For a fan of 80's slashers the premise of Hell Night seems like it can't miss. You've got Linda Blair in a serious horror effort, the spooky castle with a horrible past and four school kids who have to spend the night there. And of course there's a deformed murderer there who intends to insure those kids will not live through the night.<br /><br />This should have been a mini-classic. And apparently some people think very highly of it. Can't imagine why. Despite having a wonderful idea to work from the film doesn't manage a scare or anything resembling a creepy atmosphere or mood. When a film fails on those fronts a hardcore fan can take solace in inventive kills or gratuitous nudity. It scores a point for nudity but the kills are pretty lacklustre, when compared to some classics such as Friday the 13th, Halloween 2 and The Burning for example. Even watered down flicks like My Bloody Valentine and Friday's 2 and 3 come off way better.<br /><br />I can't find anything good to recommend here. The pacing is way off, the acting is ludicrous and the script pure toilet paper. The effective castle surroundings are not used in any imaginative ways and every effort to create a scary mood gets completely squashed. Blame the director? Well, I always do. Just think what a young John Carpenter or Tobe Hooper (when he did good things) could have managed with this flick.<br /><br />Not every 80's slasher has something going for it. Hell Night is living proof of that.