keep you riveted while the story has enough twists to spin your head around some, Linda Blair style.
Mid-Century is yet another movie that tries to combine too many genres all at once while none of the beats actually land. The screenplay by Mike Stern begins with a prologue that provides exposition about Frederick Banner’s dark side, although it also spoils any suspense the audience might have about whether or not he can be trusted. Imagine Psycho with a prologue about Norman Bates’ murderous side.
The rest of the film wouldn’t be as suspenseful. There are flashbacks that repeat the same point over and over about Frederick’s evilness. In a poorly-developed subplot, Tom and Alice suffer from marital problems. Little do they know that they’ll be facing even bigger problems when they encounter apparitions. It’s around that point that Mid-Century takes a steep nosedive.
Blending horror, sci-fi, mystery and thrills could be effective with a smart and well-written screenplay, but that’s not the case here. It bites off much more than it could chew and becomes unfocused and convoluted as it progresses. Moreover, Stern doesn’t give the audience much of a reason to care about Tom, Alice or anything on screen for that matter. Even the villain is obvious from the very beginning and doesn’t really have anything about him to make him compelling or memorable. He’s just as bland as everyone else.
The production design is the film’s greatest strength, both in the flashback scenes and the present day scenes. The lighting and set design add some atmosphere, but that’s not enough to hold the audience’s attention. The performances range from adequate to wooden. Casting Stephan Lang in the role of Frederick Banner makes it hard to avoid thinking of his better role in the much more suspenseful, thrilling, chilling and fun B-movie Don’t Breathe. At a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, which feels more like 2.5 hours, Mid-Century manages to be dull, overwrought and clunky while low on thrills, chills, suspense and fun.
Mid-Century (2022)
Directed by: Sonja O’Hara
Starring: Stephen Lang, Bruce Dern, Shane West, Sarah Hay, Chelsea Gilligan, Mike Stern, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Annapurna Sriram, Rachele Royale, Melissa Bale, Marciel Delgado, Kelly Nam
Screenplay by: Mike Stern
Production Design by: Zach Bangma
Cinematography by: Antonio Cisneros
Film Editing by: Stephanie Filo
Costume Design by: Daniel Todd
Set Decoration by: Layla Kornota
Art Direction by: Joseph Wade Vanover
Music by: Vivek Maddala
MPAA Rating: R for violent content, some language, drug use and brief nudity.
Distributed by: Blue Fox Entertainment, Lionsgate Films
Release Date: June 17, 2022
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