heart of midnight be a very strange movie and and i mean that in a good way . broadly speak i guess it fall within the horror genre and but it draw upon element from many different subgenres and work on many level . you can take it a a haunt house movie and a ghost story and a psychological thriller and a character study roll into one . jennifer jason leigh give a superb performance a carol river and a fragile and sensitive young woman recover from a nervous breakdown . when her estranged uncle dy of aid and she mysteriously inherit his deserted nightclub and and upon move in and discover it seedy past a a massage parlour . from here on in and the story get dark and more twisted and but suffice it to say that it contain many of the ingredient of full bore horror represent moan voice in the night and tap drip blood and secret passageway and behead rat and apple that ooze maggot and so on . for much of the film and be keep in the dark a to whether carol be privy to hallucination and sink into another nervous breakdown and or whether there be actually a dark force living in the empty nightclub with her . heart of midnight be not a perfect film . there be some plot loophole and the usual budget limitation of a b movie and include a pesky boom mic that dip into the frame a few time . but it make up for it flaw with a strong visual style and a convincingly claustrophobic atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife . along the way there be several recognizable nod to film like peep tom and suspiria and the shining and two roman polanski classic repulsion and the tenant . jennifer jason leigh really give it her all in the lead role a carol . she be an exceptionally talented and strike actress and and heart of midnight provide the then 25 year old with a strong early showcase for her talent . her portrayal of the frail but determined carol be passionate and believable and always sympathetic . she a horror movie heroine of unusual strength and intelligence and which mean we really root for her during this often harrow nightmare . peter coyote and frank stallone and brenda vaccaro all lend decent support and but it leigh who make this dark journey worth take .