Hell Night
Encyclopedia
Hell Night is a 1981 American
independent
horror film
(with elements of Creature Features
). Tom DeSimone
directed the film, which was written by Randy Feldman and stars Linda Blair
. The film depicts a night of fraternity
hazing
("hell night") set in an old manor, during which a deformed maniac terrorizes and murders many of the college students. The film has a large cult following and is a fan favorite due to the creepy location footage, creative cinematography, likable characters and a haunting musical score. The Anchor Bay DVD release has an excellent commentary detailing the making of the film.
Future film director Chuck Russell
, who would helm the remake of The Blob
in 1988 and 2002's The Scorpion King
, served here as an executive producer.
After the pledges get set up in the house, Scott and May assist Peter in attempting to scare them with mechanical devices and sound effects until they are quickly murdered one by one. May violently got dragged into a pit and got decapitated. Scott has his neck broken on the roof by a large, bare-handed man. Peter discovers Scott's body hanging from a wire and runs to escape without telling the pledges, but is attacked by an unknown assailant. He escapes, but gets lost in a garden labyrinth (a la The Shining) and runs into yet another assailant who impales him with a scythe. The audience realizes that there are two killers.
Meanwhile, Marti, Jeff, Seth and Denise discover the sound devices and bogus effects throughout the house set to scare them. After Seth and Denise have a sensual moment together, Seth excuses himself to go to the restroom, and a large, deformed hand covers Denise's mouth. Seth returns to discover May's severed head in the bed and runs away hysterically freaked out. As Jeff confronts Seth, Seth quickly decides to escape and seek help as Jeff and Marti stay behind. Seth tries to climb the spiked iron gate, but stabs his arm on a spike and falls down. Jeff suggests that he take off his boots and try again. Seth agrees and manages to scale the gate. But he promises to return. Seth ran back to the frat house pounding on the door for help around but noone was there.
Jeff and Marti search the house and discover Scott's hanging body with a rope outside a window. Jeff decides to go outside to look for the others and discovers Peter's corpse. As he runs away in horror, the camera focuses on Peter's hand. the gate keys grasped tightly. Jeff informs Marti that the others have been killed so they decide that it must be Andrew, but are unsure. While they lie in wait in a bedroom armed with a pitchfork, a mysterious shape comes up from the floor under a large rug to attack them. Jeff impales it with the pitchfork and it falls into the hole in the floor. Angry at the death of his friends, Jeff decides to go after it. Marti follows. As they walk through an underground tunnel, they discover dead bodies posed at a table with rats crawling on them. They discover Denise's corpse among the bodies. Suddenly, they see a disfigured man heading towards them and began chasing them. Jeff fights him but is knocked down and injured. He and Marti escape through a hidden exit.
Seth decides to head to the police station. After being disgruntled with the police who think he is pulling another Alpha Sigma Rho prank, still out of his anger Seth steals a gun from an abandoned office and tries to find any remaining pledges at the frat house. Finding no one except some drunken revealers who blew off, he then suddenly carjacks a man without hurting him in the parking lot and manages to return to Garth Manor as a promise to his friends. Suddenly he was attacked by a man, and after a long scouffle, he shoots him to death. Obviously, Seth doesn't realize that there's another killer in the house when he calls out for Jeff & Marti. As they tell Seth the others are dead, an arm suddenly grabs him from out of the shadows and quickly drags him away. A gunshot is heard and only the shotgun appears sliding across the floor. As Marti decides to go for the gun the other killer leaps out to grab her. Marti escapes as he chases them upstairs but kills Jeff by throwing him out a window after he helps Marti out safely.
Marti makes her way through the garden labyrinth and discovers Peter's dead. As his body falls on top of her, she sees the keys and has to pry them from his hands. She makes her way to the gate, opens it and hot wires the car. Driving away, a hideous face appears from the roof. Marti screams as the glass shatters and a large hand tries to grasp her throat. As she tries to escape, Marti backs into the gate, bending it. As the car skids, Marti fights off the assailant and punches down on the accelerator as she speeds towards the gate, the killer looks in horror as the gate violently impales him. He spews blood, writhes in agony and dies. A stunned Marti shouts out and hits her head on the steering wheel sounding the horn as it fades out.
