Classic TV Horror: Midnight Offerings. Reviewed by Brian Kirst
Featuring an ominous and deadly opening, noir inspired teen speak (courtesy of Rockford Files’ talented Juanita Barnett)and a blander than average heroine, 1981’s Midnight Offerings brought together a series of middle aged stars of network comedy (WKRP’s Gordon Jump, Soap’s Cathryn Damon and Happy Days’ Marion Ross) as the parental figures of two modern day, rival witches, enacted by two teens familiar to family drama devotees, Melissa Sue Anderson from Little House on the Prairie (as the bad witch) and Mary McDonough from The Waltons (as the good).
A precursor to Charmed with elements of everything from Carrie to Christine (represented by a truly cool tool flinging smack down in shop class between the two sorceresses); Midnight Offerings comes alive mostly during Anderson’s scenes of threatened violence and smoldering sexuality. Threatened by new girl McDonough’s immunity to her curses and sticky hold over her former boyfriend, Anderson allows the fur to fly with the cannon-like ferocity of a 1000 amplified meows and many of the scenes register as merely corny fun when she is not around to shake them up.
Add appearances from future game show hostess, Vanna White, and Friday the 13th, Part 3’s Dana Kimmell as friends of Anderson’s tarnished temptress along with the flashes of male lead Patrick Cassidy’s almost miniscule gym shorts and his character’s ‘seduce-me-now’ van and Midnight Offerings ultimately merges as an enjoyable time capsule of early me decade television horror.
(Note: Melissa Anderson is currently on a book tour for her memoir, The Way I See It, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melissa-Sue-Anderson-Fan-website/328305082493?v=app_2347471856, which contains remembrances of making both Midnight Offerings and cult horror classic, Happy Birthday to Me.)
I *so* remember this one! One of the best parts is seeing Richie's Mom (Marion Ross) as the guiding good-witch. This would make a cheese-tastic double-feature with TV thriller _Satan's School for Girls_ or maybe Wes Craven's _Stranger in our House_! :D