Hell Night (1981)

Directed by:
Tom DeSimone

Written by:
Randy Feldman

Main Cast:
Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Peter Barton, Jenny Neumann, Suki Goodwin, Jimmy Sturtevant, and Kevin Brophy

The Plot:
For their initiation into a fraternity lorded over by ace sleazeball Peter (Kevin Brophy), four college students agree to spend an evening in the notorious Garth Manor, a sprawling mansion in which a family was allegedly murdered years before. The catch: no electricity, they cannot leave before dawn, and the gate is locked up in case they try to escape. The potential inductees include good girl Marti (Linda Blair), surfer hunk Seth (Vincent Van Patten), sensitive Jeff (Peter Barton), and blond bombshell Denise (Jenny Neumann). But while three other students hide outside attempting to scare them, a killer lurks around the estate, intent on killing all of them before the night is over.

The Review:

When sitting down to watch Hell Night, there were a few givens that I naturally expected: gallons of blood, cheap scares, bare-chested guys, scantily-clad ladies, and a whole lotta screaming. But here's the surprise: the film, which was released in 1981 at the peak of the slasher film craze, not only delivers on its initial promise, but is actually an effective, well-made picture.

The story, like most in the genre, is very simple. It's not terribly original, and the acting ranges from pretty good to downright dreadful. But what puts Hell Night a step above the countless other Friday the 13th knock-offs, which were only concerned with gruesome violence, is that it aspires to be consistently suspenseful. And it succeeds admirably. The film features numerous scares - that, for once, actually caught this viewer off-guard - but also is able to have the audience biting their nails unwittingly. As vixen Denise (clad in a bustier and garter belt, mind you) slowly walks down the shadowy hallway and into the even shadowier bathroom, the payoff is both startling and highly amusing.

Director Tom DeSimone clearly understands how important a sense of mood and place is to the genre, and he establishes the setting efficiently. Complete with trap doors, secret passageways, and subterranean corridors, Garth Manor is a character unto itself, and Mac Ahlberg's impressive cinematography paints it in a malevolent light. The film's most memorable scene sees Marti and Jeff locked into a bedroom, hiding from the crazed killer. But as they console each other, they fail to notice that a carpet behind them is slowly rising off the ground, with someone underneath.

As stated before, the cast is a mixed bag, but most of them seem to understand what kind of movie they're in, and play the one-dimensional roles accordingly. The standout is 70's pin-up Kevin Brophy as fratmaster Peter, undeniably smarmy but so charismatic that it's not difficult to understand why a class of incoming freshman would be willing to follow him wherever he went. Vincent Van Patten is hilariously excessive as over-caffeinated jock Seth, who becomes an unlikely hero by the end. The real disappointment is horror veteran Linda Blair, who received an Oscar nomination for her work in 1973's classic The Exorcist. As the virginal Marti, Blair fails to imbue her character with any distinguishing characteristics, and seems disconnected throughout a good portion of the film. But, she screams well and her cleavage is spectacular.

What keeps Hell Night from being anything particularly special is that, at the end of the day, it is only a slasher movie, with one death after the other, and the vast majority of the characters are stock victims. And once we get a good look at our villain, his make-up is rather silly and nondescript. But director Tom DeSimone is clearly a talented filmmaker whose goal was to break away from the norm and give the gorehounds a bit more than expected. And for this reason, Hell Night is a perfectly commendable slasher.

**1/2 out of ****