User reviews

Overlooked this one when it was released but after seeing the DVD on sale and reading some positive comments on this site decided to part with my cash. Was I disappointed? No. Once you get past the cheesy opening with its gloriously B-movie style credits it turns into one of the more interesting stalk and slash films of the 80's. The set up is simple - 4 frat pledges have to spend the night in a mansion with a sinister past and a killer on the loose... who will survive? Do we care? Well yes, these kids are surprisingly likeable and, by cleverly putting them in pre-20th Century fancy dress in a candle lit house, removes them from the contemporary teen horror genre. The killings are pretty conventional – decapitation etc.– but the film then builds up to a tense and exciting final 30 minutes with a few surprises and a brilliantly staged ending. I'm probably over-praising this film somewhat but my expectations were low and my rewards were a decent 6.5/10!

Linda Blair stars as one of four college pledges who must spend the night in the creepy old mansion(reputed to be haunted, with a murderous history) in order to join the sorority and fraternity. Seniors plan to pull pranks on them for fun, but discover to their dismay that "reputed" turns out to mean "factual"...

Surprisingly effective thriller may not be original, but has good performances and direction, which create characters you come to care about, and a genuinely spooky atmosphere, especially when it moves underground. Scary and (reasonably) smart, this one stands out from the usual "slashers" of the period, and results are above average, with a memorable ending.

What impressed me the most about this "slasher" movie is I honestly cared about the characters and felt bad when they died! That never happens with me & horror movies-- usually the characters are annoyingly lamebrained oversexed fools and I can't wait for them to get axed. HELL NIGHT has much going for it, including an amiable atmosphere, enthusiastic & easy-going performances (especially by the Boom Mic, who I thought deserved an Academy Award for his brief but frequent appearances), decent sets (including the outdoor ones, a bit reminiscent of The Shining), and villains who I swear looked straight out of SCOOBY DOO. (Not that that's a BAD thing, but it's just not too scary.) I honestly thought the script was well-constructed and funny and character exposition was given in an unobtrusive but helpful way (i.e. Linda Blair working as a mechanic.) There is absolutely nothing new or groundbreaking in HELL NIGHT, but it's a sterling example of how to polish up an old apple and make it look appealing and new-- and taste good. (Sorry for that awful metaphor...) Contrary to what others might tell you, Vincent Van Patten really grew on me, and I loved that surfing scene. He's my boy! Rating: 7/10.

I love slasher films and this is one of my favorites....it seems one of the biggest complaints about 'Hell Night' is the lack of blood. Am I the only one here who remembers two other horror classics that have little bloodshed....'Halloween' and 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and before you disagree....watch them again. And notice that all the times that Leatherface smacks heads with the hammer and carves bodies with his chainsaw- very little blood hits the ground.....even 'Prom Night' shows black screen when someone is getting hacked up with an axe... And not all slasher films have to have the 'guess who the killer is' theme....in 'Halloween' we knew it was Michael Meyers and 'Chain Saw Massacre' we knew it was Leatherface and his family.... Back to 'Hell Night'...I thought everybody gave really good performances throughout...Linda Blair and Vincet Van Patten standout the most. I enjoyed the background story about the house's history...the house itself was an excellent setting. Character interaction was interesting...it didn't seem like pointless time filler. The killers were alot more scary than most of the slasher villains...plus the fact that they didn't get a lot of screen time which added to the suspense. A very under-rated slasher film. 'Hell Night' and almost any slasher film post 1979 are called 'Halloween' rip-offs...but, remember 'Black Christmas' came out years before 'Halloween'

Here it is folks, the point in Linda Blair's career when she officially relegated herself to B-movies and God-awful Australian pseudo-erotic thrillers.

The girl who played Regan (and got an Oscar nod in the process) plays a sorority pledge who has to spend a night in a haunted mansion with three others, conveniently partnered into three couples.

So the story goes that the former owners had a series of deformed children who were systematically murdered by their father. After offing his wife, he turned a noose on himself and that was the end of the Garth family, for 'twas their name.

