Knockoff-ville

Posted on by scott

A while back, a perplexed reader sent me a link to a movie with the following title: Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour.

The pitch for the film on MSN Movies reads: “A 17-year-old (newcomer Rissa Walters) returns to her hometown of Pine Valley just in time to discover a dark secret about two brothers and the terrors of the ‘paranormal hour’ between midnight and 1 a.m.”

To answer your burning question: this has nothing to do with me or Midnighters. And if you check out the movie’s website, you will see why that makes me breathe a sigh of relief. That has to be the most woeful trailer I’ve ever seen.

Hmm, the film stars Brian Comrie and Dan Comrie, and in the production credits we also find:

Director: Lisa Comrie
Screenwriter: John Comrie
Screenwriter: Lisa Comrie
Story: John Comrie
Producers: Fred Comrie, John Comrie, Lisa Comrie

Did the whole family get together over Labor Day and make this thing?

Still, this is not an outrage to Midnighters fans. “Paranormal time” doesn’t mean anything about time freezing, and in any case borrowing ideas is what genre is built on. (I love Heroes, for example, which is a massive mash-up of concepts stolen from decades of comics.)

But I do have one serious misgiving: this film looks so incredibly bad that it may single-handedly ruin the notion of midnight being in any way cool.

It opened back on October 19 and grossed a little over $500 per theater on its first weekend. Let’s do some math! About 51 people saw it per theater over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which at $10 a ticket means about 17 people per day. And your average theater shows a film, what . . . six times a day? So about three people showed up for the average showing.

Ouch.

Did any of you see it?

85 thoughts on “Knockoff-ville”

  1. Woah, the trailer was terrible! If you have bad acting like that in the scenes that are supposed to be drawing in audiences… I’m frightened by what the actual movie might hold. I’m glad to hear that it probably wasn’t released in Canada, because I had heard NOTHING about it. But wow. It looked like Drama 20 class had put together a trailer as a class project.

  3. dude im gonna see that movie this weekend!!!! oh yesh!!!!!! woot woot! but anywho i love Heroes too!!!! best show ever! im actually watching it right now! i Tivoed it =]] so yea

  6. it didn’t really appeal to me .. i saw a preivew on nick and it looked .. pretty stupid .. it said that it was the scariest mystery movie .. but if it is rated Pg or PG13 then how scary can it be i meen come on … i have never read midnighter .. but my friend laura has and she loves it .. i wil probably start it after extras .. but in my oppinion based on what she has said .. midnighters would make a better movie .. and it wouldn’t even have to be a mystery film … ohh im real scared … it would just be a real believable film and alot of people would think this palce really had a time freeze .. because unless they had the power .. how would they know the difference?
    well i am done ranting .. so far extras is good cant wait till tally comes back in …

  9. if i was to ever see it,, it would be to make fun of it and then come back to this web blog entry and tell you all what i thought .. fortunaly i have better things to do … like see 30 DAYS OF NIGHT … so awsome i tottally beleived they were real

  10. hah! i didnt even hear about it until today. it must’ve sucked. there is no doubt that those 51 people were Comries.

  14. Happy Halloween Everyone!
    ~Bran-la

    You know scott-la, Chritmas is comeing up and maybe, just maybe, as my preasent, you can come to my city! O and i had a dream about you! You came to my house and was like so nice. You signed all my books and ate dinner with us. Then you said, and i quote, “I remember you from my website. You alway go there.” It is my dream to meet you and have you say that. (and a pic. on your website would be nice to!)

  15. OMG I was all freaked out a couple days ago and bummed out because the digets in my locker add up to 12 —- a totally bogusly bad #

    Tomarrow — Hopfully I won’t have an unlucky day.

    ( if you know what I mean )

  18. see, in a way i dont really now my locker numbers. When i go to my locker i no its, some were past 30 and in between 40 somewhere in bteewn 40 and 50 and somewhere around 23 but i dont no the exact numbers. Weird, i no. but thats just how i do it turn here turn there and somewhere in here.

  20. Our theater had it for two weeks. First week, it had five showings a day, and sold to maybe two people each set.
    Second week, it played once at 3:20. During the week, I don’t think it played at all. We break it down tomorrow night.

    The trailer wasn’t up until after the movie was out. Now THAT was amusing.

  23. No, I would have thought it was a knock-off and boycotted it. I love Heroes! Except the good guy is turning into the bad guy, not good at all.

  24. Ouch! That’s harsh! I’ve never even heard of the movie. I feel bad for them…but if the whole family made it… hmmmmmm.

    I mean, maybe if Brad Pitt was in it or something =]
    <3

  27. *wince*

    Just watching the first few minutes of the trailer made me die a little inside…Midnighters therapy, here I come~

    (I’m feeling a strange urge to introduce myself but I’m not sure whether you do that in the comments section. xD)

  31. Oh god. What the Hell is this? And why is it in theaters everywhere? Saw 4 is probably better than this. xD And Saw 4 was horrible.

    But don’t worry, the firs titme anyone sees the commercial with blue background and Melissa saying “You are so 11:59” This ‘Sarah Landon’ will be forgotten forever.

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