1980s Slasher Horror Gem With Exorcist Star Begs For Rediscovery, Stream Now
Linda Blair became an overnight sensation after her incredible performance as young Reagan in the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. The actress saw her bright star quickly fade afterward, after the film’s sequel four years later was a critical bomb. But Blair was able to secure a solid line of work in low-budget comedy and horror films in the years that followed, including a starring role in Hell Night, a movie that is one of her best displays outside of playing a possessed child.
Fraternity’s Eerie Initiation
Hell Night begins at a college costume party where co-eds are preparing to take prospective members of a fraternity to an abandoned mansion in the area for an initiation ritual. The Garth House has stood empty since its patriarch allegedly killed his wife and deformed children in a rage just before hanging himself.
The movie sets viewers up for potential scares when the fraternity leaders tell the group that two of the Garth boys were never found and might have survived their father’s attack.
Pranks Turn Deadly
Four prospects enter through the mansion’s iron gates and make their way inside the house where they are tasked with staying until dawn. Marti (Linda Blair), Jeff (Peter Barton), Seth (Vincent Van Patten), and Denise (Suki Goodwin) are unaware that fraternity members Peter (Kevin Brophy), May (Jenny Neumann), and Scott (Jimmy Sturtevant) are hiding out among the house’s various rooms and ready to prank their inductees.
Killer’s Gruesome Rampage
Of course nothing goes as planned, as a killer is running loose in Garth House. Hell Night quickly dispatches two of the college pranksters, leaving their remains uniquely placed so that they can be discovered by those yet to be attacked. One by one the deformed killer (or killers) descend on prey, subjecting them to brutal movie deaths.
Familiar Yet Terrifying
The concept behind Hell Night certainly wasn’t new at the time and the critics of the day accused it of being a movie too similar to many other slasher films of the era. But despite much of its unoriginality, Hell Night proves itself as a film packed with more fear than many of its contemporaries.
As the characters try to escape death, they are totally at the mercy of their pursuer in an environment full of secret passageways, hidden rooms, and an elaborate tunnel system. The setting makes Hell Night a bit scarier. Not knowing when your killer will appear is horrifying enough but add in the fact that you don’t know the layout makes it all the more terrifying of a movie.
Embracing Horror Tropes
Hell Night is ripe with horror film tropes like a haunted mansion that has been the subject of urban legends, a college fraternity prank gone wrong, and the “final girl” are all obvious throughout the movie.
Nonetheless, Hell Night is a riveting film that combines gothic horror with the modern-day slasher movie and gives fans of the genre exactly what they tuned in for. Great jump-scares, gory kill scenes, and enough S-E-X makes the movie check all the boxes for a solid B-horror entry.
Blair’s Stellar Performance
REVIEW SCORE
Hell Night gets high marks for Blair’s performance, as she shows audiences that she’s more than just a child actress and certainly entering her prime of B-horror. It’s a far cry from her role in The Exorcist, but Blair shines throughout. The movie also deserves accolades for the sets and special effects, both of which worked well on the low budget.
For interested fans, Hell Night is a movie that is currently available to stream for free on multiple platforms including Tubi, Roku, Shout!TV, and Freevee. The film can also be seen on demand via Vudu, Google Play, and Prime.
