Hell Night [Blu-ray]

Overview

This plodding, derivative slasher opus -- a surprise box-office hit -- stars Exorcist vet Linda Blair as one of a quartet of sorority and fraternity pledges required to spend the title evening of their initiation inside the spooky Garth Manor. The mansion was the site of a gruesome multiple murder, wherein the owner killed his wife and three of his four deformed children before taking his own life. After the four pledges bed down for the night (mainly with each other, though Blair is called upon for the standard "virginal heroine" role here), mischievous upperclassmen descend into the house, intending to scare them out of their wits...but something even more repulsive than a pack of drunken frat-boys beats them to it. It comes as no surprise that Garth's fourth child -- apparently the most monstrous of the bunch -- is still roaming the premises, and doesn't take kindly to strangers. An early foray onto exploitation turf for director Tom de Simone, this film has a fairly stylish look, though mired by underlit photography and silly performances. Blair is appealing, but her role is sadly underwritten.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/02/2018
UPC:	0826663178555
Original Release:	1981
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	17,522

Special Features

Interviews and commentary with cast and crew including actress; Linda Blair, director Tom DeSimone, producer Bruce Cohn Curtis and more!; TV spots; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Linda Blair	Marti Gaines
Vincent Van Patten	Seth
Peter Barton	Jeff Reed
Kevin Brophy	Peter Bennett
Jenny Neumann	May
Suki Goodwin	Denise
Jimmy Sturtevant	Scott
Hal Ralston	Older Cop
Carey Fox	Younger Cop
Ronald Gans	Driver
Gloria Hellman	Party Girl
Dan Wyman	Composer

Technical Credits

Randy Feldman

Randolph Feldman

Bruce Cohn Curtis	Producer
Tom DeSimone	Director
Randy Feldman	Screenwriter
Chuck Russell	Executive Producer
Tom Schwartz	Special Effects
Joseph Wolf	Executive Producer
Irwin Yablans	Producer
Randolph Feldman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

This intriguing mix of slasher movie conventions and haunted house atmospherics is uneven but offers some unique elements for the patient viewer. Hell Night has a slight edge over many of the other films from the early-'80s slasher film cycle because Randolph Feldman's script boasts a unique "old dark house" setting with an interesting backstory. Tom DeSimone's stylish direction milks this haunted house atmosphere for all it's worth and he crafts a few effective shock sequences toward the end of the story. Unfortunately, his pacing is much too slack and the film never regains the tension it builds during its first half-hour. Its second half also lacks the twists that would make the film's finale as interesting as its setup. Linda Blair and Peter Barton make appealing protagonists and Vincent Van Patten gives the film some much-needed humor as Seth but the script's rudimentary characterizations don't give them much to work with. Ultimately, Hell Night is probably too inconsistent for most viewers but horror completists might enjoy its flashes of inspiration.