'80s Trash?: One Dark Night (1983)

A Film about a Dark Night and it features Batman.  This is One Dark Night, a 1983 Film which is not talked about much.  What's not to talk about though?  An undead killer.  Psychic phenomenon.  Teens being stupid in a Horror Film.  Adam West!  Yes, the late Mr. West is here in a small role, supposedly due to a Casting Director hearing about his hard times.  Hey, the check still cleared!  The Film went through some trouble with post-production, delaying a Film that was shot in 1981 to being released in 1983!  The Director and Writer had apparently zero input, so changes were made without their consent.  After Baba Yaga, who's surprised that this still happens?  I'll get into what changes were made in the wrap-up.  The Plot involves a dead Mystic, a complex teenage prank and a person trying to make themselves into the Heroine, despite barely being in the Film!  It starts out weird and then takes FOREVER to get to the good stuff.  Is it worth the wait?  To find out, read on...

A woman has bad dreams about a strange man and a girl.  What does this mean?

I will tell you that this was actually the LAST thing they shot, since the Producers didn't like the original opening.

The Police arrive some time later to find a dead Mystic/Spiritualist in his Apartment...alongside 6 dead girls.  Also the wall is covered in what seem to be objects thrown at it with great force.

Some other time later, the man is interned in a Mausoleum and is grieved by his Daughter.  Also Adam West is here (but he doesn't do much).

That day, they meet a man who worked with the Father.  He tells her that Dad had great powers, but was also a 'psychic vampire.'

West scoffs at the idea (and how tiny his part is!), but she agrees and takes a tape from the man.

In a seemingly-unconnected bit, a trio of High Schoolers called 'Sisters' (no Margot Kidder!) are 'initiating' a new member.  She's dating the ex of the Leader, so this is more about punishment!

They give one more task to her- spend the night in the Mausoleum!

While she's there, the Daughter listens to the tape, which spells out in VERY exact detail what we need to know.

This was expanded for the official release by the Producers and is a tad drawn out.

One other note: this Film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Low-Budget Horror Film.  It lost to The Evil Dead, which features a similar scene!

Two of the 3 'Sisters' sneak into the Mausoleum to scare her.  They make noises and eventually just rip off The Red Queen Kills Seven Times.

The Mystic rises from you grave and starts to move the bodies around to terrify the girls in his new home.

This apparently kills the two 'Sisters' when he smothers them, though only in the Producers' Cut here.

The Daughter proves more relevant than our Leads (one in constant peril and one angry, but useless) as she uses...sigh...a compact to redirect his bio-energy to kill him.

In the real Cut, our Heroine is possessed (which is clearly set up), but 'Screw that noise,' said the Producers.  The End.

A strange little Film with one big problem- pacing.  My best guess is that they could only squeeze about thirty minutes of really-interesting stuff in there, but still had to reach a certain length.  Hey, it happens!  Some of this can be attributed to which VERSION you watch too, as I already mentioned the Edits/extensions done by the Producers.  I've only seen the Theatrical Version, so I can't say just how much it truly helps though.  If and when I do see it, I'll let you know.  In the meantime, I have to talk about this one.  The Story is just the right amount of silly that you can take seriously.  They just exposition dump that the guy is 'a psychic vampire' and somehow cheated death to gain more power.  They seem to believe it, so you must too!  None of this makes a whole lot of sense if you even stop to think about it for a minute.  The Acting is pretty good, even if it is not consistent across the board.  Some Actors play it perfectly fine as straight- like West and Meg Tilly.  Others play it a bit broadly and are far less effective.  The random Plot elements kind of work together, but really don't hold up much when they are apart.  She's joining the Group that doesn't want her just to prove that she won't quit?  The guy wanted to die to gain more power?  With as little real Plot as they had, they still had to introduce Characters just to set things up.  The guy who tells them about the Dad is a great example, as is a random girl who tells the Boyfriend who to look for.  If you can deal with the slow pace and uneven Story, the final Product is kind of fun.  It's also one of the few Films where you will see someone serve as both the Screenwriter AND Stunt Driver...

Next time, I stay in the 1980s.  Will I unearth a rare gem...or just your dead cat from the backyard?  Stay tuned...