Midday Demons (2018) Movie Review

Director: Rossella De Venuto

Writer: Rossella De Venuto (Screenplay)

Starring: Fiona Glascott, Pietro Ragusa, Federico Castelluccio, Ray Lovelock, Antonella Carone, Federica Caroppa, Marcello Prayer, Salvatore Lazzaro

Plot: Megan, a successful Irish artist, lives in Dublin with her husband Leo, an Italian who emigrated there several years ago. After receiving the news of the death of Leo’s uncle, Monsignor Domenico, a powerful catholic priest whose death has prompted a campaign for his beatification, the couple travels to Apulia, in southern Italy, to handle Leo’s unexpected inheritance.

Tagline – A couple returns to their family’s ancient palazzo where sinister shadows from the past reappear.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Atmospheric

Story: Midday Demons starts when Megan (Glascott) and her husband Leo (Ragusa) head to Italy where they are coming to terms with the death an Leo’s Uncle, looking to sell the house to his brother Nicola (Castelluccio), deciding to stay and help clean up the house with memories Leo doesn’t remember.

With Leo catching up with his family, Megan starts spending time alone around the picturesque town with historical past, which soon starts visiting Megan, with unusual consequences for the family.

Thoughts on Midday Demons

Characters – Megan is an Irish artist that seeks inspiration wherever she goes, her latest trip with her husband takes them to his home in Italy. She doesn’t always agree with the culture being followed and spends time alone exploring the town, finding new ideas for herself, she starts seeing people that might not be there, with the ghosts of the house visiting her alone. Leo is the husband that gets to return to his family for the first time in years, he does seem distant from them and the past he might have had with them. He does want to keep any of the secrets quiet, but once Megan starts getting too involved, he starts to dig deeper himself. Nicola is Leo’s brother, he is going to be taking the house off their hands and he is much more committed to keeping the family’s secrets.

Performances – Fiona Glascott in the leading role goes through the range of emotions in the film and her performance will keep you engaged through the film too. Pietro Ragusa and Federico Castelluccio are both solid in their roles, but we just don’t get enough of them.

Story – The story here follows a married couple that return to the husband’s homeland to deal with an inheritance only to find themselves learning more about the secrets of the family who have a dark past. This is a story that does the investigation with paranormal guidance which is always enjoyable to watch, this unfolds at the pace, where we learn little by little leaving us wondering who Megan could trust within the family. It does have an ending which might leave you thinking about what happened and trying to piece together the secrets, even if this might have been missed little parts of the story.

Horror – The horror in the film does use the atmosphere to create everything that is involved with scares, the hallway sequence is beautiful to watch, while what happens only leaves you scared.

Settings – The film uses the picturesque small Italian town, which has exterior narrow streets which give us a ‘Don’t Look Now’ vibe for the horror elements of the film, while interior we get a house that is covered in history waiting to be revealed.

Scene of the Movie – The street walk for Megan.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – A random visit doesn’t seem to do much.

Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable paranormal ghost story that follows the formula the sub-genre is known well for, it has great shots and settings which add to the atmosphere created in the film.

Overall: Shimmering Horror.