Night Killer

Directors Claudio Fragrasso and Bruno Mattei, the men responsible for such Italian trash classics as Troll 2 and Rats: Night of Terror, have done it again! And by that, I mean that Night Killer is another godawful piece of low-rent horror garbage so bad that it has to be seen to be believed.

In the film's pre-credits sequence, a killer in a demonic rubber mask (that looks nothing like Freddy Krueger, despite what it says on IMDb) and armed with a rubber glove with long talons, kills a dancer and her director, punching holes through their abdomens.

Following the credits, we meet mother Melanie Beck (Tara Buckman) who, moments after sending her daughter to stay with friends, slips down her sweater and fondles her bare breasts in the mirror. Unfortunately for Melanie, the masked killer who has been raping and killing local women, also has her in his sights; breaking into her home, he subjects her to an eight hour ordeal, which she narrowly survives when the killer is interrupted. The only problem is, Melanie's trauma has resulted in a complete loss of memory, meaning that she cannot identify her attacker.

Discharged from hospital, Melanie is subsequently pestered by a mysterious man while on her way to commit suicide at the beach. The stranger saves her life, but proceeds to keep her captive at a motel, submitting her to another terrifying experience. Is this man the same psycho who attacked her in her home? You'll have to wait till the end of the movie to find out, suffice to say that Fragrasso and Mattei have one hell of a silly revelation up their sleeves for the finalé.

Sadly, as nutty as it all is, Night Killer is also rather tedious, despite plenty of nudity and some hokey gore. The direction is ham-fisted (no surprises there), the dialogue is terrible (no surprises here either), the acting is awful (ditto), and the plot often perplexing (Why does the killer have an art studio full of really bad drawings? How does he manage to punch through someone's body? Why is the policeman's phone held together with Sellotape? What's with the Christmas gift for Clarissa?). I don't know how they do it, but Fragrasso and Mattei manage to botch things up at almost every turn, yet still avoid making their film 'so bad, it's good'. It's just plain bad.

... because as cinema with a coherent plot and convincing acting it fails completely. Let me also say that Chris Stuckmann's video review of this is what caused me to watch it ,and I can't unhear what he said, so I may repeat points that he made.

This thing had to initially be a porno film that the backers/makers decided would make more money as a horror film in the tradition of Cannon Films. There were scenes added by the backers to give the film more gore, although overall, in the gore department, it is nothing severe.

This film is about a homicidal maniac who dons a Freddy Krueger like mask and just one claw on one hand - in the tradition of Michael Jackson??? - and goes about killing random women by...punching a hole through them? Help me out here medical students, but wouldn't things like muscle and internal organs and a spinal cord make that rough going for a flimsy plastic claw? Plus the "Night Killer" is definitely a day killer. Not once did I see him strike at night. But then those kind of scenes cost money.

So the film opens on some kind of dance routine rehearsal for a show that is being overseen by a woman who initially has perfect diction but then in just one scene transitions to having some kind of speech impediment that makes her incomprehensible. So the Night Killer does some killing in and around the rehearsal involving characters we know nothing about and then the film just leaves that behind to never return there again.

The film then moves on to Melanie Beck, a mid 30s author (??? her frantic bra-less typing is never explained) who ends up being Night Killer's next victim. Except she lives. But the trauma causes her to forget everything about what happened including what the attacker looked like and the details of her own life including her name and the fact that she has a daughter. If you want to know what happens, then watch and find out.

This thing is just a treasure trove of bad inexplicable filmmaking, from the decision to score a man walking a child to school with 80s hardcore porn music, to scoring the suspense scenes with soft core porn music, to Melanie Beck deciding to get into a conversation and argument with an obscene phone caller, to the Night Killer, when he is shown from the back in street clothes, having the wrong build and hair color to be the person who turns out to be the actual culprit. Oh, and then there is Melanie's daughter who is the world's tallest pre-pubescent child who is constantly being referred to as "just a baby".

If you are looking for quality horror, don't watch this. But if you are just in the mood to say "What the...???" then you are in the right place.

The movie is awfully good. It doesn't have any good characters, the directing is horrendous, the cutting is mushy, the score is bad and the whole movie is great.

I laughed my ass off when I watched the movie. Don't expect any good movie. You just gonna have to watch Night Killer without your brain, brainlessly.

P.S. why is it called Non aprite quella porta 3? Did they think that they are gonna skip the previous two movies and make the third one. I just want to know that.

I think that's all the information you need. Must be seen to be believed.

Alright, the monumentally bad acting from everyone involved in this project is only the icing on the cake. The much-ballyhooed "added gore" is essentially one effect. This killer definitely has a favorite method. All the added footage by another director is poorly shot, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. Director "Clyde Anderson" (Claudio Fragasso) is big on the uncomfortably close close-ups in this, and the scenes go on forever! The soundtrack is off the rails. Wacky twist. If you're a fan of bad cinema, Night Killer is a goldmine.

Extras: Make sure to check out the interviews on the Severin edition, particularly the one with the director. He is a real freaking windbag, but also fairly insightful! He is incessantly name-dropping great directors when describing his own work, and actually refers to himself as an "underappreciated auteur." Make what you will of that. Interesting to learn that the movie husband and wife did not like each other. It really comes through in some scenes, where I'm assuming it's not supposed to.

I recently watched the Italian slasher 🇮🇹 Night Killer (1990) on Tubi. The story follows a woman with a tragic past, having survived an attack that caused amnesia. She moves to the countryside to find peace, but soon begins receiving phone calls from a man who wants to date her. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose in town. Could the calls and the killer be connected?

The film is co-directed by Claudio Fragasso (Troll 2) and Bruno Mattei (Zombie 3) and stars Peter Hooten (Orca), Tara Buckman (The Cannonball Run), and Richard Foster (Talking to Strangers).

Night Killer is a wild movie with over-the-top costumes and masks. The storyline and circumstances are somewhat cliched and straightforward, and the acting and dialogue are inconsistent and off at times. However, the kills are entertaining, and the gore is well-executed, with added scenes that were added-in after the original production specifically for extra shock value. There's also some classic Italian horror nudity, and a soundtrack that's as cheesy as some of the plot points. Despite its flaws, there's just enough here to keep horror fans engaged.

In conclusion, Night Killer is an uneven addition to the horror genre but worth a watch for enthusiasts. I'd score it 5.5-6/10 and recommend it with the right expectations.