In the morning, the body is still on the car. Marti awakens slowly and manages to get out of the car. It is assumed she's the only survivor. She walks toward the camera in a daze as the final credits roll.
shortly after filming was completed.) The hedge maze was brought in as there was no actual garden maze on the mansion property. The inside of Garth Manor was filmed in a residential home in Pasadena, California. The frat party was filmed in an apartment lobby in Los Angeles, California. The many underground tunnels filmed in the movie were actually no more than two corridors in which the director had the actors running repeatedly through from different angles.
For the scene where Jeff is thrown down a flight of stairs and hurt his leg, there was not a lot of acting involved. In reality, actor Peter Barton had really hurt himself and most of his limping was due to being in real physical pain.
Interestingly, the two actors who portrayed the killers are not listed anywhere in the credits, and their real names remain a mystery. However, on the DVD commentary, it is noted that one of them passed away shortly after the release of the film.
for Worst Actress.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
(with elements of Creature Features
Creature Features
Creature Features was a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local U.S. television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s...
). Tom DeSimone
Tom DeSimone
Tom DeSimone is an American director, writer, producer and editor best known for such films and TV series as Hell Night, The Concrete Jungle, Reform School Girls, Freddy's Nightmares and Dark Justice.-External links:...
directed the film, which was written by Randy Feldman and stars Linda Blair
Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
. The film depicts a night of fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
("hell night") set in an old manor, during which a deformed maniac terrorizes and murders many of the college students. The film has a large cult following and is a fan favorite due to the creepy location footage, creative cinematography, likable characters and a haunting musical score. The Anchor Bay DVD release has an excellent commentary detailing the making of the film.
Future film director Chuck Russell
Chuck Russell
Charles "Chuck" Russell is an American motion picture director, producer and actor.-Filmography:*The Hearse *Hell Night *The Seduction...
, who would helm the remake of The Blob
The Blob (1988 film)
The Blob is a 1988 American monster horror film distributed by Tristar Pictures. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, which starred Steve McQueen. The film was written by Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont and directed by Russell. The shooting took place in Abbeville, Louisiana.-Plot:A...
in 1988 and 2002's The Scorpion King
The Scorpion King
The Scorpion King is a 2002 American action film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan...
, served here as an executive producer.
Plot
The film opens with a girl starts to scream hysterically looking upwards to the camera. During a massive college party, Peter Bennett, the president of the Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity, decides to make four pledges: Marti, Jeff, Seth, and Denise told to stay at the historic Garth Manor until dawn on hell night as part of their initiation. Peter and a group of others, along with his friends Scott and May, bring everyone together and tells them about the sordid history of the estate as they walk while he leads them. Twelve years prior, Raymond Garth strangled his wife Lillian to death and then proceeded to murder three of his children (Morris, Suzanne, and Margaret) due to their severe deformities. After the carnage, Raymond hanged himself. However, police never found the body of the youngest Garth child, Andrew. Legend has it, Andrew witnessed the murder of his entire family and may still be living within Garth Manor.After the pledges get set up in the house, Scott and May assist Peter in attempting to scare them with mechanical devices and sound effects until they are quickly murdered one by one. May violently got dragged into a pit and got decapitated. Scott has his neck broken on the roof by a large, bare-handed man. Peter discovers Scott's body hanging from a wire and runs to escape without telling the pledges, but is attacked by an unknown assailant. He escapes, but gets lost in a garden labyrinth (a la The Shining) and runs into yet another assailant who impales him with a scythe. The audience realizes that there are two killers.
Meanwhile, Marti, Jeff, Seth and Denise discover the sound devices and bogus effects throughout the house set to scare them. After Seth and Denise have a sensual moment together, Seth excuses himself to go to the restroom, and a large, deformed hand covers Denise's mouth. Seth returns to discover May's severed head in the bed and runs away hysterically freaked out. As Jeff confronts Seth, Seth quickly decides to escape and seek help as Jeff and Marti stay behind. Seth tries to climb the spiked iron gate, but stabs his arm on a spike and falls down. Jeff suggests that he take off his boots and try again. Seth agrees and manages to scale the gate. But he promises to return. Seth ran back to the frat house pounding on the door for help around but noone was there.
