In 1983 there were several films released that all seemed to have a similar theme to them, a crypt. One was FRIGHTMARE where a group of college students steal the corpse of a horror film star from his burial place. Another was MORTUARY where a woman searches for answers at the local mortuary concerning her father’s death. And then there was this film, ONE DARK NIGHT, which I consider the best of the three.
The film opens with a crime, the murder of six young girls in the apartment of Russian occultist Raymar along with his apparent suicide. With no clues as to why the girls were murdered the police okay the removal of the bodies. Things pause when bolts of electricity shoots from the fingertips of Raymar as he is loaded onto the stretcher.
Raymar’s daughter Oliva McKenna (Melissa Newman) and her husband Allan (Adam West) are unaware of what has happened. That is until they are approached by a feature writer for The World of the Occult, Samuel Dockstader (Donald Hotton). He provides Olivia with evidence that her father had discovered something and had become a sort of psychic vampire. Allan is unconvinced but Olivia begins reviewing the evidence.
Back in the town where Raymar has been buried we find a group of teens doing what all teens do. Partying, jealous of lost boyfriends and planning pranks. Julie Well (Meg Tilly) is going out with Steve (David Michael Daniels). This doesn’t sit well with Carol (Robin Evans) who was Steve’s girlfriend before. Carol heads a group of girls known as The Sisters and Julie in an effort to prove she’s not afraid of them is trying to join the group which includes Kitty (Leslie Speights) and Leslie (E.G. Daily).
The Sisters have come to their final initiation request for Julie. She is to spend the night locked in the mausoleum at the local cemetery alone. They drop Julie off and lock her in, intending to sneak back in later and scare her. What they aren’t aware of is the Raymar has just been entombed in that mausoleum.
As the night rolls on Leslie backs out on their plan thinking it is going too far. Steve finds out what’s going on when he comes across Leslie who was kicked out of the Sister’s car and heads out to confront Carol. And Raymar begins to awaken must to the surprise of all who find themselves in that mausoleum.
Will anyone survive this night? Will Steve get there in time and be able to help? Will Carol and Kitty realize the mistake they have made? And will Olivia find the solution to the problems at hand as she reads through Raymar’s manuscripts and listens to his tapes?
Everyone knows that horror films at the time this movie was released revolved around teens in jeopardy. This film is no different. But it also brings adults into the picture with the main bad guy Raymar and his daughter. This provides a bit more background story than most horror films had at the time.
The effects seen her are wonderful between the mayhem of Raymar’s mental powers shaking the building and pushing out numerous rotting coffins and corpses and the make-up effects of those same corpses and or Raymar himself. None of them could be considered over the top and they are effective in adding just the right touch of creepiness to the film. The same can be said of the setting where most of the film takes place. Not since PHANTASM has a mausoleum been used this effectively.
The actors here all turn in great performances making their characters believable and in a film like this that’s crucial. Tilly is in her first featured role here and doesn’t have much to do but she handles herself well. Who would think that within the next year she’d star in PSYCHO II and THE BIG CHILL? The rest of the actors do an admirable job as well with only Elizabeth Daily going on to anything worth mentioning.
This was the first film for director Tom McLoughlin and his ability to handle the genre shows. So much so that he went on to direct more in the genre like SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 6 and episodes of both FREDDY’S NIGHTMARE and FRIDAY THE 13TH THE SERIES.
I was glad to hear that MVD was going to be releasing this film on blu-ray. As I said it’s one of my favorite horror films from that time. Not only are they releasing a movie they’ve done a solid job of making look great they’ve included a ton of extras as well. Those include an audio commentary with director & co-writer Tom McLoughlin and producer Michael Schroeder, an audio commentary with director & co-writer Tom McLoughlin and writer Michael Hawes, an interview with director Tom McLoughlin, an interview with actress E.G Daily, an interview with actress Nancy Mott, an interview with cinematographer Hal Trussell, an interview with production designer Craig Stearns, an interview with producer Michael Schroeder, an interview with special effects crew member Paul Clemens, an alternate Director's Cut / Work Print Version of the film, behind the scenes footage, Paul Clemens photo gallery, the original theatrical trailer, reversible artwork and a collectible Mini-Poster.
If you enjoyed this one years ago or never heard of it before, this is your chance to enjoy one truly creepy horror film. High marks on this one. It has held up through the years.
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