Hell Night (1981)

Review by John "Spooky Sully" Sullivan



I can remember watching Showtime in the early eighties and coming upon this slasher classic. In fact, it was one of the first horror films that I ever saw and it sent me on my path to be a forever-fan of the genre. With it's isolated locale and campfire-like legend, this film keeps you wondering what's around every corner. Here's the story -
Starring Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Vincent Van Patten (Rock 'N' Roll High School) and Peter Barton (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), the film begins when a group of four fraternity and sorority pledges have to perform a simple task before becoming full-fledged members. Spend one night in the infamous Garth Manor. It just so happens that this is where a mass murder/suicide happened years before and it is rumored that the last survivor still roams the corridors of the house. But this just isn't ANY night. It's the anniversary of the murders and tonight is Hell Night!
You won't find a lot of special features on this one but Anchor Bay does deliver Hell Night in a nice-looking 1.85:1 Widescreen presentation, complete with Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots and an Audio Commentary by Linda Blair, Director Tom DeSimone and Producers Irwin Yablans and Bruce Cohn Curtis. The dvd is out of print and getting harder and harder to find but you can usually run down a copy on Ebay or Amazon and it can also be found as a Drive-In Double Feature with Fade To Black. There hasn't been any word on a blu-ray edition, but with the growing popularity of hi-def, never say never! In the end, if you are a fan of early-eighties horror, then I think you'll enjoy it. And a big "Thank You" goes out to Anchor Bay for making this available once again!