To All a Goodnight (1980)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Purely Joyful Movie!

Disturbing yet enthralling

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

To All a Goodnight (1980) * 1/2 (out of 4) At a sorority house, a prank turns deadly as a young woman being chased by her sisters falls off a balcony and dies. Flash forward two years and a group of girls invite their boyfriends over just as a psycho shows up to kill them off.TO ALL A GOODNIGHT is a really bad slasher from first-time director David Hess who is of course best remembered for playing the bad guy in Wes Craven's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. It turned out 1980 was a very big year for him as he not only directed his first movie but also appeared in the highly controversial Ruggero Deodato shocker HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK. Sadly, this film here just doesn't have a whole lot working for it, although I will praise Hess for at least making a very professional looking film on less than $70,000 and in under ten days. I was really shocked to hear those figures because this film at least looks professionally done so I'm a little curious why Hess didn't try his hand at directing again.As far as the film goes, it's a pretty sluggish affair because there are obviously all kinds of corners being cut. It's obvious watching the film because some scenes just appear to be first takes that they had to use because they didn't have more time. I say this during a couple sequence where the killer goes to stab at people and it just looks like it's a rehearsal or being done in slow motion (the knife going towards people). Another problem with the film is that there's really nothing too memorable going on. There's no question that this was an attempt to cash in on the slasher genre that was just taking off and it's clear this was rushed to try and cash in on that. The screenplay itself throws in the various clichés that by this time were already old-fashioned. There's a bit of BLACK Christmas thrown into the film and you can also at least say this featured a killer Santa Claus several years before SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT.The special effects really aren't the greatest as the majority of the stuff happens off screen. The stabbings are good enough but no one will mistake them for the work of Tom Savini. There was one very memorable throat slashing where you see the throat pretty much pull apart. I'm a little surprised that this here made it past the MPAA. As far as the performances go, they're what you'd expect in this type of film but for the most part they're all good enough. Jennifer Runyon is the most known name in the cast, although porn star Harry Reems can be seen briefly. The film does offer up quite a bit of nudity so director Hess at least had that going for him.TO ALL A GOODNIGHT is a pretty forgettable slasher but I'm sure some fans of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT will want to see it just as a curio.

Another year, another holiday-themed horror movie! Watching my annual holiday horror flick on Christmas day is my second favorite tradition, next to getting drunk on Jägermeister and argue with my siblings! This year I found in my Christmas stocking a movie that I've wanted to see for a long time, even though I always knew not to expect too much from it. "To All a Goodnight" holds quite a bit of cult-value, but that's almost solely linked to the fact that it is the one and only film directed by David Hess; the legendary infamous lead actor of exploitation classics such as "Autostop Rosso Sangre", "House on the Edge of the Park" and – particularly – "Last House on the Left". I don't know why Mr. Hess suddenly thought it would be a good idea to contribute something to the genre as a director, especially because his "To All a Goodnight" is extremely formulaic, dull and forgettable. You know the routine: a group of girls that don't return to their families for the Christmas period remain at their finishing school, sedate the landlady with sleeping pills and invite their horny boyfriends over for a wild night of jingle bells. Unfortunately for them, there's a maniacal killer dressed in a Santa Clause suit running loose on the premises. Could his rage perhaps have something to do with the fatal accident that occurred in the same finishing school one year earlier, when a poor young girl fell to her death during an initiation prank gone awry? My guess is yes… Working from a script from Alex "The Incredibly Melting Man" Rebar, Hess isn't too shy to insert literally every single slasher cliché that exists. The sorority setting and payback for a deadly prank are two examples of this, but also the presence of a suspicious and perverted looking gardener who always pops op out of nowhere, the surviving virgins and the dead phone lines are terribly overused clichés. Of course, on the other hand we also have to bear in mind that "To All a Goodnight" was released in 1980 already, and thus prior to the enormous slasher boom later that decade. Still, even for a low-budgeted film, the killings are disappointingly uninspired and bloodless. Due to the poor and dark photography, the murders are often even impossible to see! The final twist, as in the revelation of the killer's identity, is fairly obvious from early in the film, and it's not even that difficult to foresee who will survive the Christmas massacre. There isn't much to mention regarding the cast, neither, except maybe that one-time actress Linda Gentille has a ravishing body and that porn king Harry Reems ("Deep Throat", "Educating Mandy") makes a bizarrely insignificant cameo appearance as a private airplane pilot.

A killer dispatches a few people on Christmas at a finishing school. Give a film credit where credit's due. First of all; this is the first film depicting a killer Santa at Christmas (the "Tales From the Crypt" segment with Joan Collins is just that, a segment), it's a few months ahead of "Friday the 13th" with the undying formula of disposable people hacked to death at a secluded location, a minuscule budget and a 10 day shooting schedule definitely called for fast thinking and fast shooting (and a lot of painfully obvious day-for-night scenes). The fact that David Hess and co. managed to churn out a semi coherent slasher must be considered quite a feat in itself. Too bad that "To All a Goodnight" is such a bore. The kills are mostly clumsy and the extreme gore scenes look pretty bad, there's no suspense and any attempt at a creepy atmosphere in promising surroundings falls flat with cringe worthy dialog and well below par performances. For me; a William Lauer (never heard of him before) delivers the best performance as the typical horn dog of the pack while others quite literally stink. Kiva Lawrence, as the cook and overall watchdog of the girls at the finishing school, is the most experienced actress and she's not bad per se but doesn't come off any better than the rest. Future mini starlet Jennifer Runyon doesn't do any better either. There's also that killer second twist in the end where you think everything's wrapped up but it turns out not so much. Needless to say it doesn't better the film but it's another point in the flick's favor concerning how it beat most others with that indispensable routine. With no Christmas atmosphere to speak of, no real suspense, not any great gore or memorable scenes for that matter or any other small things associated with decent slashers to recommend; I hardly think "To All a Goodnight" will be a seasonal mandatory viewing in the yuletide season for slasher fans. I wanted to like...scratch that...Love "To All a Goodnight" but it's a plain old stinker in most respects.

David Hess, infamous for his terrifying character Krug from The Last House on the Left (1972), has gone from playing the rapist in a film, to making a film of his own. Unsurprisingly, the movie he made was a poorly acted, poorly lit, and violence filled slasher film. However, the film is definitely a favorite of mine. Despite how admittedly terrible the film is, it's B-Movie charm makes it worth watching.At the Calvin Finishing school, several young coeds enjoy their winter break at their sorority house. They have drugged their house mother and snuck their boyfriends into the house to have a little fun. But little do they know, a murderer dressed as Santa Claus is in the house with them, ready to invade their little party. After a night of party, sex, alcohol, and murder, one of the sorority girls, Nancy (Jennifer Runyon) stumbles upon a dead body, making her, and the rest of the group, aware that they are in for one hell of a night.Like, I said before, this movie is doubtlessly a bad one, yet still I hold this movie close to my heart for several reasons. One of those reasons is the shocking twist at the end, where we find out the identity of the mysterious killer. Another reason is a FANTASTIC chase scene between the killer and Nancy (Who is cute and likable as the final girl), which is fast-paced and exciting to watch. The acting is not really very good, but it's not really TERRIBLE. Jennifer Runyon is really the only person who is truly worth mentioning in this movie, especially since she's probably the only person involved in the movie that ended up in other movies afterwards.Overall, the movie is definitely something slasher lovers would enjoy. The movie is strange, funny, dark, (somewhat) creepy, gory, fast-paced, and overall just a fun movie to watch. I would recommend it for those boring nights alone when all you have is a beer, a bag of Doritos, a TV, and a VCR.