TO ALL A GOODNIGHT (1980) **

To All a Goodnight is a Killer Santa Claus movie released the same year as Christmas Evil, but four years before the iconic Silent Night, Deadly Night.  It probably owes more to Black Christmas as the murderer is targeting college girls who are staying in their sorority house over Christmas break.  Like Prom Night (which was also released the same year) the killer’s ire stems from a prank gone wrong years earlier.  The reveal of the killer is almost identical to the one found in another 1980 slasher, but if I told you which one, it would immediately spoil it for you.

One novel touch:  The school is close to a private airstrip.  In most of these movies, the boys from the other school just climb in through the window.  In To All a Goodnight, they actually charter a private plane in and the girls go pick them up.  I can honestly say I hadn’t seen that one before.

Would it surprise you that two of the most memorable screen villains from the ‘70s were responsible for this?  David Hess, Krug from Last House on the Left directed it and none other than the Incredible Melting Man himself, Alex Rebar wrote the script.  You kind of wish they took better notes from Wes Craven and William Sachs though.  

To All a Goodnight is perfectly acceptable, especially for an early-era slasher.  The biggest problem is that the fucking thing is so dark looking, it’s hard to tell what’s going on during a lot of the nighttime scenes.  That’s probably due to the shitty print I saw, but still.  How dark was it?  Well, it’s so dark that I had to learn from IMDB that the guy who played the pilot was none other than porn star Harry Reems!  Yes, it’s so dark you can’t even tell he’s in the movie.

Another problem is that Hess doesn’t really know how to make the kills suspenseful.  He just shows someone opening a refrigerator/walking through the woods/getting boned and then the killer jumps into frame and stabs/slices/chops them up.  No build-up.  No tension.  It just happens.  Kudos on the shower scene though.

To All a Goodnight is also memorable for being the debut of Jennifer Runyon.  Her name might not be familiar to you, but I’m sure you’ll recognize her from the opening scene of Ghostbusters when Bill Murray tried to pick her up while testing her psychic powers.  Runyon was always one of my favorite actresses growing up, so it was especially fun seeing her playing the Final Girl in this.  She later married Roger Corman’s nephew, which only makes her cooler in my book.