Screams of a Winter Night

I decided to watch this movie because I've heard a lot about it. I figured it must be a pretty good movie, even though I knew it would be a little cheesy (also, I always love getting my hands on rare stuff). I wasn't expecting anything close to a masterpiece, but at the same time I feel like it fell a little short of my expectations.

To start off, give this movie the award for scariest title of all time. If the title alone doesn't make you curious about this movie, then I don't know what planet you're on. The opening scene is also pretty great. The movie is basically about a small group of young adults who go up to an isolated cabin for some time while they take turns telling pretty lame scary stories to each other. At the same time, the very area that they're staying at has quite a frightening legend of its own.

There isn't anything scary in the slightest about the stories they tell. It's really quite boring actually. The bit that I found to be pretty chilling is the atmosphere when they're telling them. You can just tell that something isn't right, so kudos to the director for being able to create that vibe. Unfortunately, that's the only scary part of the entire movie. The rest of it is interesting (I guess), but fails to accomplish the task of scaring you.

The end is pretty bizarre, which makes me wonder if there's more than meets the eye with this movie. Is there some kind of point, or message that they're trying to get across here? Is this supposed to be some kind of representation of how people can turn stories or ideas into a bigger deal than they need to be (especially since that's kind of a recurring theme throughout the film), or is it really as pointless as it seems? I honestly don't know. Either way I'd give it 4/10 because its scary moments did legitimately spook me, but the majority of the movie falls a bit short in my view.

Also to be fair, it truly appears they had NO budget to work with on this film. I think they did okay with what they had.

Superb regional horror film about a group of friends who go on a weekend excursion to a lakeside cabin in the wilds of Louisiana. Once there, they start telling each others various "true" stories of the macabre. The place they're staying happens to have a morbid history of it's own, but is it really true? I had been wanting to see this film for many years, but with the tape being exceedingly rare, it took a good while before I got the opportunity. After finally checking it out, it rapidly became my new favorite anthology.

The first story, "Moss Point Man", is a combination of bigfoot tale and old urban legend. It's the weakest of the lot, but it's short. The second bit, "The Green Light", is the best as three fraternity pledges must spend the night in an old building where a mysterious green light has been seen emanating from the upper floors. This one has a unique ending and some creepy moments with the guys hearing sounds from the floors above them. The third and final tale, "Crazy Annie", involves a girl who goes crazy after an attempted date rape. The story is typical, but it's well-acted by the main girl.

That said, this is the only omnibus I've seen where the wrap-around segment is actually the strongest aspect of the picture. The area our characters are staying is said to be plagued by an Indian wind demon. The opening credits are very effective as one family's encounter with the malevolent entity plays out via sound only. Once our main group arrives, John, the one guy who know about the place's history, shows another guy the old house and graves of the family. This is another unsettling scene, one that gave me a "Blair Witch" vibe.

As the film plays out, the wind builds and builds, culminating in a terrific ending. There's also some intriguing subtext about the nature of scary stories and the basis behind them.

I was 14 in 1979, and my brother and I went to a twin theater in Bowie, Maryland. I don't remember what film we intended to see, a comedy I believe, but when I saw there was a horror movie playing in the other theater I decided to watch it while my brother saw the comedy. So there I was, sitting by myself in the near empty theater with about ten other people sporadically seated throughout. I figured a PG horror flick might be good for some cheap thrills, maybe a few laughs, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then the movie started, and from the scary opening which is comprised of sound effects over the credits through the second story, I was scared nearly to tears by this. It's hard to say exactly what it is, but this movie just has that special "something" that can't be planned, but must come through in the execution. I recently attained a copy of this and watched it again after all these years, and I still think it is quite effective. Reading the other reviews here, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a soft spot in their heart for this little unknown movie. To the filmmakers who just might read this, I say ignore the negative critics. That little movie you made way back in the 1970's still holds up well, and has a good creepy atmosphere that many of today's big-budgeted have not a clue of how to accomplish. Oh well, thanks for reading!

A cheap and unknown, but scary horror movie about some teens who travel to a cabin, deep in the forest. On their way to the cabin they get some warnings from a local drunk who scare them with ghosts and other horrible things which took place there some years ago (I wonder if the people behind "Friday the 13th" got some inspiration here). Inside the cabin and around the fire place the kids start to tell scary stories about a blood-thirsty female student and a legend of an Indian ghost. This stories is what the movie mostly is about, but in the end the teens find them selves right in the middle of a rather unfriendly storm which seems to come from nowhere.

Recommended for horrorfans which liked Friday the 13th.

With an incredibly bad first half filled with unlikable characters and boring stories, this movie does a complete turn around in its last half. Primarily an anthology film with numerous stories being told at your stereotypical cabin in the words by your stereotypical adults playing teens, complete with the nerd, the sexist jock, his lover and Mistress, the unlikable female friend, the cool guy and his girlfriend and a bunch of others ready to die screaming when the film deems it time. Sadly the stories don't live up to the wrap around one and it's insanely over the top finale. But its that last 10 minutes or so filled with pure bad movie insanity, including over the top acting and screaming, outlandish effects and crazy lore that will leave you so in shock you will feel you've seen a so bad its good masterpiece. Unfortunately it's not quite so, it's very very tedious in set up, it's bad print will have you questioning flashes on screen, it's actors choices will have you rolling your eyes, and it's side stories can feel like major slogs to get through. Still, it's something that needs to be witnessed, especially by those brave souls who truly love trash.