Night Screams

A little too much padding and an uneven story keep Night Screams from joining any list of great horror films from the 80's, but there's still a lot to enjoy. The murder scenes are executed with a little bit of pizazz and the filmmakers at least attempt to give some of the characters a little development.

I think this is a really good slasher flick from the 80's that most people have never seen or heard of. There's a lot of 80's music, fashion, puns, etc. The plot is actually not that bad, and the acting is "mostly" very good considering this was filmed in Witchita, Kansas. Some of the killings are quite interesting in their method and approach. The ending was particularly well done in my opinion, it leaves the idea open for a sequel that never came. Not everyone will enjoy this movie, but if you like well executed slasher films from the 80's then you'll most likely be very pleased. On a side note the DVD which was put out by Image is above average, the picture is very clear and the sound is in Dolby 2.0 Surround. Sadly there are no special features besides scene selections and two trailers for other Image DVD releases.

Some of the people are fleshed out, others you could care less about when they die. The deaths are different and at least try to be clever. But there are too many potietnial killers and it seems to confuse the plot someone.

THe plot itself is not all that well put together but it tries and it not as bad as it good be.

NIGHT SCREAMS is underrated in the slasher genre. The premise works: Three escaped convicts head to a mansion where a teen party is taking place. These teens start to disappear one by one (ok they are brutally murdered). Later it's revealed that the escaped convicts had little responsability with the murders. Shocking!

The plot is a combination of the SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE and the 1982's classic ALONE IN THE DARK. NIGHT SCREAMS deserves a chance, watch it with low expectations and you'll have a good time!

3/10 -Terrible but tries to stand out of the garbage

"Welcome to Fright Night!...for real"

Another day, another long-forgotten 80's slasher that came to my attention because it looked like it had to offer some decent murder sequences, T&A and a handful of clumsy and not-so-convincing red herrings. And yes, "Night Screams" is a more or less enjoyable horror effort, but only just as long as your expectations are kept to a minimum. We follow the usual crowd of stereotypical and irritating high school teenagers as they throw a graduation party in the football jock's house. However, there are two escaped criminals hiding in the basement and the hunky football star David himself suffers from aggressive behavior when he doesn't take his carefully prescribed pills. Soon after the party-goers are killed off in fairly imaginative ways (one girl has an axe planted in her skull, another guy's face is literally barbecued) and director Allen Plone begs us to think the culprit is either David or one of the mad thugs in the cellar. The plot twists don't really work, but I admire Plone for trying and there's at least a little bit of style to find in his film. Although that does not include the tasteless footage of porn movies and another inferior 80's slasher ("Graduation Day") that continuously plays on TV-sets in the background. I guess none of the actual actresses wanted to take her top off, so they needed to steal the padding from other movies. "Night Screams" is a forgettable and truly run-of-the-mill 80's slasher, but we've definitely seen worse already and avid fans of the decade will certainly not regret watching it.