Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Sadly Over-hyped

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A different way of telling a story

Three couples decide to party the night away at the abandoned estate of film star Lance Hayward. Hayward was a Fairbanks and Flynn type in the 1920s, but has been missing for the past 20 years so his place is scheduled to be demolished. The kids encounter an unruly biker couple (the female half being Michelle Bauer) just before Hayward starts killing them in methods patterned after his top films. This is another one of those "how did this get made" films, but is an easy way to pass 90 minutes. There is plenty of graphic gore and some nudity (from Bauer, naturally). The old Hollywood star angle could have worked better had they put more thought into it and the production benefits from use of several Fairbanks productions. It is never explained why he is still so agile in 1987 or how he can survive a huge fire with no problem. Top billed John Ireland (who is the last incarnation of Hayward) and Cameron Mitchell get rough 5 minutes of screen time. Also top billed Alan Hale, Aldo Ray and Dan Haggerty get roughly 3 minutes of screen time each.

Produced in 1987, Terror Night became the slasher movie equivalent of the Holy Grail for horror enthusiasts after it never secured its expected release, which therefore kept fans searching for almost twenty years until it finally crept out almost unnoticed on to budget DVD. The movie was covered in various horror media and fanzines during its production, meaning that when a launch date never arrived, fans were left wondering what exactly had happened. Rumours of bootlegs kept people searching, but it wasn't until the late nineties when I came across a subtitled copy in an exchange store in Nuremburg that I actually believed that it even existed. It is rumoured that copyright wrangles with additional footage - that was 'borrowed' from classic movies for inclusion into the story - prevented Terror Night from gaining public exposure. A few bootlegs saw the light of day, which were then copied privately and passed around on the VHS black-market, but up until very recently, the film had remained locked in a studio vault. Its unfortunate production problems admittedly gave the film a somewhat mysterious and alluring edge and on top of that it boasts an interesting premise, a good cast and directorial assistance from legendary horror filmmaker Andre De Toth. A group of youngsters decide to spend the night in the dilapidated Hollywood mansion of one-time screen idol Lance Hayward. Hayward has been missing for over forty years and despite rumours that he emigrated to Europe, it is believed that he died many years ago. The teenagers soon learn that this is not true as Hayward begins stalking and slaughtering the group one by one, whilst donning costumes of the characters from his previous cinematic adventures. Had Terror Night been released as had been intended by the production team, I predict that it may well have been a relatively popular addition to the category and a good seller on the VHS and drive-in markets. The film boasts almost all the essential ingredients that made its more successful genre counterparts household names, including a young and attractive cast, some decent bloody deaths, credible gore and intriguing cameos from screen veterans like Cameron Mitchell. The use of black and white movie footage to accompany the murders was an interesting touch; even though it almost certainly proved to play a key part in the film's downfall and ruined any chance of the ongoing franchise that the producers during this period predictably craved. Despite sticking closely to the slasher rulebook, which was in regular use during the eighties, the key source of influence seems to stem from the nineteen-eighty thriller Fade to Black. The premise is inexplicably similar, although Terror Night fashionably decides to stay true to its slasher roots as where Fade to Black has never been noted as a genre entry. The cast do a good enough job with what they are given, especially the old-timers who seem to be having a ball with their small cameos. Cameron Mitchell turns up for a brilliant piece of scene-chewing and like all the senior screen veterans, he seems to be motivated to do more than just phone-in a few lines for the paycheque. The various choices of costume for the killer provide a good bit of fun (I especially enjoyed the maniacal knight-in-armour) and the murders are almost always energetic and gory. Popular screen queen Michelle Bauer comes along for her usual excuse to get naked and then viciously slaughtered and porn queen Jamie Summers is also included for a rare non-adult film role. First (and last) time director Nick Marino creates little in terms of tension or suspense and his methods are that of the 'point and shoot' variety. Andre De Toth's involvement in the direction of a share of scenes is a rumour that has never been confirmed or denied and there's nothing exceptional here to be noted. However without the press package that would have accompanied Terror Night had it been released as intended, there is little way of knowing the exact percentage of his input. Despite some excellent moments, Terror Night is knee deep in a puddle of flaws. It's inadequately lighted to the point of frustration in places and lacks the visual gloss and stylish direction/production that made its more popular counterparts memorable. The plot is also poorly handled and never gives a resolution to the mystery that it spends so much energy creating. We never find out what Lance Hayward actually is, or what was his motivation behind the murderous rampage? We never learn if the maniacal assassin is actually a ghost or just an extremely lucky ninety-year-old with the appearance of someone half that age. It could be argued that these problems would have been ironed out if the movie had been given the post-production that was intended and we will never know for sure when it was decided that Terror Night would not secure worldwide release. Perhaps the filmmakers never got the chance to add the finishing touches that would have given the film a more attractive sheen. However there is really no excuse for the laughable ending, which to be fair was perhaps typical of cheesy eighties slasher trash. Terror Night is one of the few slasher movies that had the potential to be a lot better than it eventually ended up, but somehow lost its way between the months of production and its release some twenty years later. It's a shame that we'll probably never find out how it might have turned out if it was given a real chance and it looks as if it might have suffered a nightmare production. Still, for fans looking for an extremely rare genre-piece, it does deliver the goods on a few levels. It's packed to the brim with hokey gore and there's some excessive nudity that always interests fans of exploitation. It's a good film that could have been so much more.