Big story hook is that two of the malformed offspring may have died, but their bodies were never found!

Terrifying.

Anyway, plot holes and continuity errors aside, our plucky group of survivors have to spend a night in said mansion before they are accepted into their relevant fancy persons clubs. To make things more interesting their dickhead friends intend to scare the bejeezus out of them with special effects worthy of, um, this film, whilst the real kicker is that, (surprise surprise) the two deformed offspring of the previous owner who were hitherto unaccounted for are actually alive and preying on all involved.

So basically it's every slasher movie ever but with the addition of two slashermen. And yes that is a term I just coined.

Not wanting to knock the absolute piss out of it I can at least say that it is fairly well shot and acted. Also the kills, thin on the ground as they may be, are done quite competently. Not a lot of gore (if that's what you're into) but well executed, pardon the pun.

Difficulties arise in the prolonged periods of nothing happening. You could easily shave twenty minutes off and not miss a beat, but in general there is a charm there. The gothic setting and costumes, achieved through a convincing plot device, make it something different in the genre. The last third is also quite good in the sense that the characters do things that raise them above useless slasher fodder.

On the whole this movie isn't great, but it's not bad. For what it is the job is done well. You can see why the people involved in the production went on to bigger and better things (Frank Darabont anyone?). It does have its moments, but ultimately it's a cult slasher movie that showcases the point where Linda Blair tried to prove she was better than being typecast that sadly backfired on her. But hey, better than Heretic.

Linda Blair, everybody's favorite head-tolling girl, stars as an extremely cute college girl named Marti. Together with 3 other students, she's locked overnight in a haunted mansion as some sort of fraternity initiation rite. The house used to be inhabited by a family of weirdoes (figures…) and the deformed son is believed to still dwell around in the tunnels underneath the mansion's basement. While the other fraternity members are playing pranks to increase the eeriness, the real killer comes to interfere…

Of course, you can't really refer to this 'Hell Night' as being a good film. It's an 80's slasher, produced in-between two 'Halloween'-films. The only reason of this film's existence is to raise more money, so you can't be too demanding for plots, logic or credibility. In it's own specific category, this is a more than decent film. I can name you over a thousand similar films that are worse but only a few that are better. It's amazing what a competent director (Tom DeSimone – specialized in 'Women Behind Bars'-flicks) and a devoted cast (Linda Blair!!) can achieve. There are quite a few suspenseful sequences in Hell Night and the gore is not exploited for once. The settings are decent but sometimes underexposed, which is a bit of a shame. Overall, this a lot more tolerable than the average flick in which teens are slaughtered by the dozen.

HELL NIGHT comes from the long-defunct studio who brought the ever popular HALLOWEEN to the big screen (Compass Int'l Pictures). This was partially what I expected, mixing the good with the bad. At times, it's chilling. Other times, it isn't. Possibly the best way to make a low-budget picture was to have the whole set turn dark and let the actors move around in a ridiculously slow pace until the point where something frightening happens. Hold your breath until the conclusion, folks, because that's when Linda Blair actually steals the film on purpose for the last few minutes. Some electronically scary sound effects help create the real feel of being in the dark, though. As a personal commemorative bonus, this is the 10th movie I've seen that shows off mics at the top of my TV screen! Can anyone spot the shadows of actual crew members standing in the way? It's nice to see films like this come back from the grave due to the recent rebirth of Slashermania, but this is just plain ordinary and similar to what we've seen before.

This film is everything most slashers are - i.e. redundant, pointless, silly and all the rest of it. However, unlike the majority of the sub-genre; this one isn't all that bad. The plot is hardly original in it's fusion of the haunted house tradition and eighties slasher trash, but at least it gives the film a slight edge over it's less imaginative counterparts. The plot sees a group of four high school 'kids' having to spend a night in a creepy old house as an initiation ceremony for the fraternity they want to join. However, this isn't just a creepy old house and by way of a super-camp story telling sequence, we learn that the master of the house killed himself, his wife and three of his four horribly deformed children. This, of course, means that one survived; and that one, is course, rumoured to still be hanging around the creepy old house. That is, of course, a rumour that turns out be true! What then follows is the usual slasher sort of stuff, with the kids inside getting sliced and diced along with the ones outside, who were just trying to make their new frat-mate's stay a little scarier.

