How did I miss the first Slasher Film of the '80s for so long?
This is To All a Goodnight.
While it's less famous than Friday the 13th, it did come out a few weeks first. Points for you!
Does being first make you the best or the worst though?
The Film was Directed by- get this- David Hess, a man most famous for Acting as a Villain/Creep in Films before and after this. Why did he only Direct this one Film though? Dunno- he's been dead for 9 years, so I can't exactly ask him.
The Film's Writer was Alex Rebar, who also Produced the Thanksgiving Slasher Home Sweet Home. It's a shame he didn't do a Halloween Film and get the Hat Trick. As a Bonus, Goodnight and Demented- his other 1980 Writing Credit- both feature legendary (?) Porn Actor Harry Reems. That can't be a coincidence, right?
The Plot involves a masked Santa Killer taking out Sorority Girls based on a previous plight. Will he/she/they get them all? To see where alot of the Tropes come from, read on...
The Film's Cold Open shows a girl we don't know being chased by some Sorority Girls and falling off of a small balcony- which is like 8-12 feet from the ground- and dying.
We abruptly see the same School 2 years later (that number is important) and a few Students are staying behind on Campus.
They- of course- invite some guys over and the group pairs off, leaving one girl out of the mix.
Young- check.
Innocent- check.
Virginal- check.
So... you know where this is going, don't you?
A masked Maniac dressed like Santa Claus stalks and kills a few of the Co-Eds and their dates.
Surprisingly, they don't take them all on one night and instead leave a body to be found in the Morning.
Now they are staying at the House for another night...which kind of makes the passage of time kind of pointless here, no?
It is still another Night Scene for the 2nd Round.
Who will live and who will die?
Well, you can probably guess those.
What you may not guess is that this Film seems to have inspired the Scream Films are as far as its Ending is concerned. There's 5 Films, so that's barely a SPOILER without clarification, right?
To find out, stream the Film now.
A decent Film, but it is nothing that impressive in the long run. Bear in mind that this Film came out *before* the flood of Slasher Films, so it should be judged as such.
These early Films- like Final Exam- have to be judged on their own merits, as opposed to the more advanced and complex Sequels that would come in the rest of the Decade.
That's not to say that the Film gets a free pass for some generally cliche Writing, odd Pacing and not a big delivery on the kills. The Film has a variety of them, but you really miss the touch of someone like Tom Savini on these. This is much more of an implied kill kind of Film, at least for the most part.
The Acting is honestly not bad, but it wasn't going to win any Oscars either. Everyone plays a pretty simple Role and plays it fine. There's no real nuance to them, other than when the pairings start to change in the Third Act.
The Ending is kind of predictable in many ways, but it does do the Bonus Twist thing, even if that too is pretty obvious. Credit for trying.
Goodnight is a decent, overlooked Slasher from the Genre's early days. Completists will need to see, while curious fans of the Genre will probably enjoy the stock nature of it all. Make a Drinking Game out of it, if you'd like.
Speaking of like, I'm torn on whether I like this- I think- Fan Edit Poster....
A bunch of Santa-based kills from an early Slasher Film. While you can probably guess every twist and turn, it is still kind of fun.
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