User reviews

A promising concept, is let down by its stringy narrative and so-so execution. I've never even heard of "Happy Hell Night" before and this early nineties, offbeat campus low-budget slasher is something that wouldn't have felt out of placed in the 80s. Tacky, gory and sleazy, but something just seemed to be missing or should I say something felt out of place. I couldn't shake the feeling that it could have been much better.

In 1963 seven members of the Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity were found brutally mutilated inside Winfield Mausoleum. The accuser priest Zachary Malius was put away in the local State Asylum. Twenty five years later, a hazing prank goes wrong when some guys accidentally release Zachary from his cell and heads back to Winfield College to continue the butchery.

The killer is suitably creepy and genuinely unnerving in appearance, but when he opened his mouth to spout out an amusing quip (ala Freddy Krugger style). It simply killed the mood. "No…" this, "no…" that. Done in a scratchy tone. No, please stop talking. Sadly this is too distracting (including its loopy tone), as it does bestow a nasty, atmospheric ambiance with some striking imagery… especially with the sequences of the killer lurking in the shadows and of course when he's stuck in his cell. Even then odd surreal images crop up too, involving a Jesus statue in a church and the setting has a Gothic touch. The darkly twisted, but untapped story takes awhile before hitting its strides, with the usual campus lounging and dramas. But when it kicks off the slaughter, buckets of blood flows (very cheap jolts), sex and nudity escalates (sometimes kinky) and stupidity is ensured. Some passages during the stalk and slash stages, just seem to jump around in a rather jaded manner. Not making much sense with little in the way of cohesion. The music does create some chills with its foreboding cues.

The cast attached features some names; Darren McGavin, Sam Rockwell, Jorja Fox (from the TV show "C.S.I") and Ted Clark. But these folks have nothing more than minor roles. The rest of the performances are extra-ordinary… some rather bad in their amateurishly buoyant deliveries. Crude dialogues come out of their mouths with a real joke-like emphasis.

Nothing special, but kind of fun over-the-top, b-grade shocker.

First off, let me say.....thank you to Anchor Bay, you guys are releasing the movies we can no longer find on VHS, so for that, my thanks. Now, Happy Hell

Night is very typical for the cheese we know and love from the eighties. It concerns a series of murders that happened in a fraternity by a satanic killer, Zachary Malius, played by the ever creepy Charles Cragin. The story then pushes twenty-five years later in the same fraternity house, and the pledges have to, as a hazing, go to the asylum where Malius was confined to, and take a few pics of the killer. As these movies go, Malius escapes and the killings begin. Nothing new as far as the murders go, but an interesting pick-axe to the skull on a very young pre CSI Jorga Fox. From there, it takes a retired detective (Darren McGavin), a priest and two brothers and the girl they fight over to put Malius back in his confines. The acting is typical for the time and very dated, but enjoyable nonetheless. If you can find it, rent it, buy it, whatever, but this movie is highly recommended to those who love the B movies of the eighties and early nineties. A good movie for Friday nights with popcorn and pizza.

1991/R-18/84m Darren McGavin, Nick Gregory, Franke Hughes, Laura Carney, Charles Cragin.

Another frat-house slasher film with more willing pledges accidentally releasing a maniac from his asylum habitat some 25 years after he butchered seven people at the local Church in a pact with the devil or something like that...

Ergo, he returns to the frat house and hacks and slashes his way through airhead co-eds and dumb jocks until two brothers (actual brothers, not just frat brothers) and the girl they're both screwing do their best to stop him.

Not as bad as it could be considering how little known it is; Darren McGavin is hardly in it and most of the murder victims are without any indentity - just kids having sex and dying. The killer offers the best distraction, delivering kitsch one-liners with every murder and talking like E.T.! Switch your mind off, sit back and enjoy - if you can...

When a couple of frat boys break into an insane asylum as part of a Hell Night prank, they release an evil being who has been trapped there for the past 25 years. The demon then proceeds to kill everyone who crosses his path, using a wickedly pointed mountaineering pick as his weapon of choice.

Happy Hell Night is a low budget piece of trash that is, for the most part, pretty awful; the acting is uniformly lousy and the direction uninspired, but, fortunately, the film does deliver a fair amount of (mostly unconvincing) gore and a touch of nudity from a couple of babes, making it just about bearable.

Charles Cragin, as the killer, is fairly creepy to look at—pale and bald with completely black eyes—but his aura of menace is diluted whenever he is given lines to speak. After each kill, the character makes a lame quip with a voice which sounds like he's been gulping back helium—Freddy Krueger he ain't!

Finally, after almost everyone at a frat house party are slaughtered, two brothers (and the slapper they have both been humping) attempt to send the demon back to hell.

