Quintessence / Paul McCollough - Midnight (Original Soundtrack) download free

Woah, it took me a bit of searching for an affordable copy of this reissue since it seemed like my best bet as the OG pressing is now getting to be ridiculously expensive, however I can kinda see why with that insanely killer front cover art (even though this reissue has IMO just an equally awesome cover artwork), but I'd figured I'd get this new pressing since it comes on luscious, heavy-weight blue translucent 180 gram vinyl, not to mention it is by far an absolutely PHENOMENAL soundtrack for truly one of the most terribly underrated/underappreciated, eerie, mean-spirited, & sadistically bone-chilling Satanic cult Horror/Grindhouse backwoods slasher films of all time despite being sorta flawed (though of course, not to such an extent to make it 'unwatchable', just the fact that it was made on the incredulously super-impressive low-budget of $75,000, plus the occasional wooden acting in some areas throughout the film (though I've still honestly seen a hell of a lot worse, like Manos or Troll 2, etc.) since it mainly consisted of unknown actors. BUT the special effects, overall fore-boding atmosphere, & soundtrack are regardless still rather well-done for its time, if not extremely hair-raising, plus overall rather effective too! I honestly thought Melanie Verlin played the lead role as the protagonist quite well. John Amplas was very convincing too as 'Abraham' (you may recognize him as the lead from Martin (1977) & as the zombie from Creepshow (also from '82), as was Lawrence Tierney as Nancy's stepfather & Robin Walsh as the role of the demented 'Cynthia'; same with Greg Besnak, as with most of the rest of the cast/crew too.Interestingly enough however, there are at least a few instances where the music even sounds like something produced by the legendary British experimental Ambient-Electronica/IDM duo, Boards of Canada; in which I even find myself spacing out to it at times! For the life of me, I cannot understand why some 'reviewers' have referred to the music as "cheesy", or "corny" as it really isn't! Sure it may not be for everyone, regardless, it is admittedly quite original, very ambient in some areas too. Pretty much to say that this soundtrack can even get a tad uncanny somewhat throughout is an understatement! Yet unequivocally does this record have such a unique sound to it, in such a way that not only is it truthfully well composed to the point to where you can almost seriously hear the effort that went into making it (or maybe I've been hitting the bong too much?) but also literally a tad bit phantasmagorical too. For the most part, this OST is especially quite funky and damn catchy to sum it up! The bonus tracks that apparently are not on the OG pressing are also very rad to say the least. I think it's up there with other cult-classics like The Dunwich Horror (1970), The Brotherhood of Satan (1971), Simon, King of The Witches (1971), All The Colors of The Dark (1972), Warlock Moon (1973), Satan's Slave (1976), To The Devil A Daughter (1976), Rituals (1977), Satan's Blood (1978), Alucarda (1978), The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978), Don't Go In The House (1979), Funeral Home (1980), Just Before Dawn (1981), Baker County USA aka Trapped! (1982), Body Count (1986), etc.It's also surprisingly filled with quite a bit of unexpected twists/turns, including a strong amount of genuine tension & suspense. In my sincerest opinion with having seen the film twice, I still give it a 7.5/10. However whatever you do, be sure to keep in mind not to listen to the negative reviews for this cult-classic since it is undoubtedly not as bad as some people claim it is, trust me. Also don't get the Lion's Gate DVD as it presents the film in shoddy quality with no extras to boot. Go for the version by Arrow Video (which comes with a double-sided poster & a slew of extras) or Severin Films! Anyway, what I really like about Midnight is the authentically creepy atmosphere for such a grim movie, in addition to the low-budget charm it has, as well as the fact that you can tell that the cast & crew most likely had a lot of fun making it, and that's really all that counts! It's directed by John Russo who was actually the writer for the original Night of The Living Dead (not to mention a long-time friend of George A. Romero), as well as the 1990 remake, & Return of The Living Dead from 1985 too, though this is probably his best film. It was even considered a 'video nasty' as with at least 120 other films in the UK though not prosecuted in a court of law but according to wikipedia, still seized & confiscated unbelievably under Section 3 of the "Obscene Publications Act 1959" or some BS by that name, whatever that means..My only complaint though is that the sleeve is a tad bit too thick (as it's made out of some sort of cardboard-like material) in which it can sometimes occasionally be difficult getting the record in and out of the sleeve, but other than that, I'm very happy I got this as a Christmas present from my folks, considering all 3 of us had previously watched the movie on youtube together (along with a handful of other films) for the first time to try to celebrate as well as get into the spirit of the month of October by watching a rather obscure gem we neither of us had heard of. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised with this one.Anyway whatever you do, definitely Do NOT miss this record! It's strictly limited to 500 copies unfortunately, however on the plus side, it is remastered straight from the original eight track reels. Midnight (1982) also had a limited theatrical re-release under the alternate title: 'The Backwoods Massacre'. Like I said before, the Special Effects also are done by the legendary Tom Savini, and boy do they show! Some people have said that they are "surprisingly tame", though the poster tagline still doesn't lie!