Hell Night (1981)

You could do far worse than Hell Night, 28 August 2005

As part of their initiation, two fraternity pledges and two sorority pledges must spend the night in creepy old Garth Manor. Before entering the house, the pledges are told the story of the Garth family - twelve years ago, old man Garth murdered his whole deformed family before taking his own life. However, some say that at least one member of the Garth clan survived. During the night, some of the other fraternity and sorority members try to scare the four pledges locked in the spooky mansion. But when people start turning up dead, it's obvious that this is no college prank.

For the most part, Hell Night is a standard 80s slasher. A group of young people in an isolated location are picked-off one at a time until only the end girl is left alive. I don't think this is much of a spoiler because most anyone could guess who is going to be left alive at the end of the movie. In fact, it's easy to predict with a fair amount of accuracy the order these people are going to die. The murders aren't extremely violent and some are left to the viewer's imagination. This was probably the result of budget constraints more than anything. The killers' make-up is bargain basement and not nearly as effective as some of the other movies of the period. Some of the acting is terrible and Vincent Van Patten is extremely annoying.

So, if the movie is predictable with poor special effects and acting, why haven't I rated Hell Night any lower? Other than those areas I've mentioned, the movie is reasonably well made. The house is fantastic and almost outshines any of the humans in the cast. Secret passages and long, dark corridors always make for fun in this kind of movie. Hell Night would have actually benefited had more emphasis been placed on the house. The movie is at worst competently directed by DeSimone. He does an above average job of creating atmosphere and creepy moments. And, on a personal level, I always enjoy Linda Blair in just about anything she does.

While it will never be known as a great movie, you could do far worse with a teen slasher than watching Hell Night.

6/10