Happy Hell Night is silly, instantly forgettable, and only really worth a watch if bad horror movies are your passion.

"Happy Hell Night" came out at a time when the slasher craze had well and truly died, as the same ideas were being recycled over and over again, and this one is no different, here we have a killer priest who escapes from a mental hospital after 25 years for murdering a group of college students and surprise surprise, he sets out to do it again to a new group of college kids.

Happy Hell Night is an OK effort and I actually liked it more than I thought I would, once the first half hour is over and the killer priest starts killing, it actually starts livening up and there are some touches in the gore department, but I could have done without the stupid cheesy one liners from the killer, as it would have made him a whole lot creepier, and the supernatural element was done rather well and it does set it apart from the other slasher fodder that came out during this point.

All in all "Happy Hell Night" is an okay movie once it gets going although it does take quite a while and the cast weren't very interesting but they do get killed which is a bonus, and this movie may just be another run of the mill early 90's slasher, but it's still OK.

i was really entertained by this movie it got scares and some one-liner jokes by the killer which cracked my jaw from laughing,but then again,the movie got a nice horror story which is (in summary:2 guys trying to take a picture of a prisoner(who happened to be a devil-worshipper wearing a priest costume) in an old asylum,and guess what happened later ,of course, all hell breaking loose :)end summary

the cast did well here,the gore and blood were not enough though for my taste (im bald too )however ,genre fans will really enjoy this movie

There were some good qualities here. The look of the villain is creepy as hell. Some of the special effects were quite good. The images are memorable and stay with you in a good way!

That said, this film has a lot of problems. The flashbacks should not be scarier and more interesting than the main story. There are no clear rules about what the villain can and cannot do which leads to confusion and silliness. But the most egregious problem is the villain's constant one-liners. Honestly, if they cut all the one-liners out of this film, it would probably gain 2 or 3 stars from me. As is, I can't recommend this.

Happy Hell Night (1992) is a strangely obscure horror film. A deranged

hunchback with ashen skin and large black eyes escapes from his prison

cell to torment a group of promiscous co-eds that are full of sin and

vice. The movie for the most part is old hat but the ancient, moldy

killer is real creepy. He reminded me of a mini Freddy clone, he even

spouts advice after maiming his victims. An old cop (with the help of

his son) tries to put the half pint killing machine back into his cell

before he kills again.

Recommended,if you can find it.

B

P.S. This movie was shot in eastern Europe (but takes place in the USA).

Released in 1992 but looking like it's the early 80s. This retro, superweird genre flick is hella campy. 25 years after a horrific massacre, the demonic priest who was responsible is accidentally released. And he's flowing over with tacky one liners. Despite its low budget and barrage of horror cliches, its actually quite entertaining in a super trashy way of course.

3/5

Like probably many others, I picked up the DVD of this due to top-billed Darren McGavin, who must've picked up a nice paycheck for a couple days work; he appears in the pic for a total of about 10 minutes in 3 or 4 scenes. The killer, in this case, is a demon-possessed priest or something. Like with much of the story, such plot points are clumsy and confused. There are many instances, such as at the supposed asylum, where the killer is sort of locked up, that the viewer needs to just let it go without asking too many questions. Is everyone who manages the asylum in on the fact that this is a demon? The door to the demon's room is barred by a cross - is this standard procedure for an asylum? None of this stuff is thought out.

The pic is obviously very low budget and it shows in the clumsy direction, editing & actors who are either in their first roles or just amateurs. You do see Sam Rockwell ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") in a small early role, playing a younger version of the McGavin character. The strong points to the pic is a sometimes wicked sense of humor to the horror and killings, and the visual appearance of the killer, who is truly creepy to behold. His voice is also well done, as if beyond the grave.

"Happy Hell Night" is a typical slasher film filled with gore and gratuitous nudity.There are several creepy,suspenseful moments,and the killer Zachary Malius(Charles Cragin)looks really scary.The characters are one-dimensional,the acting is terrible and there are some huge lapses in logic.Still the film is enjoyable to watch and offers some gory deaths including throat slashing,numerous stabbings etc.Overall it's a pretty good slasher,so if you like horror movies give this one a look.Recommended!

This movie gets overlooked for some reason or another by horror movie fans for some reason, it was I think overshadowed by other slashers at the time...very unique in its own way give it a watch if you have not.

A late entry into the mid-80's/early 90's slasher explosion, "Happy Hell Night" remains obsolete for good reason: it's not very good.

With an unusually high IMDb rating for a film like this, I was expecting much more. The film basically centers around a college campus celebrating Hell Night. In the meantime, a crazed, escaped murderous priest escapes from a mental hospital and goes on a murderous rampage. Throw in some supernatural elements, and you have quite a mess of a film.

