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One Dark Night (1983)
R1 - America - Media Blasters Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (29th April 2006). |
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The Film
 The 1980s was the era when VHS really broke through into the consumer market, creating the successful rental business and alternate distribution network from movies. It´s not a coincidence that another bigger wave of American horror-films came roughly at the same time, when there was a demand of more cheaply made slashers and monster-movies; anything to spook the audience. Now films were also made with VHS in mind, which gave at least some boost to the horror-genre. Many films were also shot in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which gave the advantage of easily removing the mattes from the widescreen-print, and release the same film in “Open matte” 4:3 on VHS and TV. The list of different horror-films that were released in the 1980s is endless, but sagas like “Friday the 13th” and “A Nightmare On Elm Street” were big hits, and every kid who was into the genre read “Fangoria”, and almost idolized the special make-up effects artists like Tom Savini and Rob Bottin. It was also the era for splatter and gore -movies, before the CGI-effects would eventually change everything - for the good and for the bad. One horror-film that has been remembered all these years has finally been released on DVD; “One Dark Night (1983)”, from director/co-writer Tom McLoughlin (here billed as “Thomas McLoughlin”). As well as “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)”, “One Dark Night” is the film to which McLoughlin will always be associated with, since his career is continued mainly on television. After the film´s prologue, the movie opens in a trashy apartment in Los Angeles, where the body of a known psychic Karl (Raymarseivich) Raymar will be found. Along with him, six young girls are also found dead in the apartment. The most unusual moment happens, when a strange “discharged energy” flash is released from the dead body of Raymar, making a crack on the roof. From here the film moves to the more familiar territory - to the high school, where the “Sisters” are having their usual day of boys and gossips. Carol (Robin Evans), Kitty (Leslie Speights), and Leslie (Elizabeth Daily) wants to teach a lesson to Julie (Meg Tilly), by finally inviting her to their “Sisters”-society. To become one of them, Julie has to pass the test provided by the others girls. The driving force to this is also Carol´s jealousy toward Julie, who´s now dating her ex-boyfriend, the athletic and handsome Steve (David Mason Daniels). Elsewhere, the body of Karl Raymar is buried in the mausoleum, where Raymar´s daughter Olivia (Melissa Newman) is having a moment indicating that she also shares some of the strange powers that his father did. When Olivia and her husband Allan (Adam West - yes, from the “Batman”-series from the 1960s) arrive at home, they´ll meet the mysterious man called Dockstader (Donald Hotton), who once was close with late Raymar. Dockstader explains the true power that Raymar possessed, being the master psychic, and he could drain bio-energy from other people, and move objects with his telekinetic powers. Now young Julie is about to spend a night in the same mausoleum, where Raymar is buried. With spending a whole night there, she would be one of the “Sisters”. For Julie, it´ll be one dark night amongst the dead. I have a feeling that “One Dark Night” is sometimes placed in the “slasher”-category, which was highly popular in that time. That´s not the case, since the film is more like a supernatural horror-film, involving some young characters from high school, but is not going down the same route as many others in the 1980s. As McLoughlin himself points out in the audio commentary, the film was more influenced by the older movies and tales from Hammer Studios and Edgar Allan Poe, which created tension and mood more than going overboard with splatter and blood. That is the strength of the film, since with this approach the film has a bit more of a serious feel to it, and more character development than you have usually in this type of film. The actors on the film are also a minor step forward, since certain actors like Meg Tilly (early in her career) and David Mason Daniels gave very good and natural performances from their part, and even when the three “Sisters” are more stereotyped, they also blend in to the story. Melissa Newman is also convincing for her role of Raymar´s daughter, and her growing awareness of psychic abilities. The more you know the characters, the more you feel for them, and often with slashers you don´t really care about the characters at all, since usually they´re going to die anyway. In “One Dark Night” you´ll end up caring about the characters at least in some degree, which actually is a good thing. This is still a horror-film after all, so you obviously need some old fashioned spooks and jumps, right? This is the department where some people probably feel disappointed. The film is rated “PG-13”, and the major part of the film is focused on the building of the tension and creating the mood, rather than having a dead victim or spooky twist in every 15 minute. Even though I personally kind of liked the idea that the film delivers something different this time, the bulk of action and horror eventually comes a bit too late after all. A good amount of special make-up effects and corpses eventually fill the screen (by Tom Burman and his crew), but for me this was the opportunity that in some degree goes to waste, and could´ve been much more effective and creepy. Now the horror is there, but still nothing THAT scary really happens, if you really think of it. Some of the scenes are also too phoney, but fortunately there are also some effective ones. With a “PG-13”-rated horror-movie shot in less than a month, and costing under one million $, you can´t expect miracles. In the end, when you compare “One Dark Night” to many other genre films from that era, it rises above the average, and is a fairly entertaining ride. What it lacks is real horror and spookiness, though, and that can hurt the enjoyment for some people.
