Sunny Side Up Holiday Fear: To All A Good Night (1980)

To All a Good Night (1980)
Rating: **1/2
Starring: Jennifer Runyon, Forrest Swanson and Linda Gentile

Dear David Hess, who passed away October 8, 2011 at the age of 75, will most likely ring a bell among horror fanatics as Krug, the notorious ringleader thug and rapist in Wes Craven's and Sean Cuningham's debut film, Last House on the Left (1972). What some may not know is that he once tried a hand on directing a fright flick, a slasher by the title of To All A Good Night (1980) which, as much as I wanna pay good respect to the man, isn't without it's own sets of shortcomings.

The story's far from anything original. More like watching a holiday-themed re-envisioning of Friday the 13th (1980), as a gaggle of naughty girls opted to stay in campus during a Christmas break to party. The same campus wherein two years ago, a prank involving a killer Santa led to the accidental death of a frightened sorority girl. You can tell this is going to be the "must avenge dead kid from prank and/or initiation gone wrong" motivation of our killer's murder spree, as someone dressed up as Kris Kringle would soon start stalking the campus, snuffing out college girls, the dates they flown in via plane (!) and ill-fated doomsayers.

The holiday theme in this one isn't felt well as the overall aesthetic of the film looks too warm to be anywhere Christmassy. But as a sunny-set sorority girls-in-peril type? To All A Good Night (1980) is a charming little number of bad ham down to the bit of dialogue and acting that are clearly tainted with cheesy fromage through and through. A charm that may or may not work with every slasher fanatics, really depending on how much one can tolerate unlikable sets of girls and guys this side of all murderous and weird have ever seen. (Just constant noise from these yaps) I believe the notion here is, possibly, "Oh, splatter fans want kills! Let's make the cast so unbearable that they want them dead! That way, they wouldn't feel so sorry for them!" 

And, true enough, the killings here really help make the movie all the more tolerable with its wide array of murders, apparently showing ole' Sick Nick here has gone a little creative with his deadly presents for these campus clusters, ranging from a crossbow shootings to a battle axe hacking, complete with a full suit of armor! It all would have worked a little better, though, if we can see clearly what they were doing to these kids in the dark. But, to be fair, we do see it. Just a tad grainy, is all. (Or, well, it could just be my copy...)

Cheese enthusiasts would likely find some guilty pleasure from this, and perhaps hardcore slasher collectors, as well as die hard fans of David Hess, too. For the rest of us, though, To All A Good Night (1980) could have been so much better than what it is; a gamble of a movie that you'll either hate or love. If you're after some decent Christmas slashers, you can certainly try this, but I really suggest looking elsewhere. Perhaps a deranged killer snowman named Jack Frost might interest your cheesy needs?

Bodycount:
1 female falls off a balcony
1 male stabbed offscreen with a switchblade
1 female gets a switchblade to the chest
1 female had a throat cut with a kitchen knife
1 male had his head crushed with a rock
1 male shot on the head with a crossbow
1 female beheaded with a battle axe
1 male found with a gaping hole on his forehead
1 male had his head split open with an axe
1 male knifed on the back
1 male hung and garroted with a thin wire noose
1 male and 1 female shredded to bits by airplane propeller
1 female pushed to her death off a balcony
1 male shot on the back with a crossbow
Total: 15