I give the film credit for having a damn creepy-looking killer: picture a bald albino with black eyes--not a pretty image. However, the filmmakers ruin the potential creepiness of the character by making him speak cheesy lines before killing a victim. As a result, the killer becomes a comical gimmick, rather than the potential frightening horror villain that he could have been. The pacing of the film is quite slow, as well, and there are long periods of time when nothing of any importance seems to happen. The acting verges on being atrocious from all involved, particular the female and male leads. To top it off, the climax is laughingly ridiculous as the survivors try to lure the killer into a circle to kill him.

Overall, this film is a bore and I would only recommend seeing it if you are a DIE HARD slasher fan. Even then, this film offers nothing new or exciting. My suggestions-rewatch an 80's slasher classic like "The Burning," "My Bloody Valentine," or "Stage Fright." 3 out of 10

This one had a decent premise going for it but it's plagued with a marginal directorial effort, stale performances, and no suspense whatsoever. The characters are uninspiring and when the movie is over, your eyes will hurt after rolling them for an hour and a half. It's one of those slashers that I could've shut off and not cared how it ended. Poor Darin McGavin, Kolchack hit a low with this one. It's fun seeing Sam Rockwell and Jorja Fox in their 5 minute roles but this one is about as fun as a bad case of hemorrhoids on the Tour de France. Happy Hell Night isn't even worth the effort for die hard slasher aficionados. Maybe Anchor Bay will do something better with their money by obtaining the rights to titles such as Just Before Dawn, The Burning, or Popcorn for their next horror outing.

Amateurish direction, bad acting and a weak script are the best parts of this awful movie.

Plot holes, inadequate character motivations, choppy editing and an overall lack of film-making skills.

One often wonders who lets these people direct movies. I suppose this is one of those movies financed by a rich relative. It is just typical of the phrase "They'll let anybody direct a movie these days."

I watched this because I'm a big Darren McGavin fan. Too bad he didn't end his career with his stellar turn in "The Natural" instead of taking this home movie as a job.

HAPPY HELL NIGHT, also known as FRAT FRIGHT (which I have on VHS), is terrible. There's nothing else to say about it. It's just bad. Almost as bad as PLEDGE NIGHT, which is one of the worst of the worst films of all time. Yep, HAPPY HELL NIGHT is that bad: bad acting, bad cinematography, horrible script, even worse dialogue, clueless direction, etc.

The only good things about HAPPY HELL NIGHT are the gore (well made for such a low budget flick) and that really creepy actor playing the killer. He should be in better films.

But aside from those two things, the rest is total crap. AVOID!!!

Happy Hell Night is a not well known Horror Slasher Film from the early 90s, A Psychopathic Bald Priest summons a Demon to become a demon ( Or something like that, the story doesn't make much sense, btw Sam Rockwell in a small role his second 80s/90s Horror Film appearance after the good Clownhouse) and kills some Teenagers . 25 years later he escaped from the madhouse in a very ridiculously way (He is not even in a maximum security area , despite he is mass murder) The Teenage Characters are all annoying and their acting is bad, I didn't care of any of them , there are also many other pointless filler scenes in this slasher, there is one scene where one of the Brothers drives with his motorcycle down the stairs to the crypt , this scene is weirdly filmed like some sort of slow mo technique. Also most of the gore scenes are very cheap , at least the Villain is Interesting with his weirdly funny One liners and the End Credit Song is also Nice. So don't take this Film serious, then It is Entertaining.

The world-famous horror subgenre of "college slashers" almost completely died out in the late 80s and made a glorious comeback in the mid-90s thanks to Wes Craven's "Scream". Every slasher-entry made during this interbellum period inevitable ended up in oblivion, and, judging by the quality level of films like "Happy Hell Night", righteously so. It's an endurable hack 'n slice flick from Canada with a few good moments and an interesting guest appearance of 70s TV-horror star Darren McGavin ("The Night Stalker"), but overall quite forgettable and unoriginal. The set-up feels very familiar, almost even formulaic, and takes place during a fraternity's initiation party. Two newbies are assigned to breaking into a mental asylum and bring back a photograph of a patient who committed several gruesome murders on campus 25 years earlier. They succeed, but the psychopath naturally escapes and returns to the campus with them. The killer turns out to be a sort of demonically possessed priest, and this forms more or less the only difference with standard slashers from the 80s, where the killers usually were of flesh and blood (albeit still immortal). Charles Cragin, as the killer, looks reasonably menacing and reminded me of a crossover between Max Schreck from "Nosferatu" and Michael Berryman in "The Hills Have Eyes". Unfortunately, however, he loses all his scary impact when he opens his mouth, and his catchphrases ("No parking, "No TV, "No sex", ...) are pathetic. There are naked breasts and the killings are committed with a sort of mountain-climbing pickaxe. When they are depicted on-screen, they're fairly gore (like the car-rooftop moment), but the film certainly should have contained more bloodshed. There are also a few "impossible" murders, and those deeply annoy me. For example, when they are in the attic, two girls are holding each other's' hands, but three seconds later one of them is sitting in a rocking chair with her hand and head chopped off. There's a limit to my suspension of disbelief, you know.

