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The set-up is somewhat like that of "Black Christmas", with an opening minute that will remind the slasher fan of "Prom Night". At a finishing school for girls, one poor lass plummets to her death (or rather, a dummy does) after being chased around by her peers. A year later, a small group of gals who've stuck around during the Christmas holidays will find themselves stalked by a murdering fiend in a Santa Claus costume. The cops show up on the scene, but much like most things in this movie, they're not very good at their jobs, so our killer isn't going to face very much of a challenge.

This demands a viewing on the basis of its curiosity value. It's scripted by The Incredible Melting Man (a.k.a. actor Alex Rebar), and is the feature directorial debut for Krug (a.k.a. actor / composer David Hess). Rebars' sorry excuse for a screenplay is bad enough to make one think that he and everybody else were just sort of winging it throughout the shoot. Hess delivers no tension or suspense. Then again, you DO get the impression that they're not taking themselves that seriously. You couldn't, not with dialogue and performances as bad as this. The one rather cool moment occurs when the maniac is actually wearing something other than a Santa Claus suit.

The lovely Jennifer Runyon ("Ghost Busters", "Up the Creek") made her film debut as Nancy, a standard issue Nice Girl. Forrest Swanson is nerdy Alex, who seems to take a while to really notice the girls. Kiva Lawrence is not that bad as the kindly housemother Mrs. Jensen. And that's porn star Harry Reems playing the hapless pilot. Gore effects are supplied by the young Mark Shostrom ("Evil Dead 2"), and some T & A is delivered by Judith Bridges as the slutty Leia (however, some may be disappointed by the latter).

This doesn't go on too long, and tends to alternate between being dull and being uproarious. Only die hard devotees of slashers and bad movies really should bother with it.

Five out of 10.

To All a Good Night (1980) is a movie I randomly came across on Shudder. The storyline follows an all girls school with a tragic past. When the President of the school leaves for a holiday trip the girls plan a party with boys and shenanigans. Wouldnt you know it that this is when the school is visited by a killer Santa Claus?

This movie is directed by David Hess in his directorial debut and stars Jennifer Runyon (Up the Creek), Kiva Lawrence (JAG), Sam Shamshak (Bulworth) and Harry Reems.

The storyline for this is fairly cliche and straightforward. There is an interesting character in this, Ralph, whose awkward and unpredictable and adds a level of suspense. He was well written and executed. The kill scenes are uneven with a couple good ones and some very bad to average ones. There is a cool airplane scene in this towards the end and the final villain reveal is okay.

Overall this movie is fairly average but is an okay slasher flick to watch during the holiday season. I'd score this a 5/10 and only recommend watching it with the appropriate expectations.

Sorority girls who haven't left for the holidays are targeted by a Santa suit wearing serial killer.

There's not much meat on the bones of To All A Goodnight. It's not much interested in standing out from the pack very much and seems more comfortable borrowing from other films like Black Christmas, but there's an offbeat low budget charm and bizarre choices that keep it from being a total waste of time and some of the death scenes have their inventive and gory moments.

To all a Good Night has long since been touted as one of the worst of the genre pieces from the benchmark year in slasher shenanigans. But to be honest, it's really not that bad. Mark Shostrum's gore effects are great, and Jennifer Runyon makes a cute and approachable surviving girl. This is, of course, the first SLASHER movie to include a killer santa, which would be repeated in Santa Claws, Silent Night Deadly Night, Christmas Season Massacre etc. etc. Just for the sake of originality (!), Don't Open Till Christmas opted for a masked killer that killed people in Santa suits instead!

The only problems with To all a Good Night is that it's poorly lighted, a little off the wall and perhaps too under-produced. But it's certainly not the worst of its kind and is just about worth hunting out.

Forget the cheerful seasons greetings, as here's another nasty little holiday slasher that's only made more interesting for the fact it was directed by genre actor David A. Hess. However his presence might have been better suited in front of the camera than just behind it. "To All A Good Night" is another addition to the Christmas --- Santa Clause slasher cycle and probably one of the least known, despite coming out around the same time as "You Better Watch Out" and even before the likes of "Silent Night, Deadly Night" and "Don't Open till Christmas". Still with that on mind, it's your typically rancid and atmospherically moody slasher that amusingly passes the time but in the end there's not too much to write about.

