One of my strongest early horror film memories came from this movie. The image of a kid with glasses getting his head twisted all the way around always stuck with me. Watching it for this series I found that the ending was familiar to me from a more recent memory so it's probable I once caught the ending on late night cable as a teen or pre-teen.
Click here for a list of all other films reviewed and considered for this October 2012 series of horror reviews.  |
| Scantily clad teens in a Gothic house surrounded by candles? This must be a 1980s horror flick |
Of all the horror movies from the 80s that get a bad rap Hell Night is one of the least deserving
of such a reputation. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, it is an admission
that it’s a passable scary movie. It’s made in the style of a 1950s Creature
Feature (right down to the opening titles) crossed with the slasher genre
popular at the time of its 1981 release. A lot of what it attempts is works
pretty well. The premise and setup are reminiscent of countless horror flicks:
a group of teens enter some dark secluded place and get picked off one-by-one.
In this case the location is an old gothic mansion on expansive grounds. It
comes with a horror story of its own – a strong and suspenseful premise laid
out in a chilling and effective scene, well-delivered by the actor Kevin Brophy.
