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NIGHT OF HORROR (1978)
Directed by Tony Malanowski
Genesis Home Video VHS
Reviewed 03.29.07
Review by Dan Budnik
THE FILM
Four folks drive to a cabin deep
in the mountains of Virginia for
various family and recreational
reasons. Their camper breaks down.
While waiting in the dark, they
encounter the ghosts of several
Confederate soldiers. The ghosts
set them a task. The task is completed.
The movie ends. Or it seems like
it does. It seems like, when the
credits have rolled, that the experience
is now behind you. Only memories
will remain. And that, Dear Reader,
is exactly what Tony Malanowski
wants you to think.
I’ve never been hypnotized.
I’ve never actually been to
a performance of any kind with a
hypnotist at it. Some friends of
mine went to one in high school.
All I remember is “He made
Kathy cluck like a chicken!”
As tempting as that might have been
to see, I remember being happy about
having done whatever it was I’d
done instead. I’ve never sought
out a hypnotist although I have
encountered hypnosis in various
films. Did the beginning of Anguish
hypnotize me? I don’t believe
so. Did having Bela Lugosi stare
at me in constant close up do it?
Possibly, but I’m going to
say no. In the end, I think hypnosis
works on me when it is subtle. Like
Night Of Horror.
The film consists of a series of
scenes and sequences that all go
on a few minutes longer than they
should (folks over explaining things
or talking very slowly) or seem
designed to take up as much time
as possible. There is a three minute
long sequence of the camper just
driving along the highway. A woman
recites an Edgar Allan poem in its
entirety (2.5 minutes). A long song
plays over silent footage of a Civil
War battle re-enactment. And, here’s
the brain-breaker, the climactic
scene is almost entirely pitch black.
I know what is happening but I can
see almost none of it. The one saving
grace is that in one of the shots
there is a patch of sky, outlined
in leaves, in the upper left hand
corner. I generally focus on that
patch whenever it appears. And,
I realize that that is where Master
Hypnotist Tony Malanowski gets me.
I believe that Night of Horror
hypnotizes me every time I watch
it. And, it is insidious. The first
forty minutes of the movie are absolute
Nirvana. The performances, the acting,
the look of the film. Everything
about it is as perfect as I could
want. These minutes are up there
with The
Last Slumber Party, Tales
From The Quadead Zone,
Don’t Go In The Woods,
and Criminally
Insane. Then, when you
think it can’t get any better,
the plot appears. And, the scenes
get longer and darker and the battle
begins in all its incoherence. By
the time that patch of sky is visible,
I am usually asleep. I no longer
think that that’s what’s
happening. This past Saturday, when
the movie was over and I suddenly
snapped awake and the movie timer
was at 80 minutes, I had a hard-boiled
egg from the 7-11 in my hand. Half
eaten.
Night Of Horror didn’t
have a lot of time. I remember looking
at the timer about an hour in, so
the movie had twenty minutes from
then to do its business. (During
previous viewings, I may have been
under the influence longer.) There
is a 7-11 a few blocks away. So,
the film lulled me into a half-awake/half-asleep
state. Then, the patch of sky appeared.
My mind focused on that. And, I
heard Tony Malanowski saying, “Dan….Dan…Go
to the 7-11 down the road and buy
either a foot-long hot dog or one
of those hard boiled eggs that they
have near the sandwiches and containers
of gelatin.” I’d like
to say that I have some semblance
of taste even under hypnosis and
that’s why I didn’t
get the hot dog. But, still...
The first forty minutes of Night
Of Horror are a test. Only
a few will make it beyond that and
still be paying close attention
when the patch of sky appears. Master
Hypnotist Tony Malanowski takes
advantage of that moment and...Well,
who knows what I’ve done?
Walked my dog and not picked up
after her? Gone down to the local
diner and ordered the lumpy mashed
potatoes of unknown provenance?
Or just plain clucked like a chicken?
I don’t know. All I can say
is that Night Of Horror
has the potential to be a force
for great good or infinite evil.
The choice is up to your state of
mind and that small patch of sky.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Video: Best ever. Horror
House on Highway 5 quality
but not quite as clear. Watching
this is, literally, like entering
The Twilight Zone. Audio: “Mr.
Watson, come here!” Awesome.
Hiss as part of the sound collage.
It’s daring, distracting and
dithyrambic. (Malanowski! Get out
of my Mind!)
EXTRAS
The Genesis Home Video logo is a
wonder to behold. The VHS packaging
is perfect. It’s a gift from
another world.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I could no more recommend Night
Of Horror to another human
being for an evening’s pleasure
than I could recommend Cannibal
Holocaust.
With that out of the way, I guess
the real evidence that this film
hypnotizes me on a regular basis
is the fact that I really haven’t
mentioned any of the hysterically
goofball things that happen during
this movie. Every time I start to
write something that mentions, for
example, where the opening bar scene
is supposed to be -- See. The sentence
is gone. I cut it out. Gosh, I hope
I haven’t deleted this review.
Mr. Skull, please post this review.
(He’s watched the movie too,
so I have no idea what his state
of mind is like at this moment.)
Reader? Hello? Are you reading this?
Have I written a review specifically
for the Void?
Bonus Paragraph for Readers in the
Void: Come to think of it, I was
watching Bloody Reunion
on Saturday when I suddenly realized
I was watching Night Of Horror.
It wasn’t until this moment
that I realized that. The movie
calls from beyond the VCR. Hey,
wasn’t all of this covered
in one of the Amityville films? |
True inspiration
Malanowski! Is that you?
Doing her business
This Is Horror
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