review for Hell Night on AllMovie

This intriguing mix of slasher movie conventions and haunted house atmospherics is uneven but offers some unique elements for the patient viewer. Hell Night has a slight edge over many of the other films from the early-'80s slasher film cycle because Randolph Feldman's script boasts a unique "old dark house" setting with an interesting backstory. Tom DeSimone's stylish direction milks this haunted house atmosphere for all it's worth and he crafts a few effective shock sequences toward the end of the story. Unfortunately, his pacing is much too slack and the film never regains the tension it builds during its first half-hour. Its second half also lacks the twists that would make the film's finale as interesting as its setup. Linda Blair and Peter Barton make appealing protagonists and Vincent Van Patten gives the film some much-needed humor as Seth but the script's rudimentary characterizations don't give them much to work with. Ultimately, Hell Night is probably too inconsistent for most viewers but horror completists might enjoy its flashes of inspiration.