Jeff and Marti search the house and discover Scott's hanging body with a rope outside a window. Jeff decides to go outside to look for the others and discovers Peter's corpse. As he runs away in horror, the camera focuses on Peter's hand. the gate keys grasped tightly. Jeff informs Marti that the others have been killed so they decide that it must be Andrew, but are unsure. While they lie in wait in a bedroom armed with a pitchfork, a mysterious shape comes up from the floor under a large rug to attack them. Jeff impales it with the pitchfork and it falls into the hole in the floor. Angry at the death of his friends, Jeff decides to go after it. Marti follows. As they walk through an underground tunnel, they discover dead bodies posed at a table with rats crawling on them. They discover Denise's corpse among the bodies. Suddenly, they see a disfigured man heading towards them and began chasing them. Jeff fights him but is knocked down and injured. He and Marti escape through a hidden exit.
Seth decides to head to the police station. After being disgruntled with the police who think he is pulling another Alpha Sigma Rho prank, still out of his anger Seth steals a gun from an abandoned office and tries to find any remaining pledges at the frat house. Finding no one except some drunken revealers who blew off, he then suddenly carjacks a man without hurting him in the parking lot and manages to return to Garth Manor as a promise to his friends. Suddenly he was attacked by a man, and after a long scouffle, he shoots him to death. Obviously, Seth doesn't realize that there's another killer in the house when he calls out for Jeff & Marti. As they tell Seth the others are dead, an arm suddenly grabs him from out of the shadows and quickly drags him away. A gunshot is heard and only the shotgun appears sliding across the floor. As Marti decides to go for the gun the other killer leaps out to grab her. Marti escapes as he chases them upstairs but kills Jeff by throwing him out a window after he helps Marti out safely.
Marti makes her way through the garden labyrinth and discovers Peter's dead. As his body falls on top of her, she sees the keys and has to pry them from his hands. She makes her way to the gate, opens it and hot wires the car. Driving away, a hideous face appears from the roof. Marti screams as the glass shatters and a large hand tries to grasp her throat. As she tries to escape, Marti backs into the gate, bending it. As the car skids, Marti fights off the assailant and punches down on the accelerator as she speeds towards the gate, the killer looks in horror as the gate violently impales him. He spews blood, writhes in agony and dies. A stunned Marti shouts out and hits her head on the steering wheel sounding the horn as it fades out.
In the morning, the body is still on the car. Marti awakens slowly and manages to get out of the car. It is assumed she's the only survivor. She walks toward the camera in a daze as the final credits roll.
Cast
- Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
as Marti Gaines - Vincent Van PattenVincent Van PattenVincent Van Patten is an American actor and former tour professional tennis player.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York. He is the youngest son of actor Dick Van Patten and his wife, Pat, née Poole, a former June Taylor dancer. He is of Dutch and Italian descent...
as Seth - Kevin BrophyKevin BrophyKevin M. Brophy is an American film and TV actor, born November 1, 1953, Salt Lake City, Utah, best known for his portrayal of the title character in Lucan. He was able to appear together with his wife, Amy, in the 1994 film The Magic of the Golden Bear: Goldy III.-Partial filmography:*I'm Losing...
as Peter Bennett - Jenny Neumann as May West
- Suki Goodwin as Denise Dunsmore
- Jimmy Sturtevant as Scott
- Peter Barton as Jeff Reed
Production
Filming Hell Night took only 40 days. The majority of the movie was shot in three locations: The outside of Garth Manor was shot at a mansion in Redlands, California. (The Kimberly Crest mansion was converted from a private residence to a museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
shortly after filming was completed.) The hedge maze was brought in as there was no actual garden maze on the mansion property. The inside of Garth Manor was filmed in a residential home in Pasadena, California. The frat party was filmed in an apartment lobby in Los Angeles, California. The many underground tunnels filmed in the movie were actually no more than two corridors in which the director had the actors running repeatedly through from different angles.
For the scene where Jeff is thrown down a flight of stairs and hurt his leg, there was not a lot of acting involved. In reality, actor Peter Barton had really hurt himself and most of his limping was due to being in real physical pain.
Interestingly, the two actors who portrayed the killers are not listed anywhere in the credits, and their real names remain a mystery. However, on the DVD commentary, it is noted that one of them passed away shortly after the release of the film.
Reception
Linda Blair was nominated for a 1981 Golden Raspberry Award1981 Golden Raspberry Awards
The 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 29, 1982 at an Oscar night potluck party to recognize the worst the film industry had to offer in 1981. The recipients are denoted in bold:-Awards and nominations:-See also:*1981 in film...
for Worst Actress.