Home Before Midnight

HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT is an odd, one-of-a-kind type of kitchen-sink drama from cult British director Pete Walker, best known for making a series of grisly low-budget horror flicks. This sees a return of sorts to his old exploitation days, as the film is packed full of nudity from its young starlets, but nudity aside it actually turns out to be a decent little film.

The story is an interesting - and dare I say it, still timely - one. A twentysomething rock star meets a new groupie and is soon having it off with her, only for him to later discover that she's only fourteen. In due course the authorities become aware of the chain of events and the scene is set for a court-room showdown. The issue of underage sex remains a controversial one here in the UK with nary a week going by without the tabloid newspapers reporting on some former celebrity accused of unpleasant goings on in the 1970s.

As such, HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT is an important film, and one which tells the story in a well-rounded way, I thought. There are no black and white characters here, just people who make mistakes and pay for them. It's a surprisingly mature production, well shot and never less than engaging. The acting isn't up to much and certain actresses only seem to be involved for the skin quotient (Debbie Linden in particular) but fans of 1970s British cinema will find much to interest them here.