"Happy Hell Night" has a college fraternity raising hell on Halloween by convincing its pledges to break into an insane asylum and photograph a killer priest who has been locked away, motionless and static in his cell, after being involved in a Satanic ritual in a mausoleum twenty five years ago that left a group of university students dead.

Sound like the eighties? You bet. But it's not. "Happy Hell Night" is a definite misfit as far as slasher films go— not in content, but rather in that it made its blip on the radar when the slasher genre was far past its death rattle. It's one of the few, if only films of its type to appear in the early nineteen nineties, arriving to the party post-eighties slasher craze, but pre-nineties slasher revival (ala "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer"), so it kind of fell through the cracks without any bandwagon to grab onto. For that reason alone, it's something of a relic.

The film boasts a typical slasher storyline, with college kids inadvertently releasing a maniacal killer, but has enough of a spin on itself that it, at the very least, is consistently entertaining. As many have noted, the film's antagonist, Zachary Malius, is exceptionally scary; a bald, pale, black eyed demon-possessed killer who evokes Nosferatu, minus the ears. Sitting still in a thicket of cobwebs for two and a half decades, not moving an inch; simply waiting for the right time.

A series of subplots involving the college students who unleash him (including a love triangle between two brothers, family drama around a brother's commitment to pledging, and the history behind Malius' origin) swirl around in the film but are never cohesively tied together. In the third act the murders begin to kick in high gear, and there are some outstandingly creepy scenes. One of the charming things about it is that the film boasts some solid special effects akin to the early nineties, yet the film overall very much feels like a product of the early eighties— another rather beneficial idiosyncrasy the film carries.

Editing is perhaps the film's biggest weak point; it's sloppily edited, to put it nicely, but it's also decently photographed, with the camera capturing the atmospheric Gothic surroundings and eerie chill of the fall night.

To my surprise, I felt like the acting in the film wasn't half bad, despite what many other reviews have said. It's not remarkable by any means, but by slasher standards? Come on, people. The big names here include Darren McGavin as the brothers' father who took part in the ritual in 1965, with Sam Rockwell making a very brief appearance as a younger version of McGavin. Jorja Fox also appears in the film as a New England sorority girl who has one of the best and scariest scenes in the film. And Charles Cragin is downright chilling as the undead Malius, even with his hokey one-liners.

While things come crashing down rather lackadaisically in the film's finale, it ends on a fun note and somehow left me with a feeling of satisfaction. If you're a fan of eighties slashers, "Happy Hell Night" is a definite nineties oddity that is worth checking out. The villain is superb and genuinely scary, and the film boasts an effective "campus Gothic" atmosphere. It is not masterclass, nor is it particularly well directed, but it's a real treat for all of us who enjoy these things. 8/10.

Happy Hell Night is Brian Owens' only stab at directing and considering the result that's hardly surprising. Because despite being a entertaining slasher flick Happy Hell Night has plenty of problems.

For a film that follows the genre conventions of a slasher flick the villain is oddly out of place. Instead of psychopath on the loose the villain here is a demonic presence of pure evil. This villain would have been better served in a movie with a eerie atmosphere something Happy Hell Night is thoroughly lacking. There's not really any suspense in any shape or form.

We get only minimal introduction to the characters and what we do learn about them doesn't cast them in a positive light, leaving little room for empathy. Jorja Fox, from the hit show CSI, is probably the most recognizable face in the movie. She makes an uncredited appearance gets a great death scene.

The plot manages to be both confusing and predictable. It would have been nice to have known a little bit about the reason for the demons' existence. But we don't get any insight into its motivation or raison d'être. The audience simply must except he's evil and has some reason for targeting the fraternity in question.

So why then is Happy Hell Night an entertaining slasher flick. Well for one it has all the ingredients a slasher flick needs. There's plenty of nudity although most of it is seen through the tube of a television. Which is a bit like second hand smoke it's still considered bad for you but doesn't deliver the same satisfaction. Most of the killers one liners fall flat because they just seem out of place or don't make any sense. But there are some unintentionally funny moments like the consternation on the faces of the protagonists when the murders that started it all are mentioned.

The murders are entertaining although even an icepick to the head gets boring after a while.

So the movie delivers on nudity, kills and unintentional humor in this case pretty much in that order. Sorry CSI fans Jorja Fox doesn't do any nudity here. Slasher fans will find plenty to like but casual viewers will find little to fawn over.