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”

  4. This may seem like a strange question but..
    Why are the covers on your books in the US different to the ones that are sold in the UK?
    And also you have inspired my for my english coursework.

    Thankyou so much 😀

  6. I’ve never heard of it either, but my worry is similar to Scott’s in that I desperately want to see Midnighters made into a television series (I see it as stylistically similar to that old WB show Roswell, but with better writing and, hopefully, acting). A lame treatment of a similar concept could really color a producer’s decision to greenlight a series. Let’s hope the numbers on this one stay fairly low! *fingers crossed*

  8. oo..i dont want to see it…than i’ll be like depressed about the concept….thus making midnighters sad for me

  9. I hadn’t even heard of it.

    These Comries–do they know that there is zero original material in their movie? I mean come on…crazy brother…haunted house…old psychic lady…witching hour (renamed paranormal hour, big deal)…mystery that can only be solved by [insert main character’s name here]…not to mention that said character is the one who “uncovered” this mystery (which the whole town talks about, because it’s an urban legend there)…

    Well, practically nobody saw it, and hardly anybody heard about it, so hopefully the coolness of midnight hasn’t been tainted.

    Okay people, begin your anti-word-of-mouth campaign on this movie…now!

    ~Mary

  10. I can’t remember where I heard of this before and I thought of Midnighters. But it seemed like time didn’t stop in the trailer and everything didn’t turn blue and lots of other stuff. Well, I have to go do two projects that are due tomorrow. Bye.

  11. aww. almost makes me feel sorry for them. well, at least they tried..

    i wish i could do nanowrimo, but i really have no time. at all. instead i do nanobagzmo..it helps save the world.
    and keeps you safe from the Bag Monster.!!

  12. i had heard of that. thought it sounded like a bad hardy boys title. didn’t make the midnighters connection.

    no way they’ll be as cool.

    i love heroes too! even if at this point they’re even paraphrasing last season’s plot. but in the BEST WAY EVER!

    Midnighters Rox. nothing can compete.

    i’ve gone to movies where no one else was there. actually a lot. my family saw The Invasion as the only 3 ppl in the theatre. and that was actually a fairly good movie.

    FOURTH MIDNIGHTERS DARKLING WEREWOLVES! clicketh my name, ppl who’ve finished blue noon and want MORE.

  17. I’ve never heard of it before… the trailer’s buffering right now, but so far it looks… really stupid, to put it nicly. “saaaarah!” “boo!” “that’s the greatest hiding spot ever!” ummmm… okaaay…

    ah, it’s playing. well, it started buffering again, but i got to see a lot more. it starts to look good, then something kind of stupid happens… like when those girls were playing a clapping game? “get out of here, it’s not safe for you.” i dont know that was just weird. un-likable (as in, i don’t like it).

    defintaly something i DONT want to see! and couldn’t they come up with something better than Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour? that sounds like some old boxcar children book or something… come to think of it, it does look like a boxcar children book!!! really!!! but a really bad one. 😀 very un-fool!!!

    after watching that bad trailer, i need to watch something good! Full Moon Wo Sagashite, here i come!!!

  18. I’m doing NaBloPoMo, the lazy cousin of NaNoWriMo. You pick a theme or subject and do a blog post every day about it. In the same way that one uses NaMoWriMo to kick-start or renew a fiction project, NaBloPoMo is a good way to boost the non-fiction and personal essay writer’s portfolio. I’m doing a different book review every day and will be covering, among other things, these:

    Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Peeps, The Last Days, the Midnighter’s trilogy and Justine’s Magic or Madness trilogy

  19. I have never heard of that movie. Sounds like more boring and over-dramatic off-the-wall sci-fi.

    FOURTH MIDNIGHTERS DARKLING WEREWOLVES!!!

