Episode 36 - Hell Night (1981) (Blairvember Part 4)

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Hell Night (1981) is the type of a movie that simply steals it's ideas from better films in the same genre. If you took a little Friday the 13th, added in some Hills Have Eyes, throw in a dash of Halloween, and put Linda Blair in a low cut top you got yourself a movie; let's call it Hell Night.

The film is directed by our old friend Tom DeSimone from the infamous Chatterbox (1977) and while there is a sever lack of boom mic from his previous picture the film still has it's issues.

The biggest problem with Hell Night is that it just doesn't care. It's so incredibly lazy that it doesn't even try to do anything new, fun, or even interesting. I can hear the studio executives now, "we don't care who the killer is or why it happens, just get Linda in that top and shoot something!"

That's not to say the film isn't enjoyable. It's slow, it's stupid, and it's incredibly basic but it does have some so-bad-it's-good moments that make you laugh and the gore effects are pretty good for the time. There is just a reason that this isn't a memorable horror movie from the slasher era.

While it's certainly better than Night Patrol, Hell Night is just a blended cocktail of better movies from the same era; hoping to cash in on dumb teenagers eager to spend their money on the next slasher film to hit the drive-in. 

It does have a "ghost" though and lots and lots and lots and lots of candles.

NEXT WEEK'S FILM

Nightforce (1987)

Director: Lawrence David Foldes (as Lawrence D. Foldes)
Writers: Russel W. Colgin, Michael Engel | 1 more credit »
Stars: Linda Blair, James Van Patten, Richard Lynch