One of the lesser seen of Lamberto Bava's gialli, Midnight Killer is a nifty little affair that won't rock any worlds but does deliver rather nicely. The plot begins with a drunk and jealous policeman fighting with his wife after suspecting her of infidelity. She is soon killed and suspicion falls on him, but things are a little more complicated and the bodies mount up. And what does a deceased serial killer have to do with it? Things are evenly paced and pretty engaging, though they don't really sparkle until the intense finale. The main problem is that there isn't really a clear hero, there are three nominal main characters and screen time is spread fairly evenly between them without letting any grow to a truly sympathetic level. The writing is light on characterization so the film bowls along rather than truly hooking, and worse there isn't much in the way of detective work or intrigue (though there are a few red herrings). Fortunately the mystery at hand is fairly interesting and the killings deliver, though not especially gory they're handled with flair and pack a decent vicious punch, we may not see gruesome detail but there's vigorous stabbing with a bit of blood and a nice nod to Tenebrae, all nicely edited for sharp and shocking punch (by Bava credited as John Old Jr.). Backed up with a cool pulsing score from Claudio Simonetti and making good use of some cool locations Bava makes each one count, though he lacks the genius of his father or the flowing technical prowess of the best in the genre he skillfully builds suspense and gets in some cool shots, like a top down view from the heights of a theatre. The underwritten cast do their best, with Valeria D'Obici coming off best as a committed criminal psychologist, edgy but likable she makes the strongest impression. Paolo Malco is dour inspector, stolidly by the book and watchable if a little dull. Leonardo Treviglio is a decent suspect with a shifty, unwholesome air about him and things are mostly rounded out by various young lovelies including Lara Wendell who brighten the screen with looks if not much in the way of presence. No nudity, a shame because it probably would have pushed things up a notch. Like I mentioned though the finale rocks, suspenseful stalking in a hotel with a couple of decent shocks leading to a decidedly silly reveal that doesn't really make sense in the context but is ludicrous enough to please. Altogether this is pretty cool stuff and worth your time, though only truly recommended to giallo aficionados
