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Girls Nite Out
Directed by Robert Deubel
Released: 1984
Starring: Julia Montgomery, James Carroll, Suzanne Barnes, Rutanya Alda,
and Hal Holbrook
AKA: The Scaremaker
Running Time: 96 minutes
A killer in the school mascot's bear costume is stalking Dewitt University during the sorority's scavenger hunt. As the bodies of girls turn up mangled by the killer's makeshift set of claws (four knives lashed together with tape), the campus security guard and the local authorities try to make sense of the crimes. The number of suspects continues to grow and the police are no closer to catching a killer who is just getting started.
Well, this is a bizarre slasher even by slasher standards. The cinematography is varied, swinging between drab scenes of dialogue and inspired creepy moments. There is some creepy guttural sounding music in the beginning of the film, which unfortunately isn't used again until the credits roll. However, much of the soundtrack is populated by 50s and 60s rock and roll classics, which helps to make up for the generic string arrangements.
The convoluted plot is loaded with too many characters and red herrings to make much sense. The pacing and plotting deviate from the average stalk-and-slash flick in that there are several awkward moments where the film's momentum speeds up and slows down. For instance, the killer's rampage is bisected by more character development.
Girls Night Out even cheats the viewer out of a potentially exhilarating final chase scene involving the killer and the heroine (or heroines, it's hard to tell who is supposed to be the lead).
Many of the actors in Girls Nite Out have had bit parts in slasher and horror flicks ranging from
Friday The 13th Part 2 to The Burning to Amityville II: The
Possession. Veteran actor Hal Holbrook (The Fog) is given a part that is little more than a cameo but is a blessing since he seems completely disinterested in his role as security guard, Jim MacVey. Julia Montgomery
(The Kindred) plays Lynn, the character voted Most Likely To Have An Extended Chase Scene, is a fine actress with a plucky nature that unfortunately doesn't get enough screen time.
Viewers will either be charmed or annoyed by a strange phenomenon in the film. Several of the younger actors behave strangely or boisterously to cover up a lack of experience. This results in some off the wall moments and non-sequiturs. James Carroll
(He Knows You're Alone) is decent as Teddy, Lynn's unfaithful boyfriend, and manages to pull of some nice cornball humor with Mart McChesney who plays Pete "Maniac" Krizaniac.
Even fans of slasher flicks will have trouble with this Girls Nite Out. It takes a long time to get going and some of the actors will grate on any viewer's nerves. But this movie has some good things going for it. While not especially gory, there is an ample amount of blood spilled and there are some scary moments hidden under all the cheesiness. The final scene where the identity of the killer is revealed is worth your trouble.
Allow me to turn off my quasi-objective side and revel in Girls Nite Out just a little. I first caught this film in the middle of the night when I was 10 years old. This was the first
non-Friday The 13th slasher I saw and it blew me away completely. It's not surprising that I forgot every single shred of the plot concerning the drunk and oversexed college students but I remembered all of the stalking scenes perfectly.
Girls Nite Out is one of the handful of movies that haunted me for years (in a good way) and lent a hand in the gestation of Doomed Moviethon. I heartily recommend giving this one a shot with the lights out (just try not to doze off during the slow bits).
Supposedly, Girls Nite Out will be out on DVD soon. I'll keep you all posted.
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