HAPPY HELL NIGHT might have worked well in 1982 but as a film made in 1992 it's a movie that looks well past its sell-by date. The story is a simple one about a notorious murderer who busts out of an asylum (yet again) and goes on a killing spree among the local college students. It's as cheap and predictable as you'd expect, with the sole thing going for it the supernatural touches that the writer wisely adds to the production.
The look of the killer in this film is extremely creep and seemingly inspired by the classic Nosferatu look of old, perhaps with a little Kurt Barlow thrown into the mix. There are hints in the story that he's some kind of vampire too, which I like. And the film, once it gets going in the second half, is quite gory and watchable, even if most of it takes place in the dark. Darren McGavin is the old timer while the rest of the cast are unknown no-hopers (with a pre-stardom Sam Rockwell among them). A pity, then, that the first half is so uninteresting.
The look of the killer in this film is extremely creep and seemingly inspired by the classic Nosferatu look of old, perhaps with a little Kurt Barlow thrown into the mix. There are hints in the story that he's some kind of vampire too, which I like. And the film, once it gets going in the second half, is quite gory and watchable, even if most of it takes place in the dark. Darren McGavin is the old timer while the rest of the cast are unknown no-hopers (with a pre-stardom Sam Rockwell among them). A pity, then, that the first half is so uninteresting.