Linda Blair, now all grown up since her role in The Exorcist, takes the lead role and does pretty much what you would expect the heroine to do. There's some nice murder sequences in this film, but the gore is never over the top. I actually like over the top gore, but despite not having much of it, it never really harms this film. The murders are stylishly shot, and the way it portrays them allows it to be shocking without the need for a lot of bloodshed. In a sub-genre that is primarily concerned with bloodletting; this is actually quite admirable. The sets are one of the best things about this film. The Gothic mansion gives it that great atmosphere that is usually reserved for haunted house movies. The movie doesn't always make best use of it's settings, however, with too many scenes being restricted to close-up's when a shot that takes in more of the surrounding area would have been better. The fact that the killer is deformed gives it a bit of an edge over the likes of Halloween because aside from there being a killer, you also want to see him to find out how badly deformed he is. It is a disappointment when he's finally revealed...but the wait holds some suspense. On the whole, this isn't all that good; but it's not bad either. Slasher fans will find something to like.

I watched FRAT FRIGHT (also known as HAPPY HELL NIGHT), NIGHT SCHOOL, SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE and this film, HELL NIGHT, one after the other during the span of an entire week, and I have to say that all horror films in academic settings pretty much suck. HELL NIGHT is totally cheeeeeeeesy. If it weren't for the (very) few sex scenes and the little gore seen here and there, this would play exactly like a SCOOBY DOO episode. 4 college students stay in a mansion with a bloody history. Some other students roam around the mansion to scare the 4. As expected, the 3 other students are killed first by the creepy people inhabiting the mansion. Then the 4 college students are next. Who's going to survive? Well, that's easy to figure out.

The story doesn't make any sense whatsoever. If the students do this every year, why do the people living in the mansion suddenly decide to kill off the students now? No reason is given for why they decided to go on a murderous rampage.

Anyway, the whole thing was a total bore. The only thing that kept me awake and watching was trying to spot the *many* moments where the microphone was clearly visible at the top of the frame. Too funny.

The ending was the only good thing about HELL NIGHT. The last shot at the gate is very good. But it's too little and too late.

This has all the elements of a bad horror movie, but unlike some so-bad-it's-good low-budget fright flicks, this one takes itself seriously--and therin lies the problem. I always say the sign of a bad horror movie is when you want every character to die, just so the movie can end. That was definitely the case with "Hell Night." I was literally counting how many characters are still alive, so I'd know how soon it'll all be over. Even at approximately an hour and 40 minutes, I felt the film went on way too long. That goes on to prove that a good movie is never too long and a bad movie is never too short. The acting is decent, though nothing special. But I'd rather watch a fun horror flick with bad actors than a clunker like this with decent actors. This is the only movie, besides "The Exorcist," that I've seen of Linda Blair's. Apparently, she made a consecutive series of bombs after gaining fame from that debut role. Aside from one exciting scene where one of the characters tries to climb over a pointed gate, the movie is devoid of any real thrills. Most of the scenes are composed of characters walking through dark locations for about 5 minutes before something actually happens. The movie itself has almost no originality. The score is cheesy, and so are the horrendously dated 80's hairstyles and wardrobe. Even for low-budget horror standards, this is one awful flick!

My score: 2 (out of 10)

Basic Plot = four pledges must spend the night in Garth Manor, twelve years to the day after the previous resident murdered his entire family. Two of the pledges, Marti (Linda Blair, The Exorcist) and Jeff (Peter Barton), ignore the rumours that the now-deserted mansion is haunted by a crazed killer, until one-by-one, members of their group mysteriously disappear. Could this be part of the fraternity prank or is it a demented former tenant seeking revenge? When the seemingly innocent rite of passage turns deadly, these college students will do anything to survive Hell Night." Hell Night is a fun way to waste a couple of hours, a definite popcorn flick which isn't a bad thing, the cast are clearly having fun with they're roles, Suki Goodwin, as Denise, is a scream; providing the film's main comedy moments without really grating. She sails through the film on a wave of booze, Quaaludes (whatever happened to those?) and double-ententes. Linda Blair is also as effortlessly likable as you'd imagine, as the slightly tomboyish girl (with the handy mechanic skills).