Video
Disc 1: The look of the transfer is a disappointment. It´s presented in Anamorphic 1.85:1 (slightly windowboxed), but it´s quite obvious that the source of the transfer hasn´t been pristine, and full restoration is also lacking (then again I fully understand, that since the better source material couldn´t been found, why spend a lot of money on something that you can´t make fully pristine anyway..). The print has a fair share of film artefacts and dirt, and even some frame jumps can be spotted (around 13:31 minutes mark, the film suddenly “slows down”, which affects on the audio and sound). Black levels are often more on the “murky side”, and contrasts are off, losing the details (just look at the sky in some scenes, and e.g. the white ambulances in the opening scene). Some heavy grain is also present, but that I can live with. All this is said as an honest DVD-reviewer, but there´s also that other side in every movie buff: As a film fan, I´m really happy that this film is finally available on DVD, and I see no reason why these certain imperfections should made you avoid this release altogether. It´s a mediocre transfer, yes, but still not in the level like you see in some of the budget-releases, taken from the VHS. I also don´t believe that there was a better print somewhere of the film, but then again I can´t be sure. The film on “Disc 1” runs 88:53 minutes (NTSC), which includes the “DVD credits”. The actual “Theatrical version” runs 88:22 minutes, and has 12 chapters. Both discs are “Dual layer”, keeping the bitrate in a good level, and coded “R1”. Disc 2: Second disc includes the alternate “Director´s Cut” version of the film, which is presented in 4:3, obviously non-Anamorphic. This is the original rough cut of the film before the studio apparently wanted some changes, so it´s missing the prologue with Raymar´s daughter Olivia, and also the ending is slightly different (it´s more darker in this “Director´s Cut”-version, showing Meg Tilly´s character in a different light). It also features a differently edited scene of the fate of Carol and Kitty, which is actually better in this version (in the “Theatrical version” it ends in a rather silly way). There are probably some other minor issues here and there, but not very noticeable, nor important changes. This print bears the title “Night in the Crypt”, and is probably taken from the tape source. It´s not a pretty sight with all kind of imperfections (it´s also missing many audio cues and sound effects, as well as the score), but still a very welcome addition for all the more serious fans, who want to see the original vision by director McLoughlin. Generally these “work prints” can give a slightly wrong impression of the film, since many times not all the material included in these prints is something that even the director eventually wants on the final version, but McLoughlin says in the audio commentary that the studio wanted the prologue while he didn´t, and mentions also the ending being something that wasn´t entirely his original idea. The film is not time-coded, but by timing it run approx. 89:45 minutes (speed-up issues not counted).
Audio
“Disc 1” includes one audio track, which is English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. There are no subtitles, nor Closed Captions. Track has hiss on the background, as well some crackles and pops here and there, but is in decent condition after all. Audio on the work print (“Disc 2”) isn´t any better, since it´s taken from the inferior source, and clearly the sound mix isn´t in its finished form. Comparing these two audio tracks would be kind of useless.