Sticking to a formula that seems to be popular; it opens in the past showing a prank going horribly wrong then moves to the present time which has a group of horny rich girls at Calvin Finishing School for Girls waiting to secretly smuggle in their boyfriends for some late-night parting, but after doing so they start disappearing as someone in a Saint Nick costume is going around making ends meat of them. Does the past have something to do with it… I can't see it any other way.

It had its moments (death by propeller was a neat touch), an unhinged, if wonky sounding electronic score and a cast (mostly no-names) that weren't too bad either. There's colourful bunch of characters (with expected red herrings; like Ralph the creepy looking gardener who can pop out from anywhere) and gladly they stood out from each other. The angelic Jennifer Runyon (in her debut performance --- although that's pretty for all the young cast) brings a grounded reality to her lead character. Her cute character was more sympathetic, thanks to her forlorn naïve innocence, but even so not worthless for that. Linda Gentile and Judith Bridges have titillating fun with their buxom parts. While Forrest Swanson and William Lauer are tolerable.

The location (a large sorority house) for such butchery is ominously remote, but David Hess' glum direction was kind of clunky with many murky set-pieces with a real uneven focus on the deaths or a real lack of build up to them. Some happen off-screen, while others come off jarringly quick. Some passages are lethargic, like the long stretches of fooling around, bickering and then the waiting game for the killer to strike (oh there's numerous leg shots of our psychotic Santa killer walking stairs). The story kind of starts of plain (with some flat writing) but when it begins to open up to where its actually going, it brings out some rather amusing (though not all that intentional) and odd developments. Plenty of contrived instances make there way in and there's one scene that paints it perfectly. After discovering a dead body one of the characters run to the phone to call the police, but *drum roll* the phone is dead. But just before picking it up… the killer perfectly times it by cutting the phone line just before it reaches his ear. But in the end it's the sudden revelation… well more so the outrageous second one that's a groaner.

A so-so seasonal low-budget slasher.

I read all the bad reviews before watching but I already know going in that it's from the 80's. A lot of the charm of an 80's movie is it's cheese factor, and this movie is no exception. The acting is not as bad as all these reviews say, I thought it was decent. The story is typically of that time period. A gathering of young adults to party and get naked and have sex to get hunted by a crazy Santa. It gets five stars for me, nothing great but watchable if in an 80's slasher mood.

Krug from LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (David A. Hess) made this slasher movie with a script from the star of THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN (Alex Rebar). The night scenes are so incompetently photographed that you can't tell what the hell is going on, which could cause some alarm if the daylight scenes were any good, but since everything is equally stupid, blame whoever, in front of or behind the camera, you want.

Jennifer Runyon is the sweet, milk-drinking blonde virgin Nancy, who is stuck at a boarding school with her obnoxious and lascivious female friends. When their boyfriends fly in for a sex-filled Holiday weekend, a nut dressed like Santa Claus prowls around and kills most of them off. People are killed with arrow, knife, axe, rock, airplane propeller and various other sharp things, most of the women get naked and a decapitated head hangs in the shower. One girl does a cop who comes over to help them. This forgettable horror film wraps up with a pathetic and desperate twist ending.

TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT is noteworthy mostly as one of at least three killer Santa Claus movies to predate SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. The other two (which are both much better) are the Joan Collins segment in the anthology TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1971) and the wonderfully bizarre Christmas EVIL (1980).

To All A Goodnight is a cheesy 80's schoolgirl slasher, in which a number of rich, overly promiscuous, youths (and a couple unlucky adults) are targeted by a killer in a Santa suit, at an all girls boarding school over Christmas holidays.

This all takes place after the accidental death of another young girl- who was in the process of being hazed- at the school.

So, you are kind of led to suspect that she somehow survived and has returned for vengeance, though, they do include other suspicious characters that might also be responsible.

