|
Girls Nite Out
[Guilty Pleasures]
1984; color
Directed by Robert Deubel
Starring: Julia Montgomery, James Carroll, Suzanne Barnes, Rutanya Alda, Al McGuire, Lauren-Marie Taylor & Hal Holbrook
|
|
As is the case with pretty much every type of movie, there were a handful of slasher films that helped define the genre and went on to become famous. Then, of course, there are the wide variety of fly-by-night flicks made in the wake of the famous ones that were never really seen by anyone, even at the height of the genre's popularity, and just disappeared into obscurity... or so we thought! Thanks to the popularity of the DVD format though, oh so many obscurities have been resurrected from their dusty tombs and afforded a fresh opportunity to entertain and enlighten - or, more likely, confuse and confound - a whole new audience. Whether or not this is a good thing, I'm not here to say; nor am I here to say whether or not Girls Nite Out is a good movie. Good, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder so I think there are probably many varied opinions about a slasher flick featuring a killer disguised in a furry mascot costume. (A furry bear mascot costume to be exact, complete with overly exaggerated big eyes.) Or at least two opinions. Mainly I'm thinking people who love what is traditionally considered a good movie would find this to be an atrocity. People who love what is traditionally considered a bad movie on the other hand would also find this to be an atrocity, but they would be using the word as a compliment. Oh, and in case you're wondering, no the killer does not bear hug victims to death. Or snap their legs off with a bear trap, feed them poison honey, entomb them in a pic-i-nic basket, or anything else bear related; instead opting to Freddy Krueger up one of the paws with some kitchen knives in a MacGyver-esque fashion. Anywhoo, I'm also a bit hard pressed to come up with a reason why this would be singled out for a DVD release. (It couldn't just be Hal Holbrook could it?) So I decided to do a little research and see if I couldn't uncover it's hidden charms. Plus I was kind of curious to see if I was the only person who thought this film was, to coin a phrase I've been using way too much lately, a hot tranny mess. The first place I decided to look was the Kommandant's tattered copy of Chas Balun's The Deep Red Horror Handbook. Finding no review or information, I turned to the book sitting beneath it, Legacy Of Blood by Jim Harper; surely a book subtitled A Comprehensive Guide To Slasher Movies would have something to say about this particular slasher movie, right? Right. I won't repeat their entire summation but I think the final sentence of their review pretty much says volumes: "Watch it if you have to, but you'll probably wish you hadn't." I suppose I didn't have to watch it, but I did. Twice! (Because I fell asleep like five different times in the first sitting and when I tried to piece the plot together based on the parts I did see, I couldn't figure it out. Sadly, the second viewing only made the plot seem worse.) And I do kinda wish I hadn't. On the other hand, I suppose I've seen worse.
—Bunny
|
|
