Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 5, 2022

Note: For those adept at reading between the lines, there may be a bit of spoiler territory below, so forewarned is forearmed.

It's maybe just a little funny to hear commentators Justin Kerswell and Amanda Reyes, featured in one of several excellent bonus items included on this disc, struggle to account for perceived "un-PC" territory that evidently some may feel the denouement of Girls Nite Out traffics in, though if that's the case there's a veritable slew of other films, including classics like Alfred Hitchcock's immortal Psycho, which could be faulted for having the same supposed "issue". There's also kind of interestingly a bit of misdirection on the back cover verbiage of this release with regard to a certain pronoun that is utilized in the plot summary which may also play into this situation, and which one assumes was done intentionally to misdirect. All of this said, Girls Nite Out may try to be provocative, but it's actually pretty rote on any number of levels, though it provides a bit of a showcase for the often almost tragically underrated Rutanya Alda.

Reyes in particular seems to be a real fan of Girls Nite Out and in fact mentions that the only screenplay she's completed borrows heavily from the film, including its emphasis on a scavenger hunt which goes seriously awry. The film actually begins in that oft used setting for horror films, a sanitarium, where some guy named Dickie Cavanaugh commits suicide. Things then segue to a college basketball game, where the focal team wins, which in turn leads to that aforementioned scavenger hunt (hey, just go with the flow, it will be easier for everyone that way). Before the actual scavenger hunt begins, though, there's a raucous party where urban legends about Dickie Cavanaugh are shared, supposedly upping the angst factor as to what may be in store for the assembled multitudes (and this film has a rather large supply of potential victims).

Suffice it to say that a bevy of buxom beauties is summarily dispatched, with a couple of hunks thrown in for good measure, with the culprit seeming to be someone dressing up as the team mascot, a large bear. Now that might seem to be ripe territory for either gruesome horror or outright comedy, but Girls Nite Out doesn't seem to know quite what to do with things, though there are a few passing shots of bodily immolation and blood letting. In the meantime campus cop Jim MacVey (Hal Holbrook, evidently needing a paycheck really badly) is getting weird menacing phone calls supposedly from the evidently not quite dead yet Dickie Cavanaugh.

It's all kind of relentlessly silly, though there are some hints of the actual intentional comedy that peek through now and again. The "reveal" here is so preposterous that any seeming umbrage might seem to be unwarranted, to say the least. Suffice it to say that if someone as notorious and still talked about as the late (?) Dickie Cavanaugh were remembered so well, someone somewhere along the line might have thought of the "connection" that "solves" things.

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Girls Nite Out is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Kind of interestingly, and I think possibly for the first time in my tenure of reviewing Arrow releases, there's both a pre-presentation text card as well as information in the insert booklet, with slightly different information about the transfer. The pre-credits text card reads:

Girls Nite Out has been restored from the best available film elements, which were a selection of 35mm release prints from the producer's personal vaults.

The prints were scanned in 2K, after which the scans were reviewed and the highest quality sections selected. A few very brief sections which were not present in the film material were sourced from an SD tape master. The assembled shots were graded and restored in 2K to create a new and complete restored master.

This restoration still exhibits many instances of film damage and wear, in keeping with the condition of the source materials, but represents the best possible presentation of the film. We hope you enjoy!

The insert booklet's About the Restoration page reads as follows:

Girls Nite Out is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono sound.

No pre-print materials for Girls Nite Out could be located, so for the purposes of this restoration a number of 35mm released prints were sourced from the producer's personal vaults.

The pritns were scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director by Celluloid Solutions, after which the scans were reviewed and the highest quality sections of each composited and assembled. The assembled version was graded on DaVinci Resolve 17 and all digital restoration was performed using Phoenix Finish and PFClean. A few very brief sections which were not present in the film material were sourced from an SD tape master and inserted to create a new and complete restored master.

The soundtrack was sourced from the 35mm optical track and was ingested via a Magnatech Dubber and restored in Pro Tools. Additional audio remastering was completed by Matthew Jarman.

Although every effort has been made to present Girls Nite Out in the best condition possible, some obiovus signs of picture wear remain, due to the poor state of the materials available.

All of the foregoing should probably forewarn prospective viewers that there are some definite hurdles to overcome in this presentation. Aside from the damage that Arrow's own verbiage mentions, there are some pretty wide variances in color temperature, suffusion and grain structure throughout the presentation, some of which I've attempted to give an indication of in the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. The palette can often be just slightly ruddy pink at times, which can affect flesh tones, and there's a definite blue cast to a lot of the darker sequences, but I have to say detail levels are often quite good, especially fine detail on things like fabrics (see the sweaters in screenshot 6 for just one example).

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Girls Nite Out features an LPCM Mono track which has weathered the storms of time and tide a good deal better than the video side of things has. There are some slight variances in fidelity and background noise, which I assume may be attributable to different source elements, but on the whole the track is fluid and has some surprising dynamic range. Dialogue, effects and score are all presented without any major problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Justin Kerswell and Amanda Reyes


• Staying Alive (HD; 19:25) is an interview with actress Julia Montgomery.


• A Savage Mauling (HD; 15:30) is an interview with actress Laura Summer.


• Alone in the Dark (HD; 8:44) is an interview with actress Lois Robbins.


• It Was a Party! (HD; 20:55) is an interview with actor Paul Christie.


• Love and Death (HD; 16:56) is an interview conducted via Zoom with actors Lauren-Marie Taylor and John Didrichsen.


• Archival Interview (HD; 6:45) is with Julia Montgomery.


• Alternate Title Card (HD; 00:23) is for The Scaremaker.


• Original Trailers

  The Scaremaker Trailer (HD; 2:52)

  
  

  Girls Nite Out Trailer (HD*; 1:10)

Additionally, Arrow provides its typically nicely appointed insert booklet, with an essay by Michael Gingold, cast and crew lists and the About the Restoration page (which includes other technical information). Packaging features a slipcover.

*720

Girls Nite Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For those who may get up in arms over the denouement and/or the commentary's mention of changing notions of gender depictions through the years, I'd offer a completely different to take the film to task, namely the lack of a possessive apostrophe for Girls and the "alternative" spelling of Nite, a curmudgeonly complaint that I guess is more grammar police than PC police. Joking aside, Girls Nite Out is pretty tame over all, never reaching giddy slasher heights or completely capitalizing on its supposed humor quotient. Arrow tends to lavish quite a bit of time and care on these "niche" titles, and is providing a release which probably offers the best possible video, though that may frankly not be an especially high bar. As is typical with Arrow, they've assembled some very appealing supplements and packaged everything very handsomely, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.