Midnight Ride poster & wallpaper

Michael Dudikoff, Mark Hamill, Savina Gersak

After a heated argument with her military policeman turned cop husband Lawson, Lara storms off into the night convinced he's more married to his job than to her. On her drive to a friend's house, she ...( read more  read more... )takes pity on mournful hitchhiker Justin McKay, who is desperately searching for a ride. Her offer of a lift plunges her into a night of pure terror, as Justin is seriously disturbed, twisted by a tortured childhood which ended in being made to watch his little sister's shocking murder and mutilation at the hands of his brutal alcoholic mother (who took a butcher knife to her daughter's head and used it like a comb). Justin systematically slays anyone who harms or offends him on a murderous impulse, and captures their dying moments on his Polaroid camera. As Lawson struggles to follow Lara despite a leg encased in plaster, he is left for dead by Justin. Lawson recovers and must search the steadily darkening roads for Lara, while her deeply troubled captor Justin continues his uncontrollable slaughter-spree, rampaging through the night leaving behind carnage and fiery devastation on his path of madness.

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33% liked it

94 ratings

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Bob Bralver

Release Date: January 1, 1990

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Flixster Reviews (15)

  • UhnTisUhnTisUhnTis
    May 10, 2009
    UhnTisUhnTisUhnTis
    Uhm... WTF!? lol.
    Raaandooooom!
  • gravityandgrace2003
    March 8, 2009
    gravityandgrace2003
    A dark, murder-filled road trip movie in the spirit of 'The Hitcher' and 'Halloween," 'Midnight Ride' manages to be-paradoxically- one of Michael Dudikoff's darkest films, but also an unintentional comedy thanks largely to the "hammy" Mark "Ham"ill (Star Wars).

    The plot of the ...( read more)movie is as follows: Michael Dudikoff plays a guy named Lawson Markman (cool name, huh?), who gets in an argument with his Russian mail order wife (or whatever she was supposed to be), and she runs out on him, and he swears up and down that he'll "have every cop in this city lookin' for you!" in a very creepy way, and spends most of the film chasing after her. While driving, Russian bride Lara picks up the unstable drifter, Justin (Mark Hamil), who is on his way to see his "best friend." Justin likes to take pictures of things with his polaroid camera. He also likes cutting out people's eyeballs and making it into a beautiful necklace for Lara; he also finds time to set a few people on firel. Along the way, people are strapped to car hoods, eyeballs are cut out, and shoot outs supposed to look "dark" and "scary" are dulled because of completely inappropriate 80s action synthesizer music.

    Man, this one was hard. Once again, it's got a lot going for it because of the Dudikoff factor. On the other hand, it's a very different role for him (most of the movie). To be honest, his character is kind of a dick most of the time. I spent much of the first half of the movie wondering who the villain was, Hamil or Dudikoff. I don't know if the script wanted him to come off as passionate and Stanley from 'Streetcar,' but he more just came off as creepy and obsessed like one of those guys who tracks down his wife and kills them or something. That's just my take. Of course, by the end of the movie, he's just plain old likable Mikey, and he saves the day as always. He takes a lot of punishment from Hamil in this- in one scene, he's strapped to the hood of a car while Hamil drives maniacally. He's stabbed, thrown into shit, and just getting his ass kicked (in addition to having a broken foot), and that was kind of hard to swallow, because it's Dudikoff. But anyways.

    In all honesty, Mark Hamil steals the show from everyone. He's deliciously hammy as the crazy Justin, and seems to kill somebody every 10 minutes or so. I guess he was going for a crazy guy who strikes terror into people's hearts, but I just found it more hilarious than anything else. He dresses up like every other scene and is always snapping photos. His facial expressions are almost as hilarious as Dudikoff's at some points, and that's just as important here as the physical: this was a showdown of the faces. I loved the bad, cheesy "evil" faces Hamil made almost as much as Dudikoff's vacant, worried expressions.

    'Midnight Ride' is only on VHS, so it might be tough for you to find. Hardcore Dudikoff fans will find it well worth their while. It's a different film for our boy, Duds, but, thankfully, he ditches the creepy "obsessed husband" deal and is just the same big, lovable, "Dudarosa style house" designing, goofball we all know and root for by the end.
  • deano
    March 1, 2008
    deano
    Michael Dudikoff stars as a cop whose estranged wife is kidnapped by madman Mark Hamill and taken on the wildest ride of her life. So-so chase film is hampered by Dudikoff's lifeless performance but buoyed by Hamill's over-the-top insanity, a cameo by Robert Mitchum, and some exc...( read more)iting action sequences.

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