This film doesn't waste any time with gruesome murders. Two occur withing the first 10 minutes, and they are tied to roles played by movie star Lance Hayward, on whose estate the action takes place. Hayward has disappeared and his mansion is falling into ruin, but something is going on.This is an interesting take on slasher murders that I have not see before. Tying them to movies was interesting. Too bad Aldo Ray got the hook before he could finish.As a motorcycle pair and a group of young people sneak into the mansion, and some comedy ensues as they think each other are ghosts. Seeing Michelle Bauer running through the halls naked was a real bonus. Even better than seeing Jamie Summers in the tub earlier. More murders will occur with different movies as their theme and different costuming. It was really interesting.

"Terror Night" is a fine and impressive slasher entry.**SPOILERS**After hearing a strange news report, friends Jake Nelson, (Alan Hale Jr.) Kathy, (Staci Greason) Chip, (William Butler) Todd, (John Wildman) Greg, (Ken Abraham) Sherry, (Jaime Summers) and Lorraine, (Carla Baron) decide to head over to investigate. Realizing it's the house of old-time movie star Lance Hayward, (John Ireland) they rummage through the house looking for a good time. Realizing they are not alone, they into Angel, (Timothy Elwell) and Jo, (Michelle Bauer) also hanging out at the house. Slowly dawning that they're disappearing one-by-one, they come across a killer killing them off in the inspiration from several of the actors biggest films, and they race to get away before becoming prey for the madman.The Good News: This one here was actually pretty good. The fact that there's a really enjoyable and unique storyline to this, which is a little off-the-wall, manages to derive some fun parts to it. As it's about a famous Hollywood actor trying to regain his past through using his best-known gimmicks as the basis for killing people off, there's a lot to this one which sticks out. This one has some nice stuff to come along with that, as the killer in this does tend to dress up appropriate to the kill, dressing up like a samurai when he uses a knife or a jungle explorer to kill them using bows and arrows, which is really well-done for what's happening in the scene. That also means that the kills in here are actually rather good and gory, which always helps. There's a great decapitation, an impaling in the back with a spear, one grabbed around the neck and forced backward, breaking the neck, another is thrown out a window and lands on a picket fence, a meat hook to the head and the highlight, being tied to a tree with a rope attached to a car that then snaps the person in half. It's a fantastic way to open in the film and serves as a really great introduction to the rest of the film, which is just as bloody and brutal. This one also has a great amount of suspense in this, which comes from several superb stalking scenes that deserve some good points. The main one through the house has a great air to it, with the first realization of the killer being there is actually good, searching for the group and stumbling upon the other friends is all good stuff. There's also the film's high quality nudity, which is always nice and here comes through with two great scenes, where a couple take a bath together and a later one where another couple are stumbled upon sleeping with each other. They both provide nice nudity, and along with the other factors, provide the film's good points.The Bad News: There wasn't much to this one that didn't work. The ending here is the biggest one in the film, as it has a couple points wrong with it. The main one is that it forces the ending in the house to feel really cheated, ending before it has a chance to get going. There's not even a fairly decent chase through the house from the killer, as it just bursts into fire before there's anything done with it. That's probably the biggest part of this, as there's no real reason why this one had to be done in such a manner without including at least one chase for this. That would've also eliminate the really uncomfortable ending that plagues the film, which here is really terrible. There's the rather painful and confusing addition of the policemen into the story, plus there's the just plain confusing manner in which the film ends, with the costumed re-enactment of a play with each other, and it leads to perhaps one of the lamest and bloodless deaths in the history of the genre. It's just really flawed and doesn't make much sense. The other flaw to this is that there's too much of the old-time advertisements to this, and it's hard to enjoy this because of that. These here are the film's bad points.The Final Verdict: An incredibly enjoyable slasher that has a lot going for it and manages to mostly make up for it's few flaws. Recommended for fans of the style of 80s slashers or find this one relatively interesting, though those who aren't big on slashers should heed caution with this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity and a sex scene