  21. NaNoWriMo looks kewl… i think they had an ad for in in Shojo Beat last year? i’d do it, but i’ve been in an anti-writing mood latly 🙁 i’ve been in a manga/writing mood!!! i want to draw manga! 😀 hehe. i’m not very good at is, though… but i’m kind-of-but-not-really-but-kind-of good at drawing anime ppl… i’ve been creating characters for a manga that i can’t come up with!!! XD

  23. I’m testing the tags…
    Fourth Midnighters Darkling Werewolves, please.

    I might do NaNoWriMo but don’t really feel like it.

  25. Are they going to try to make a movie out of Midnighter? Becausee if they are it needs to be good because I don’t think I will be able to sit through a crappy movie version of Midnighters without ripping someone throat out. As was the case with the movie Eragon; the book was fairly good, but I wanted to kill the producers, directers, basically any one who had to do with that crappy movie.

  27. hey guys any of u from oklahoma, uglies has been nominated for a sequaya award i have the list at home

  28. Ugh, that’s horrible. I’d never even heard of it before now.
    Wasn’t there going to be a CW show of midnighters? I guess if there was they did Gossip Girl instead.

  30. Ew. Ew ew ew. I haven’t heard of it, and, man, I don’t wish to know any more. That sound like SUCH a cliche.

    Even the actors look kinda generically hot. Well, the girl does. The guys look sorta faux-rugged. No offense to the actors, but…

    The awesome concept of MIDNIGHT (not Midnighters, just midnight) has been tainted by a zillion lame-ass horror movies and books. Sigh.

  32. dude, i just got back, and i passed a theatre that was playing that movie. it was a tiny out of the way one though. and it was only labelled as Sarah Landon.

    am i the only one praying that nothing ever gets made of midnighters, because book movies mostly suck and ruin ppl reading the book, and tv series based on books generally suck and aren’t related to the books at all?
    i would stick with a fourth midnighters book…..WITH DARKLING WEREWOLVES!

    i got these kick sunglasses for my melissa costume. they’re technically guy’s ones, but they just SCREAM “photophobic”. or “blind guy”. maybe i should get a white tipped cane.

  34. i was just got done with homework, easy! Lol. I just got back from the book stor and guees wat i got, ppeps and midnighters 3!

  36. Serafina Zane- that girl reminds me of Eliza Dushku, from Tru Calling (i still can’t belive they canceled that show…) and i think she was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, too. is that who she reminds you of?

  37. Ok, you guys have to answer my question, alright? Is the 3 midnighters as good as the second Midnighters?
    answer me as soon as possible.

  39. ha I just realised something: The girl on the cover looks like a CIA agent in one of those cheesy spy films (or movies – whatever.)

    I’m in full British-English speaking mode. Don’t know why.

  44. O.o
    My friends and I were making fun of that movie’s trailer last night.
    It’s got NOTHING on Midnighters.
    Not only does it look incredibly cheesy, a bet all of us are boycotting in your name, Scott.

  47. i think i’ve heard of it somewhere, but it looks sooooo un-kick. and i would most definitely want to live in tally’s time!!! hoverboards and bungee jackets all the way!!!! ouch. i clipped my nails into real claws for halloween, and i keep scratching myself. i’m being a special, with my own “special” modifications. hehe, very sharp modifications!!!! claws are fun…

  48. o, i rember it now from tv. Ya, looks scary. Me no like scary! So, i just stopped reading MD3, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!! i cant believe the blue time just, came, ahhh, i mean, freaky. And Johnathon and Jessica just get cuter!

  50. I did see the movie, actually. I saw it a few days ago. I thought it looked ALRIGHT on previews, and my friends thought it looked grand. AS SCOTT SAID, I DO NOT RECCOMEND THIS MOVIE. It was majorly pointless and the acting was horrid. Even the story line did not make sense. Also, I had not a clue in the world that this was basically a family project. If you’ve seen this, you’d know that this was most definetly their first movie to produce. Hopefully, if another movie is made, everything about it is much better.

  51. 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.

  53. 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

  56. 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 …

  59. 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

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

  64. 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!)

  65. 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 )

  68. 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.

  70. 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.

  73. 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.

  74. 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

  77. *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)

  81. 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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