PLOT SUMMARY: A couple moves into a house for the weekend only to find it holds dark secrets.
How amazing would it be to move into a house for the weekend that is designed by your favorite architect? It's akin to wearing a dress by your favorite designer.
But would anyone wear clothes from designers knowing that they have a sordid past? It could be that they run sweatshops or that they kill a lot of animals or they have a nasty private life that is no longer private.
Similarly, would anyone live in the house of their favorite architect knowing he killed people and buried bodies there? Oh, and that there was black magic involved?
Mid-Century is a movie about a haunted house and does come with an interesting twist. However, it inserts way too many subplots that distract from the actual plot of the movie.
Is it a movie about a woman trying to break the glass ceiling? Is it a man learning how to become a ghost? Is it about a ghost who wants to use women as vessels for something evil because he's also a misogynist?
It is all of these things and more. At some point, it becomes hard to understand just where the movie is headed which is sad because the movie did have an interesting take on haunted houses. But it must only be so on paper.
MID-CENTURY Movie Plot
The movie begins with Frederick Banner showing a couple a house. The wife roams around the house while the husband is quickly disposed off.
Soon it is the wife's turn but we don't yet see what happens to her.
The opening credits roll in and we see photos of families in black and white. It's supposed to denote the mid-century, get it? That's the title of the movie.
Cut to the present modern times, we get a glimpse of the COVID situation in a hospital. We meet Dr Alice heading out only for her boss to stop her in the hallway and try to harass her.
Alice is fed up of the whole misogynist thing but keeps her mouth shut.
She is in the ca with her husband Tom who wants to discuss starting a family with her but Alice reminds him that she has taken great pains to reach where she is and she isn't about to give it up for a baby now.
They get out of the car and Alice shows him a house they will be spending the weekend in. It is designed by Tom's favorite architect, Banner.
Alice pretty much tells him, "See? See? I think about you too."
But unfortunately, while Alice may have found the house designed by her husband's favorite architect, she simply did not do her research on the house.
Even if it was the fifties or sixties, someone would have noticed people disappearing and reported it, right?
At this point Alice's part is pretty much over and we see her in the second half. We have to assume she was called on an emergency and it takes up a long time.
Tom endures the longest night ever. He notices some strange goings-ons, finds peculiar books, and then calls his assistant who he is having an affair with.
But that bit is just thrown in unnecessarily. Tom and his assistant are having a conversation where he wants her to do more research on Banner. Tom is beginning to think the architect, along with another man Larson, maybe into the dark arts.
The assistant should be ending the call after promising to deliver her research soon but instead, she talks about their tryst and if she should come over.
Tom refuses and pretty much tells her they are done. The assistant is pissed off but not for long because later she is in her car when she is attacked and killed.
This really seemed like an unnecessary subplot and a character inserted just to increase the body count in this movie.
Tom begins to see a woman called Marie who soon enough joins him for a swim. Tom is immediately and easily seduced by her.
But wait, she's a ghost!
At the hospital, we see Alice for two minutes as she is told to help a delivery boy. He has been stabbed and in his pocket is a delivery order for Tom who has ordered Chinese food once again.
Alice is disturbed by it and calls Tom but he doesn’t pick up his phone.
She has to disclose this information to the police who immediately go to Tom's house and puts him on the suspect list.
Later Tom is visited by Eldridge Banner, the current owner of the house. When Tom comes to he realizes he has been killed and is now a ghost.
This upsets him but luckily he has Marie there to give him Ghost Lessons 101.
The first thing they do is play chess and Tom tries to use his new abilities to move the pieces.
Alice keeps trying to get in touch with Tom but can't get through.
Tom learns that Marie was one of Banner's wives. He was a misogynist and an occultist who wanted to use women as vessels so that the demons can use them.
Tom's body is buried in the garden which is also a graveyard for all the other victims.
MID-CENTURY Ending Explained with Spoilers
Alice finally returns home and obviously doesn’t know her husband is buried in the backyard.
She too is visited by Eldridge and she points out he shouldn't be here yet as she has one more day.
Eldridge doesn't care about the agreement and attacks Alice.
Alice realizes he's attacking her not because he wants his house back but because he's a psychopath who has watched his father murder women gleefully.
Tom tries to use his newfound abilities to help Alice but clearly he hasn't aced the course Marie had been teaching.
Finally Eldridge is defeated and Alice is saved.
She realizes the Tom she is seeing isn’t alive but a ghost. She's a little sad about it.
Alice goes off on her way while Tom stays back in the house with Marie.
The movie ends.
MID-CENTURY could have worked better as a TV show where some scenes and plots could have been dragged out and it would have still been acceptable. It doesn’t seem to work in a one-hour forty-five- forty-five minutes movie where pacing and better editing could have lifted the movie.
Scare Scale: 2.5/5
Check out this movie on Amazon Prime Video
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