To All a Good Night - David Hess - (1980) DVD

It's Christmas break at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls, and the students are planning a big party while the president of the school is away. A group of boys show up and the fun begins, until mysterious killer starts bumping off couples one by one. The police show up and promise to keep everyone safe, but they prove ineffectual against the crazed psycho. Could the killings have anything to do with the girl who was killed in an initiation stunt at the school a few years earlier?

A handful of college girls stay behind during Christmas break. They drug their house mother (!) and then sneak in a few boys to stay overnight (the boys arrive by airplane!). The gang splits up into couples and that of course leads to a few sex scenes. Before you can say `naughty', a killer dressed as Santa Claus shows up to kill 'em all as an act of revenge for a prank that went wrong two years before.

I really don't understand why this little holiday slasher film is always overlooked. Remember, it was made before Silent Night, Deadly Night and Christmas Evil. True, the plot is basically a rehash of Black Christmas and Prom Night, but there's ample amounts of sex, nudity and there are enough potential victims to fill three films. The deaths are frequent and interesting, as the killer Claus uses an axe, an arrow, a knife, a rock and a propeller to do his dirty deeds. The movie was directed by Last House baddie David Hess (who cameos) and, for the most part, the direction is bland but serviceable. Some night scenes are too dark but others create genuine suspense (the attic exploration was spooky). The stock characters are way too exaggerated (the virgin, the nerd, the slut.) but that's expected for a movie of this era. When all is said and done, To All a Good Night is nothing more than a typical, enjoyable slasher film. When you're sick of re-watching the same old tripe over and over, give this one a try.

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