El Crimen de Media Noche: A Dusty Old Mystery That Just Keeps Going

Is it worth the watch?

Honestly, only if you're a real fan of vintage, stage-bound mysteries. If you need snappy pacing or modern thrills, you're going to be checking your watch every five minutes. But for the folks who like to see how these old detective yarns were spun, it’s a curious enough artifact. 🕰️

It’s got that specific stiff-necked energy you find in movies of that era. People talk in paragraphs, everyone looks suspicious even when they’re just eating breakfast, and the lighting is always just a little too dramatic for a regular living room.

The vibe check

The whole thing feels like it was filmed inside a shoebox. Everything is so contained that when someone opens a door, you expect the walls to wobble. It reminded me a bit of the claustrophobia in The Dangerous Maid, though this one lacks the same spark.

There is this one shot where a character walks across the room, and I swear he spends an extra six seconds just staring at a vase. Why? I have no clue. It’s not a plot point. It just happens. It feels like the director forgot to yell 'cut' and the guy was too polite to stop acting.

• The dialogue is incredibly formal.
• The shadows are doing more acting than some of the side characters.
• The mystery itself is a bit of a stretch, but who cares?

I found myself zoning out during the long interrogation scenes. The actors keep pointing at each other like they’re in a high-stakes school play. It’s not necessarily bad, just very theatrical. If you want something more grounded, you’d probably have better luck with a gritty western like The Last of the Duanes, but that’s a totally different flavor.

The lead actor, Juan Torena, carries a lot on his shoulders. He has this look in his eyes like he’s trying to remember his lines and solve the crime at the same time. You can almost see the gears turning. It’s actually kind of charming in a weird way.

There’s no grand message here. It isn't trying to change the world. It’s just a midnight crime, a bunch of people in suits, and a lot of shouting in low-lit rooms. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need, even if the plot feels like it’s held together by tape and stubbornness. 🎞️