Hell Night (1981)

Four college pledges are forced to spend the night in a deserted old mansion where they get killed off one by one by the monstrous surviving members of a family massacre years earlier for trespassing on their living grounds.

Director:

Tom DeSimone

Writer:

Randy Feldman

Stars:

Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Peter Barton

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Linda Blair	...	Marti Gaines
Vincent Van Patten	...	Seth
Peter Barton	...	Jeff Reed
Kevin Brophy	...	Peter Bennett
Jenny Neumann	...	May West
Suki Goodwin	...	Denise Dunsmore
Jimmy Sturtevant	...	Scott
Hal Ralston	...	Older Cop
Carey Fox	...	Younger Cop (as Cary Fox)
Ron Gans	...	Driver (as Ronald Gans)
Gloria Heilman	...	Party Girl

Storyline

Before being able to join Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity and its sister sorority, four pledges must spend the night in Garth Manor, twelve years to the day after the previous resident murdered his entire family. Some, however, say that one member of the Garth family survived, and still resides somewhere in the now-deserted mansion.

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Plot Keywords:

night | college | fraternity | sorority | slasher | 

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Taglines:

Pray for day!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Noche infernal

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BLT Productions, Media Home Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The many underground tunnels filmed in the movie were actually no more than two corridors in which the director had the actors running repeatedly through from different angles.

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Goofs

Peter stated to the Frat party that no one has been into Garth Manor since the killings years prior, yet when they enter through the front doors no one is surprised to see a room full of lit candles.

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Quotes

Peter Bennett: [Explaining why they shouldn't try climbing over the high fence] They'd be likely to cut their nuts off.

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Connections

References Leave It to Beaver (1957)

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Soundtracks

"Theme from 'Hell Night'"
Sung by Leza Miller
Music by Dan Wyman
Lyrics by Bob Walters (as Bob Walter)

User Reviews

Surprisingly good with a great ending

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!