Noite de Violência

My review was written in June 1989 after watching the movie on Academy video cassette.

"Skull: A Night of Terror" is an uninvolving hostage pic from Canada. Direct-to-video title originally was called "Don't Turn Out the Light".

Robert Bideman is a cop haunted by nightmares of the time he killed an innocent girl while she was being used as a human shield by thugs. Now he's living in the country with wife Nadia Capone and two cute kids, when the nightmare literally comes back to haunt him: cons use a woman as shield and this time he backs down, allowing them to escape.

They coincidentally take over his farmhouse, torment Capone and kill Bonnie Bec, Bideman's secret mistress who also is the wife of Bideman's partner, Paul Saunders. Final siege, sort of "Straw Dogs" in reverse, is not very exciting.

Title heavy Robbie Rox is not as menacing as one would expect, and his scenes with Capone's little daughter are almost fatherly rather than exploitation-oriented. Both monikers for the film are misnomers, as very little action takes place at night.

After reviewing a copy of the directers cut, I can safely say that "Puma man" and "Hobgoblins" are far better movies. With it's pointless start with "Skull" in his prison cell, and his yelling when the lights go out, not exactly cluing you in on anything useful. Following that is Jennifer King (played by Nadia Capone)taking a few liberties with her sleeping husband David, (Robert Bidaman). If this was a Sci-Fi flick, it would have not been shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It's not good enough.