If only the film was as good as the cover art
1981 was the year of the slasher. I could name two dozen slashers from that year by accident. Hell Night was one of those trendy films. The thing that sets this film apart has to be Linda Blair from the original Exorcist as the final girl in this college party, House on Haunted Hill, Friday the13th mash up. Four of the cast including Linda Blair are locked in a big house and have to stay overnight on a night a legend about a man killing his family took place. (easy setup) They start by partying to music from a tiny cleavage stereo. From there it is a poorly lit stream of cliches. Mostly stereotypical 80's parties and sex. This was directed by Tom DeSimone who has directed his share of porn before moving on to directing T.V. shows like Freddy's Nightmares and Swamp thing. The acting is not great all around, and there is little more than jump scares to build tension. I will say there were a handful of effects and scenes that I really liked. I would not recommend this to anyone except a horror fanatic. Someone who wants to explore horror and see as much as it has to offer. There was nothing really special about this film. I watched it on Youtube which is not the best rendering, maybe if this is on blue-ray it would be a better experience. I give it a 3 of 10. It came out in the peak of the slasher genre and offered nothing new. There are a lot of other slashers out there to check out.