There are a number of cheesy deaths in this. And, while, most of the killings are by rather traditional means, they do manage to keep things diverse enough to seem fresh.

But the gore is pretty lame.

In the end, all the hormone driven boys and girls end up dead...while the nerds and innocents manage to survive.

And it seems like they tried to set this up for a sequel too, though I don't think that ever came to fruition.

All in all, it's a pretty standard and all around average Christmas season slasher.

5 out of 10.

What happens when you mix Prom Night with Friday te 13th and set it at Christmas? You get this mess. Throw in a porn star and the cute girl from Ghostbusters, a silly subplot and have yourself a Merry Little Christmas. On a scale of 1 to 10 I gave it a four due to the fact that it had some entertaining moments. But for a better killer Santa flick, Silent Night,Deadly Night followed by Don't Open Till Christmas still are supreme.

David Hess is better known for playing the evil Krug in Wes Craven's Last House on the Left, but in the 80's he decided to take the plunge into the world of film directing and the results are a bit mixed. Granted, it's nice to see this film cleaned up and on Blu-Ray since my first exposure to this film was on a truly awful, muddy, and dark Media VHS, but even a great remaster can't hide the flaws.

The plot is pretty much the exact same as Black Christmas with a group of girls staying at their sorority house over the Christmas break and being killed one by one by some psycho. It adds an insanely quick opening prologue (so quick that one wonders if it was the last thing they shot on wrap day and had 15 minutes to do it) that shows the girls accidentally pushing another sorority girl off a ledge (while chanting "sorority! sorority!" Huh?) so we know this is going to pay off later and probably be the killer's main motivation.

Some of the death scenes are inspired and some are cursory at best and the ending is bizarre to say the least, but the pacing doesn't lag too much and it's a fairly quick investment of your time. There are certainly worse slashers out there (or even Christmas slashers out there).

To All A Good Night (1980) It takes creativity to make a low budget film that doesn't look low budget. If I am to believe the IMDb, this movie was made for 25K. It looked like it was made for a lot more. The producers were very creative in the production of this film, and it shows. Sadly, the writers weren't creative with this killer Santa movie, and it shows. An early performance by Jennifer Runyon. Also with Harry Reems.

Not a big review but this is a very early 80's slasher and I think this movie is pretty decent. I kind of figured out who the killer was around the middle of the movie. I think this movie deserves a higher ranking than 4.7... that's insane!

David Hess (Krug from Last House on the Left) tries his hand at directing in this mixed bag of a slasher film. After a hilariously quick and abrupt prologue, we're introduced to a group of sorority girls who are staying behind for Christmas break for a variety of reasons. A crazed Santa Claus-dressed killer has joined the festivities and he or she is out for blood. But why?

Most of the characters are interchangeable, the dialogue isn't great, and it's about as scary as a rerun of Columbo, but there's something charming about the whole thing. There are poorly executed day for night shots galore, some gore, and a few spirited performances to keep things afloat. Just try not to chuckle when a middle aged matron comes in and reveals she's probably dying of a disease and is never seen or heard from again. The ending is odd, too.

There are better Christmas slashers, but also far worse, so you might as well give it a shot if you like these kinds of movies.

Jennifer Runyon stars in her theatrical debut in this ineffective horror slasher. Set at Christmas time the uppity Calvin Finishing School for Girls has a handful of girls who are going to have a party while the president's away.

Really just a mess and the opening is just horrible. A girl falls to her death (you can obviously tell it is a dummy, which may bring bouts of laughter) before you even know what the hell is going on. In addition some of the murders just happen without much a build-up. Most of the characters in this movie really are conceited, so as the viewers you really don't much care what happens to them. Does involve a killer Santa Claus that knocks off the party-goers. Not the first though, as that was the great Tales from the Crypt (1972) which I highly recommend.

Nowhere near as good as Friday the 13th which was released the same year (from what I can tell this one was released first?), but they seem to have some majors things in common. If you have seen the original Friday you will see things coming a mile away.

Also starring adult film star Harry Reems who plays the pilot who brings the boys to the party.

