Happy Hell Night

Happy Hell Night

13/4/1992 1h 27m 4.8/10

Overview

25 years ago at Winfield College, psycho-priest Zachary Malius murdered seven frat boys and was put away in the local asylum. Now, however, the same fraternity stages a prank from which Malius is inadvertently set free and returns to the house to repeat his crime...

Director

Brian Owens

Top Billed Cast

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell

Young Henry Collins

Darren McGavin

Darren McGavin

Henry Collins

Frank John Hughes

Frank John Hughes

Sonny

Charles Cragin

Charles Cragin

Malius

Nick Gregory

Nick Gregory

Eric

Laura Carney

Liz

Reviews

Wuchak

6/21/2022

3/10

**_Decent cast, good locations and fine f/x, but lousy storytelling_** Students of an upstate New York college celebrate their annual Hell Night with a few of them inadvertently unleashing a diabolical inmate of a nearby asylum, who happens to have a history with the school. Darren McGavin plays the father of two siblings who attend the college (Franke John Hughes & Nick Gregory) with Sam Rockwell playing the younger version of the dad in flashbacks. "Happy Hell Night" (1992) has everything for a quality slasher, but fumbles the ball with grossly amateur directing and editing. There are bits of certain key scenes that are so clumsily executed the director or editor should’ve been fired. It doesn’t help that the supernatural element is awkwardly worked into the script with the corresponding gobbledygook. On a positive note, the antagonist is effective enough and the female cast is quite good, highlighted by Laura Carney (Liz), Tatjana Pujin (Kimberly), Gala Videnovic (Marjorie), Jorja Fox (Kappa Sig Girl) and Kate Delay (Susan). Speaking as a fan of the genre, it’s strange how this flick failed so badly despite its resources and the fact that it had a dozen years of slashers to use as a blueprint. The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot in Yugoslavia and Humber College, Toronto (I’m assuming the latter applies to exterior shots, but I’m not sure). GRADE: D+/C-

Similar Movies

Minority Report

7.4

Minority Report

2002

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

6.2

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

2006

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

6.4

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

2014

Lucky Number Slevin

7.5

Lucky Number Slevin

2006

The Frighteners

6.9

The Frighteners

1996

The Interpreter

6.3

The Interpreter

2005

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

5.4

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

1995

The Invisible Man

7.5

The Invisible Man

1933

The Perfect Gentleman

6.0

The Perfect Gentleman

2010

The Good German

5.8

The Good German

2006