Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

To All a Goodnight Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 12, 2014

David Hess lived a colorful life, working through music and movie worlds, enjoying a few near-misses during his career before achieving cult success with his starring turn as Krug in Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left.” Capable of communicating menace and managing no-budget demands in front of the camera, Hess was less successful behind the camera. 1980’s “To All a Goodnight” was his directorial debut, picking a cheapy slasher production to kick off his helming career, and while his history with the genre certainly aided the work, general filmmaking ineptitude ruins the fun at every turn of the feature. Painfully amateurish, tone-deaf, and screwy all-around, “To All a Goodnight” represents the lazier side of horror, where the people in charge stopped at the concept, not the execution, leaving behind a dull, doofy effort that’s full of mistakes and fails to chill.

In 1978, at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls, one of the students was subjected to a brutal hazing, pushed off a balcony to her death. Two years later, Christmas break is about to begin for the new students, finding Nancy (Jennifer Runyon) staying behind with a handful of roommates. Homesick but hoping for the best, Nancy learns that the other women are planning a more amorous evening, hoping to coax housemother Mrs. Jensen (Kiva Lawrence) into an early bedtime so a group of young men can spend the night, having flown to a remote airstrip to meet up with girlfriends and casual conquests. As the party commences and couples engage in sexual gamesmanship, Nancy is left in an uneasy position, certain that something evil is stalking around the school, dressed as Santa Claus. Teaming with fellow virgin Alex (Forrest Swanson), Nancy tries to stay alive as her classmates are slaughtered one-by-one, hoping to figure out who’s behind the murders as she’s confronted with a creepy detective and a devout school groundskeeper.

There are moments where it’s honestly amazing that “To All a Goodnight” is even in focus. Reportedly shot in ten days for lunch money, the picture carries a distinct Ed Wood vibe as it tries to summon paralyzing terror around a killer dressed as Santa Claus. Why Santa? Hey, let’s not start asking questions Hess and screenwriter Alex Rebar aren’t interested in answering. It’s Christmas, there’s a killer Claus on the loose. Let’s move on.

The majority of “To All a Goodnight” is concentrated on the antics of the students, who gather with forbidden boyfriends to fool around and drink beer, leaving poor Nancy as the sole member of the group with a tingling instinct that something isn’t right. She’s absolutely correct that something’s amiss, but it’s not the trail of dead bodies Santa’s leaving behind, it’s Hess’s lack of directorial control and foresight, signing off on takes where actors either flub lines completely or treat the material like an alien language that needs careful enunciation to communicate. Proper framing is a challenge for the production, as is a basic management of day and night, finding established evening sequences taking place in the warmth of the late-afternoon sun. And for one kill where a body is sliced by an airplane propeller, red construction paper is sprinkled around the crime scene, with the wind easily blowing the viscera out of frame. Perhaps second takes were a luxury for the moviemakers, forcing them to work with what they had. It’s a shame there wasn’t more of an effort to avoid basic blunders, with “To All a Goodnight” frequently dipping into unintentional comedy as mishaps occur and actors lose their train of thought.

All could be forgiven if “To All a Goodnight” contained a moment of suspense, but Hess never works the material into a lather, more interested in tepid scenes of seduction to satisfy nudity requirements, while the kill sequences are simplistic in design, finding characters walking into murder weapons, making Santa’s reign of terror relatively easy to execute. If anyone had a personality, perhaps losses would be more profound, but it’s only Nancy who retains an identity, representing the bewildered survivor hoping to make it out of the house alive. Of course, she could easily sprint out of the building and tear off down the road to safety at any time, but there I go asking questions again. Hess aims for atmosphere with a few visual tricks, but he’s in way over his head, botching even the most basic stalking sequence.

To All a Goodnight Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation revives a largely forgotten slasher effort for HD, submitting source material that's in surprisingly decent shape, only showing some mild speckling. Colors are appropriately refreshed and secure, allowing for seasonal lighting to make its intended impression, along with Santa's red costume. Skintones are natural, keeping pinkish. Grain is heavy throughout but never unwieldy, bringing out the feature's low-budget look. Detail is acceptable for this level of soft cinematography, providing a look at facial particulars and textures on costuming. Blacks aren't inherently strong to begin with, but delineation remains.

To All a Goodnight Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a comfortable listening experience for a picture that's limited in sonic scope. Dialogue exchanges are crisp but thin, hitting a few tinny highs as emotions are purged during the nightmare. Scoring contributions are comfortable, braided satisfactorily with dramatic efforts, adding appropriate mood with a heavier synth throb. Atmospherics are mild but welcome. If anything, the track manages to identify many of the mistakes made by the actors and crew, offering encouraging clarity.

To All a Goodnight Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (12:30, HD) with Jennifer Runyon offers fans an opportunity to catch-up with the actress two decades after she stopped appearing in movies to raise children. While aware of the feature's limitations, Runyon shares enthusiasm for "To All a Goodnight," looking back fondly on her screen debut. The chat also winds through her career, including time on a set of "Ghostbusters" and her sitcom work on "Charles in Charge."

• Interview (9:37, HD) with Kiva Lawrence explains why the actress is billed as "Katherine Herrington," a choice she regrets to this day. Spirited and honest, Lawrence details her battles with the director and her disappointment with the editing. However, she's not completely sour, sharing warmth and respect for Runyon.

• Interview (13:39, SD) with producer/writer Alex Rebar is more of a technical and financial chat, discussing how "To All a Goodnight" came to be, with its low-budget challenges and casting issues, sharing how a brief appearance by Harry Reems cost the picture major studio distribution. Rebar also shares some information about his starring role in "The Incredible Melting Man," which presented unique make-up challenges with a young Rick Baker.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:58, HD) is included.

To All a Goodnight Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are strange details sprinkled around the film, including a cameo by porn star Harry Reems (billed as "Dan Stryker") as an airplane pilot. The reveal of the killer is also a bizarre choice that isn't entirely thought through, going more for shock value instead of logic. "To All a Goodnight" isn't even valuable as an offering of B-movie mockery, with the pace too slow and the characters too dim to have much fun pantsing it, leaving the final product a miserable mess frequently caught with its shoelaces tied together.