Hell Night never fails to be entertaining,It's the fun early 80's slasher flick - designed for retro thrills, fun scares and popcorn munching. It takes itself seriously enough to stop from descending into self-parody funny to talk about innocence in a film where a bunch of people get carved up in creative ways, but HELL NIGHT is a perfect twilight genre example of the slasher flick before it descended into self parody and rapidly shrinking budgets.

Four college kids are sent to an abandoned mansion to fend for themselves during a hazing ritual gone wrong in "Hell Night." During their stay at Garth Manor, the group deal with pesky pranks from their peers and face off against a "gork" dubbed Andrew. We never find out what a gork is exactly, but it sounds relatively un-PC. At any rate, Andrew "Gork" Garth is a deformed child who has been left alone to his own devices. Now that he's all grown up, he's hellbent on murdering anyone who steps foot onto his property. That's unfortunate for Linda Blair and company, who lack the benefit of something like TripAdvisor. One thing's for sure, though; if they live through the night, this place is getting a dismal one-star review.

"Hell Night" came out in 1981, just as the slasher genre was gaining traction. It is at times derivative, and at others, it surprisingly deviates from the beaten path. The initial set up of four characters who alternate between horny, funny, smart and sympathetic is one we've seen countless times in the genre, but "Hell Night" puts a refreshing spin on things. For starters, its cast has a chemistry and a shared likability rarely seen in the slasher subset. An all-grown-up Linda Blair leads the cast with her charming girl-next-door presence, while pretty-boy Peter Barton ("Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter") plays her good-guy boyfriend. In the next room are the Spicoli-esque surfer dude and his hilariously charming and sexy girlfriend, played by Vincent Van Patten (son of Dick) and Suki Goodwin respectively. Goodwin in particular is a real firecracker, an endless ball of charm. It's a shame she quit acting shortly after this film came out. Her comedic chemistry with Van Patten jumps off the screen and nearly steals the show. That being said, all four actors are quite solid and work together to keep the film going, even through it's duller moments.

Speaking of dull moments, there's more than a few of those here. Since the film is about 15-20 minutes longer than the average slasher, it's only natural this would happen. The atmosphere is pretty well established early on, and while the characters are never a chore to visit, the often-protracted stalking sequences can sometimes feel endless or even pointless. Having said that, when the jump scares hit, they hit hard. The film is a bit of a workhorse in that regard, as by the end, we are treated to a big jump seemingly every other minute. Tim DeSimone, who had previously worked in the adult film industry under the impossibly awesome psuedonym of Lancer Brooks, apes the likes of "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" quite competently here. There are moments midway through the film that feel like someone traced over John Carpenter's work, right down to the sparse, synth-led score. Yet, for all that it borrows, it never feels entirely redundant. One digression in particular, where a lead character escapes the mansion and goes off to find help, is a welcome curveball. It's little moments like this that give the film its own unique flavor.

While one could probably spend the bulk of its running length nit-picking it to death, there's just something undeniably charming about the way "Hell Night" plays out. It feels familiar, but at the same time, keeps us on our toes. With characters that you actually want to see survive and a killer who is not wearing a mask or wielding a chainsaw, "Hell Night" at least offers something you won't always find in '80s slashers. It's not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but necessary viewing for any fan of the genre. "Hell Night" is, like the ritual itself: a rite of passage everyone should go through at least once.

Linda Blair and her friends are stranded in a remote mansion with a homicidal maniac, who loves to hack peoples heads off and slash their throats. Sound like a simple, predictable premise? Yeah, it pretty much is. But, the direction is smooth and on target, and the acting is very good. There is a little gore, but not too much, and there is plenty of good suspense. You grow to like the four teens tormented in Garth Manor. A successful, highly watchable slasher movie.

