Early 80s slasher in a gothic manor with Linda Blair
Four pledges at a Southern Cal university have to spend the night at an infamous deserted mansion. As the other students try to scare them they learn that the horrific legends about the house might be real. Peter Barton and Vincent Van Patten play the male protagonists.
“Hell Night” (1981) plays like "Friday the 13th" in a gothic manor. People who like "The Funhouse" (1981), "The Prowler" (1981), "Zombie High" (1987) and "Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil" (1991) should appreciate it, although "The Funhouse," "Prom Night IV" and "Friday the 13th" (any of them) are all-around more entertaining.
Aside from Ms. Blair, Suki Goodwin and Jenny Neumann stand out on the female front. Their beauty is displayed without getting too raunchy.
This is a good ‘scary movie’ for the Halloween season as all the staples are present and it’s not painful & unpalatable like some horror flicks. There’s a little too much filler though and it needed cut down by 10-12 minutes.
The movie runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot in Kimberly Crest Estate, Redlands (Garth Manor), University of Redlands and Redlands, California, with party interiors done in South Pasadena and studio work done in Hollywood.
GRADE: B-/C+
