All Rise...

Appellate Judge Patrick Bromley is a hopeless insomniac.

The Charge

You'll scream 'til dawn.

The Case

I had never seen David Hess' 1980 slasher To All a Goodnight prior to a viewing for the purposes of this review. To be honest, I'm not sure I had ever even heard of it, and I consider myself pretty well-versed in horror, particularly of the '80s variety. But the title caught my eye for two reasons: 1) it's a Christmas-themed horror film, and that subgenre is a weakness of mind and 2) it stars Jennifer Runyon (the blonde girl being tested by Bill Murray at the beginning of Ghostbusters), who was and remains one of my very first childhood crushes. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get this movie into my life.

Two years after a prank leaves a teenage girl dead, the sisters of the Calvin Finishing School sorority are being picked off one at a time by a killer dressed as Santa Claus. What a way to ruin the holiday party.

To All a Goodnight isn't the first yuletide slasher movie—that would be Bob Clark's Black Christmas from 1974—but it might be the first horror movie to dress its murderer up in a Santa suit (Christmas Evil was released the same year but 11 months later). I'm sure made the producers crazy when Silent Night, Deadly Night caused a ton of controversy—and made a boatload of money in the process—just a few years later). Part Prom Night, part Black Christmas, part Scream (yes it came first, but the comparison stands), there's little to differentiate To All a Goodnight from the glut of slashers released in the wake of the success of John Carpenter's Halloween. That's both its curse and its blessing; as a student and fan of horror from that period, the movie plays like a time capsule of what was happening in the genre at that point. Though uninspired, there's a charm in the way it hits familiar beats. To be fair, there is some novelty in the climax, but by the time those scenes arrive it's difficult to still be invested or actually care.

Aside from one documentary short later in his career, To All a Goodnight represents the lone directorial effort of David Hess, best known to genre fans as the evil Krug in Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. It is written and produced by Alex Rebar, who played the lead in The Incredible Melting Man several years earlier. So there's a kind of novelty in seeing a movie written by Melting Man Steve West and directed by Krug. Nothing about Hess' work behind the camera suggests that he should have gone on to a successful directing career, but the crudeness of the filmmaking holds a kind of appeal with material like this—there is art in the artlessness.

To All a Goodnight makes its high-def debut courtesy of Kino Lobber and Scorpion Releasing, who have been killing it lately when it comes to putting out genre and catalogue titles. Though made on the cheap and over 30 years old at this point, the movie looks surprisingly good on Blu-ray thanks to a fantastic 1080p transfer that shows little age, retains the very deliberate color palette and is covered in a heavy layer of grain (a look I like when it comes to low-budget slashers). The lossless stereo audio track handles the dialogue with clarity and balances it will with the score and occasional "sting" effects, but it remains a no-frills presentation.

The bonus features consist of the film's original trailer (presented in HD) and a collection of three interviews with people involved in the production. The best and most appealing is an interview with Jennifer Runyon, who hasn't really appeared on camera in the last 20 years. She's still beautiful and sweet and talks not just about To All a Goodnight without any illusions, but touches on several of the other works for which she is best known, including Up the Creek, Ghostbusters and Charles in Charge. Next up is Kiva Lawrence, who is slightly more critical of the film and had a less pleasant experience making it. She talks about using a different name in the credits (she's billed as "Katherine Herrington") and how much she liked Jennifer Runyon, because of course she did. Finally, screenwriter and producer Alex Rebar offers his take on the film and shares some production information, as well as discusses his work on The Incredible Melting Man.

This kind of movie is strictly for fans and completists. Anyone who has seen even a handful of horror movies isn't going to see much that's new in To All a Goodnight, but '80s horror devotees—and you know who you are—will enjoy mainlining a straight shot of the kind of junky effort you know is bad for you. Kino Lorber's excellent Blu-ray makes the movie seem even better than it is; Jennifer Runyon's presence does the same. As holiday horror movies go, it's not among the best—but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some fun with it. And Santa doesn't like liars.

The Verdict

The good kind of bad.

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