I do like the idea of college students spending a night in a old manor with a killer in it, but the story isn't the strong point of the movie. I do like the backstory of the manor since it's pretty creepy and well detailed in it. The movie also does a good job on building up the atmosphere in the setting and the climax of the movie.

Unfortunately there's a couple of dry parts in the movie where not that much happened in it and is rather predictable throughout. Also I wish the movie explores more into the hidden passage of the Manor since I found that part to be interesting. The kills are somewhat mix with three of them having decent gore effects to it and I like that last kill in the movie. But some of them are either off-screen or aren't really that memorable.

"Hell Night" from 1981 has all of the elements of a horror movie from the 80's it's got a house with a past, teens and college students with raging hormones who want sex, and murder one by one with like one character living. As part of a college ritual and initiation into a fraternity four pledges must spend a night in an old haunted mansion 12 years to the day after the previous resident murdered his entire family. Is the crazed killer still around as one by one things happen and people vanish. It's a fight for life that's filled with thrills, chills, fright, and sex which is typical for an 80's horror slasher film. Also lookout for Linda Blair("The Exorcist") as a scream queen.

"Hell Night" is a fun little 1981 horror film from the producer of "Halloween". The plot is as follows - Twelve years ago, a man savagely murdered his wife and three of their deformed and disabled children, leaving only one son as a survivor, then hanging himself in his family mansion. Now, twelve years after the horrible murders, four college pledges for the Alpha Sigma Ro fraternity/sorority are forced to spend the night in Garth manor for their initiation. All seems to be going well, and the upperclassmen play a few tricks on the newcomers to try and scare them. But the jokes become horrifyingly real when the pranksters and the pledges begin to die. Could it be possible that the fourth son of the Garth family is still lurking somewhere on the grounds?

I'd been wanting to see this for quite some time now, and I finally got my hands on the DVD and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Is it clichéd? Sure it is, very much so, actually. The plot (while it isn't as original as it could be) is well paced and entertaining all the way. It blends both the slasher and haunted house horror sub-genres, and it does it with style. Sure, the horror clichés are present, but these clichés don't take the film down. The mansion was large, old, and creepy inside, adding to the classic haunted-house horror film feeling. Not to mention the pledges are dressed in period costumes reflecting the olden days. The acting was decent, not perfect but good enough. Linda Blair of "The Exorcist" is our main leading heroine, and her innocent character of Marti is likable. Peter Barton plays Jeff, and Vincent Van Patten plays the tough surfer dude along with Suki Goodwin as the party girl. All of the actors performed well for the most part, no real complaints there.

There are some memorable scenes in the film, especially the rug scene and the chase in the underground tunnels with Marti and Jeff and the old deformed psychopath. Speaking of the villain, he was actually rather creepy and the makeup effects were decent, although we don't really get to see his face until the finale. There are some creative murder scenes that have surprisingly good special effects considering the time the film was made. But the film's overall atmosphere was the best part if you asked me. It kind of reminded me of a Scooby Doo episode with it's style and story, but much more violent than anything you'd ever see on a cartoon show.

Overall, "Hell Night" is one of the most fun '80s horror films out there. The whole film has a fun, festive tone, and there are some pretty spooky scenes and the atmosphere was perfect in a classic, haunted-house horror kind of way. The atmosphere is killer (literally), there are some scary murders, and Linda Blair is the leading lady! What more can you ask for? Definitely check it out if you are a fan of the genre. 9/10.

I tried to be patient with this film. I love Linda Blair and I had no problem with her part. The movie just fell flat after a while and I got really bored. A lot of long drawn out scenes. For example, the characters walking to an area where they heard the noise takes a whole minute in what feels like 5 minutes. The dialogue was a little cringey (I don't blame the actors, just the writing) and not in a fun way. Linda Blair did good with what she was given and I really liked her character. The plot idea is intriguing but it sort of falls flat in the second half of the movie. Some people may like this film, but for me it's a dud.