Dark Night - Sie greifen nach den Lebenden

Like others who have commented on this movie, I saw One Dark Night at the movie theater when I was a youngster. For a reason I can't seem to put my finger on, this film captured me and has stayed with me through the years. From time to time I love to "go back in time" and view this film over and over again. Right of the bat, I will say that some people may not care for this movie due to it's old school feel and cinematography; but for me it's a movie that I've always cherished and will always hold a special place in my heart.

This movie has a certain bizarre and eerie feel to it that will give you the creeps, and as a matter of fact One Dark Nights oddity and unorthodox flavor is one of the reasons I'm so taken in by it. I'm certainly old school, and I feel like current horror movies have lost the feel and authenticity that some older films seem to have. One Dark Night certainly brings that "certain" flavor.

One Dark Night is the type of movie that would be perfect to watch on a rainy late evening or on Halloween night. I guess you could say it's a cinematic example of what Halloween is all about. It's has lots of spooky elements you look for in horror films: The atmospheric dark Mausoleum, Telekinesis, Gothic funeral procession, sad and thought provoking letters left by children of the dead, spooky graveyard and coroner scenes, a very odd and eerie scene of crime where 6 dead girls are found with a chilling open eyed gaze. It's just good old school horror, they just don't make them like this any more. I also have to give kudos to the background music or the score that's used throughout the film, it's helps the viewers experience. Much more so than I think people realize, the score is a compelling and powerful component that richly adds to the movies effectiveness and brings forth mood which is essential to any good horror film.

The casting in this film also came off(sort of in a unexpected way) very well. Adam West, who played Batman in the original series in the 60's adds to this films folklore. Meg Tilly plays her part very well and has a "look" about herself that seems tailored for a horror movie. The 3 prankish teen girls who were in the High School Sorority clique called "The Sisters "were perfectly casted; including one Sister who always gnawed and chewed on a toothbrush, even up to the point of her demise.....gimmicky indeed. It's finer elements like these that seem to endure me to the film.

Scenes at the end where Raymar tortures members of "The Sisters" in the Mausoleum with corpses could be viewed as silly but still some how manages to come over as okay and tolerable. The movie One Dark Night is currently out of print and could be considered rare. Although some may not agree, I consider the film to be a classic example of the genre. If you are a horror buff like myself, I would recommend this movie, you just may find it to be a keeper, and like it for its odd,creepy terror.

Unlike the other movie with the occasional alternate title "Mauseoleum"; this one has a few great things going for it IMO. The effects were much better... the amateurish dialog writen to justify teenagers hanging out in the place was kept to a bare minimum (Thankfully) and the atmosphere was dark and very cool. I even like the concept and fee of the film. It is fairly original as far as you can say any horror movie is. Some other readers seemed confused about the "zombies" not moving their feet. They were not zombies at all!!!... The audio tape that 'Ramar's' daughter listens to explains that he used to like to 'move' a dead animal to scare the other still living animals in their cage to freak them out. His draining people of their life force psychically and using the corpses to scare the girls in the mauseoleum was a pretty cool story line and idea. I'm not suggesting this deserves any awards but the major flaws inherent in almost all horror movies did not render their ugly heads enough to detract me from enjoying this when I saw it years ago.. and a few days ago. It holds up pretty well for a 20 year old flick with a tiny budget and 'Batman's' pseudo dramatic line delivery. Don't expect an academy award winner... but watch it if you can locate it and see if you can get past it's flaws... I think you'll find a diamond in the rough.

As part of an initiation prank Julie (Meg Tilly of Psycho 2) has to spend the night in a mausoleum, but Karl Rhamarevich, a master of telekinesis has recently died and been put in there. When Julie's fellow sorority sisters desecrate where he's housed the real terror starts.

This little flick had a good deal of atmosphere and I enjoyed the build up, plus the last twenty minutes are just plain great. Anyone who's looking for a lost gem of an '80's horror movie needn't look any further. Highly under-appreciated. Plus Elizabeth Daily is adorable.

My Grade: B

Media Blaster DVD Extras: Disc 1) Commentary with director Tom McLoughlin and co-writer Michael Hawes; and trailers for "the Being", "Frankestien's Bloody Terror", "Just Before Dawn", & "Devil Dog" Disc 2) Alternate director's cut (that's almost unwatchable due to a bad print) & Behind-the-scenes featurette

Since Jason and his ilk took over horror films circa 1980 most every horror film has involved a group of hormonally charged teenagers being chopped to bits with the focus on the chopping and not the suspense.

This little film is different. Made in the early 80's it does what every good horror film should do - bring your worst fears to life while you sit around just knowing that these horrors are just around the corner. Then, you make those horrors simmer, just don't turn it into a lesson on the biology of butchering.

The story features Meg Tilly right before she had a short-lived turn with fame starting with "The Big Chill" and then slipped back into obscurity in the early 90's. Meg plays an outcast teenager who is just dying to get into the good graces of some classic mean girls. They tell her she can be part of their little group if she spends the night in a crypt. The mean girls intend to scare her and cause her to leave the crypt thus giving them a double reward - further tormenting the outcast girl and having an excuse to reject her.

Meanwhile famed occultist Karl Rhamarevich has died a bizarre death shortly after having claimed to have discovered a way to return from the grave and upon his return command great magical powers. His daughter doesn't believe this at first, but she listens to a tape about her father's experiments which included his successful animation of small dead animals and of his plans to emerge from the grave with the power to animate bigger game and draw further power from these animations. She also learns that she may have inherited her father's power and may be the only person who can stop him should he actually rise from the dead. I think you know where this story is headed, so I'll stop here. Did I mention the magician was entombed in the same crypt in which Meg Tilly's character is spending the night?

I will mention that the commercial DVD containing this film does look somewhat degraded compared to what you would expect from a film that was made so recently. I saw it on TV in the mid 1980's and I remember it looking better than this. The problem is that the original negative of the film was never located so the DVD had to be created from a print. This means it comes complete with dirt and scratches.

This is worth checking out for any horror fan. It was an independently made film and an example of the kind of unusual stuff that you could commonly find on late night TV until the infomercial turned that time slot into a vast wasteland circa 1986. Only TCM Underground airs this kind of film anymore.

The first sixty-or-so minutes of this undeservedly obscure horror film, when we're introduced to a fairly typical group of prankish teens, is unremarkable. However, the film offers a memorably horrifying climax that's well worth hanging on for: As the kids are setting up an elaborate practical joke in a mausoleum, a supernatural force causes numerous corpses, in varying stages of decay, to leave their coffins and pursue the now-terrified pranksters through the dark corridors. The film contains no gore (which is unusual for a horror movie of this period), but if your tastes run to ambulatory corpses it really delivers the goods. By the way, the film's shooting title was "Rest In Peace".