Extras
“One Dark Night” was originally scheduled to be released by “Blue Underground” (in the audio commentary McLoughlin actually thanks them), but along the way things changed, and it was eventually released by “Media Blasters”, under their “Shriek Show”-lineup. There´s a fan website of the film, which had provided some photo & poster galleries for the DVD, and the website of co-writer Hawes at some point included things like TV-spots and screenplay. The actual DVD has some nice extras, but I can´t help thinking that where did the photo galleries etc go during the process? It would´ve been nice to see all these different VHS-covers, since the film was released under many names. The disc is also missing at least one good featurette with recent interviews from the cast & crew, and for some reason none of the extras are time-coded (nor subtitled for that matter). DISC 1: The first disc includes the ”Theatrical version” of the film, and audio commentary with director/co-writer Tom McLoughlin, and co-writer Michael Hawes. These gentlemen are obviously friends, so they provide a laidback commentary from the production. McLoughlin does the main talking, while Hawes is more on the supporting role. McLoughlin gives plenty of info and background of the actors, and there are a few of them in the smaller parts, which we now learn many interesting details. The film is mainly shot in the Los Angeles area, and these locations are also been discussed. They are also quite honest and have a healthy amount of self-irony, and point out some aspects of the production which make them giggle now. It´s also interesting to hear how the film was welcomed in the 1980s, when audience was generally different, and perhaps more enthusiastic of the horror-genre, and didn´t always mind when certain films were done more cheaply. McLoughlin also points out a few scenes that were changed due to the producers, and also reveals that the last tracking shot of the movie was done in his backyard, after he saw how the producers planned to end the film. Technically speaking the film´s audio track was a bit too loud in the background compared to the audio commentary, but other than that the commentary was entertaining and also quite informative. McLoughlin is one of those directors that sounds often more like a movie buff than a “director”, which is always nice. He has the right attitude towards his first film. Some bonus trailers rounds up the disc: -The Being (1983) -Frankenstein's Bloody Terror AKA La Marca del Hombre-lobo -Just Before Dawn -Devil Dog DISC 2: Second disc includes the “Director´s Cut” of the film, and one longer extra; “R.I.P.” -documentary, that´s running approx. 39 minutes. This is an edited montage of a “behind-the-scenes”-material from the set, without any narration or interviews. What you have is just the sound captured from the set. The following scenes are included: -Murder scene -School yard -Basketball court -Locker room -Olivia meets Dockstader -Olivia´s house -Crypt - night The documentary is edited such a way, that you can see the footage from the actual film superimposed in the corner of the screen, which gives a good comparison of the production and the actual scene in the film. A few scenes also include some rehearsal footage edited in. I personally find this footage interesting, but this is meant for the fans more than for the general audience, and it´s hard to picture the casual viewer watching this through, since the quality is also lacking. Some funny stories are being heard, and generally it feels that the atmosphere on the set is quite nice. Almost 40 minute of this type of material might sound like an overkill, but I´m glad that it´s included here, rather than it would be gathering dust on someones attic. Like the first disc, some bonus trailers are included: -Antropophagus -Love Bites AKA Les Morsures de l'aube -The Dark (1979) -High School Horrors Triple Feature (“Hell High”, “The Majorettes”, and “Hitcher in the Dark AKA Paura nel buio”) Section called “Fangoria International” also includes the following trailers: -Plaga zombie: Zona mutante -Hiruko the Goblin AKA Yokai Hanta - Hiruko -Rojo sangre -Choking Hazard Most copies should also include a small film strip (there are also reports that not all cases had this). Mine included a frame of Carol and Kitty.
Overall
Another teenage horror-film from the 1980s with a minor cult-status has been released on DVD, and despite the mediocre transfer, it´s still recommended for the fans of the genre. The film is definitely not the one of the worst that is out there, and you actually might find it surprisingly entertaining, in its harmless “PG-13” way. Some solid make-up effects at the end give some spooks for the viewer, but don´t expect any major gore effects or body count. This DVD is available at Xploited Cinema.
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