Artsy-fartsy Megan (Fiona Glascott) lives in Dublin with her Eye-talian-oh hubby Leo (Pietro Ragusa), who’s uncle, Monsignor Domenico, has just bought the farm, much to the frowny-face of ye olde Catholic church.
To that end, off our duo go to southern Italy to settle the matter of the ancient castle Leo has come to own thanks to his inheritance. Along the way our heroes sure have a swell-ass time drinking in the local color, and in Leo’s case reuniting with old friends.
Left alone during the hot Italian afternoon, Meg goes snoopin’ after some strange supernatural occurrences began to occur (as they often do) and begins to unravel some family secrets that aren’t so hot, and there are those that want those deep, dark doings to remain hidden.
At first Midday Demons may seem like something familiar, and in a sense it truly is… but, it manages to take tropes from a couple of tried and true genres of our beloved horror biz and makes something pretty damn solid out of the whole ghoulish goulash.
With the female heroine left to her own devices in an ancient home and dark family secrets we are full-on into Gothic thriller territory here, but with the elements of the church and Leo’s family tied to said organization things veer into religious horror as well… plus we get a layer of the supernatural peppered on top.
That’s a lot of divergent parts, but the smart script from writer/director Rossella De Venuto, added to the great atmospherics on display help keep the proceedings engaging and never overstuffed.
Speaking of atmosphere; we certainly get the dark shadows one would expect, but also some downright beautiful cinematography and locations that effectively bring to life the southern Italian environment our heroine has found herself in.
Up to the task of selling the world of Midday Demons is the acting prowess of Glascott who’s performance as our heroine Megan creates a charm that makes us sympathetic to the grim plight she finds herself in while keeping us committed to the solving of the mystery at hand.
On the (kinda) downside, this is a rather low-key fright flick; expect mood and ambiance over jump scares and gore. In other words, if you dig on the grindhouse over the arthouse, Midday Demons will most likely not make your pants tight in the crotch if you pick up what I’m layin’ down.
If you enjoy paranormal thrillers, and also get your rocks off to religion-tinged horror (or even are down with the giallo), Midday Demons will doubtless be our cup of terror tea; it doesn’t reinvent the wicked wheel with any of the genres it plays with, but it sure gives it one hell of a spin!
Midday Demons is available now on digital formats from 1844 Entertainment.