Incredibly this was directed by David Hess (this being his only film he directed). Who was fantastic playing homicidal maniacs (like in the late Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left). Obviously Craven did not share with Hess on how to make an effective horror film.

During Christmas break at an all-girls finishing school up the coast from Malibu, several of the girls have some boys over for the evening, but the festivities take a horrific turn when corpses start mounting up.

"To All a Goodnight" (1980) only cost $70,000 when it was made in 1979, which would be about $280,000 today (factoring inflation). The hallowed "Halloween" from two years earlier had 4.5 times the budget. Nevertheless, it's a fairly proficient early slasher that rips-off "Black Christmas" from six years prior, mixed with some bits from "Friday the 13th," which actually came out 3 months later.

The slaying Santa element prefigures "Silent Night, Deadly Night" 4 years before that debuted and 10 months before "Christmas Evil." But "Tales From the Crypt" was the first movie to feature this angle 8 years earlier.

While the story is too dull in a "poor man's Black Christmas" way and the slayings are more amusing than horrifying, it has its points of interest, including a quality cast of women, highlighted by: Linda Gentile as Melody; Angela Bath as Trisha (unfortunately, she's removed a little too prematurely); Jennifer Runyon as Nancy, the winsome protagonist, aka "final girl"; and Lisa Labowskie as Cynthia, the blonde who doesn't last long. Even Judith Bridges as "plain Jane" Leia has a certain appeal in a girl-next-door way.

The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot in Santa Barbara, which is 95 miles up the coast, northwest of Los Angeles.

GRADE: C.

Tragedy strikes at the Calvin Finishing School For Girls, when a sorority prank goes awry, resulting in someone (aka: a well-clothed dummy) plummeting to their demise.

Two years later, during Christmas break, six girls and their house mother remain behind. Horror and death are doled out by a vengeful maniac.

Among the girls are the sickeningly-sweet Nancy (Jennifer Runyon) and the hormonally-charged, brain-deprived Melody (Linda Gentile). In addition to the girls, are their idiot boyfriends and Ralph, the odd groundskeeper. It should come as no shock that the killer is dressed as the not-so jolly old elf.

Directed by none other than David "Krug" Hess, TO ALL A GOODNIGHT is sort of a strange, awkward amalgamation of PROM NIGHT, BLACK CHRISTMAS, and SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. In spite of this, it's pretty standard, by-the-numbers slasher fare with lackadaisical pacing and a cast to match. Some characters seem nearly catatonic! Not surprisingly, goody-two-shoes Nancy must remain until the "double twist" denouement.

On the bright side, there is one good scene involving a suit of armor and a crossbow that almost makes up for the rest of this festive fiasco...

Years ago, a sorority girl fell to her death thanks to her dumb sorority sisters and, now, there's a killer dressed as Santa Claus attacking all the sorority girls staying there during the Christmas break.

Not a scare will be found under To All A Goodnight's tree and there's not a lot of suspense either. In fact, the whole thing feels slapdash and like it was put together over a weekend, but that doesn't mean there's not charm to be found even if it's of the "so bad, it's good" variety. A few gooey death scenes might make it wortwhile for the slasher completists among us.

OK People come on... TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT , may be marred by some poor lighting, but overall this is a serviceable and nasty lil' holiday treat. There are some fantastic kills in it, and hell anything directed by Mr. Hess, Written by The Incredible Melting man and starring 80's teen film regular Jenny Runyon, is well worth the price of admission. If anything, watch it for a Plane propeller killing. Worth a rental. Keep your eyes peeled for a DVD release. I mean, if Christmas Evil can get a fantastic repackaging, then surely something like this can get some decent treatment. 7 out of 10 definitely, for a myriad of great gruesome deaths.

Sorority girls who stay over the Christmas break are hunted by a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus.

Simple and to the point, To All A Goodnight probably won't become anyone's new favorite Christmas tradition and it can't hold a candle to similar Yuletide slashers like Black Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly Night, but it's enjoyable enough for what it is. None of the characters make much of an impression and there's little to no suspense in the stalking scenes, but some of the gore effects impress. It also has one of the most confounding endings you're likely to ever see.