"Hell Night." What an unbelievably cheesy title for a horror film. And a very delightful one too. This 1981 slasher ride could have been another carbon copy of all the other films that were taking over the 80s. But surprise, surprise..."Hell Night" is one of the best slasher films to come out of the 80s, along with "Friday the 13th," "Prom Night," "Terror Train," "The Burning," "He Knows You're Alone" and "Halloween II."
The plot is simple: Alpha Sigma Rho is having a blast with their new pledges. There are four of them: the sweet, fragile Marti, the calm and protective Jeff, the surfer dude Seth, and party girl Denise. The festivities are only the beginning of the four teens' transition to Alpha Sigma. In order to become a member, they must spend a night in the ominous Garth Manor, where Raymond Garth supposedly slaughtered his entire family and then committed suicide. No problem, right? Wrong! What starts out as a fun little prank slowly transforms into a fight for survival. Because Marti, Jeff, Seth and Denise are not alone in Garth Manor. Underneath the mansion, there is a disfigured maniac who doesn't enjoy having unwelcome guests in his house.
Like I said before, "Hell Night" could have been your average slasher film. But there are a lot of things going for it.
First off, the atmosphere is perfect. Garth Manor provides an unsafe, inescapable tone to it, and becomes quite a creepy place. Points for that!
Next up, you have a surprisingly good cast. It's always a joy to see Linda Blair in a horror film. Yep, I'm talking about the terrifying, possessed little girl named Regan from "The Exorcist." Blair can really scream and she's a very good crier. Peter Barton("Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter") does a good job as Jeff. Vincent Van Patten seemed a little bit uncomfortable playing Seth, and therefore, his performance does not come off as sympathetic, but a little bit unbelievable. However, he provides several funny moments, and in the end, he's not terrible. Suki Goodwin made a very nice party girl playing Denise. She had an elegant British accent, and I enjoyed her performance. And Kevin Brophy, Jenny Neumann, and Jimmy Sturtevant were entertaining in the roles of Peter, Scott, and May, the pranksters from Alpha Sigma, whose prank backfires violently.
Secondly, the music is awesome. It made me reminisce about John Carpenter's classic score for the 1978 masterpiece "Halloween." Techno and piano mix together perfectly for the music of the film.
And thirdly, at times, the movie was scary. The killer was weird and creepy, and although "Hell Night" was a slasher movie, it had the elements of a wonderful haunted house tale, like the 1958 schlock classic "The House on Haunted Hill." Garth Manor reminded me very much of that house, only "House on Haunted Hill" didn't have the scares that this movie did. Some of the kills and "BOO!" moments came out of unpredictability and excitement. I especially enjoyed the gore. Even more points for that!
There you have it. Despite a few flaws, including Vincent Van Patten's performance and just a little bit of slow pacing, "Hell Night" was a great surprise for me. So many trashy movies came out of 1981, and this movie showed that there was still life in a disreputable genre. It was atmospheric, scary, gory, and entertaining. I enjoyed every minute of it. "Hell Night" is a nifty little haunted house-style/slasher romp that puts movies like "Graduation Day" and "Girl's Nite Out" to shame. Slasher wannabees, eat your heart out.
P.S. Looking for another fun monster-slasher? Then Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse" will go perfectly with "Hell Night."
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