[Yuletide Terrors] Day 11: TO ALL A GOODNIGHT

Throughout the month of December, we will be highlighting a film a day that has some tie into the holiday somehow. Some titles will be obvious, others won’t be. Some films will be good and, again, others won’t be. However, we think all titles are worth your time whether to give you chills inside your home or to make you drink more eggnog until you puke laughing.

Students at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls can’t wait for Christmas break. The young ladies are planning a huge end of semester blow out. When a group of guys show up and everyone starts pairing off, the party gets underway. But someone dressed as Santa Claus is killing off anyone looking for a place to bone. Are they killings somehow related to the sorority prank that ended in death? They totally are.

Released in 1980, To All A Goodnight has basically been forgotten by the majority of Horror fans. And probably because it isn’t very interesting.  It may perk some genre fans attention for being directed by David Hess, known scumbag in Last House on the Left and House on the Edge of the Park. And it is one of the first to feature a killer dressed as Santa Claus. The direction is nothing special. The budget was so low the crew wasn’t able to get all the coverage, which effected the editing. The acting is pretty dopey. It’s all pretty blah. During this viewing I was writing down the different Slashers released in 1980 I was being reminded of. Imagine my surprise when I found out the Christmas coal came out before all of them. But I’m not sure if this played theatrically.

To All A Goodnight debuted on home video in 1983 from Media Entertainment. With such a low budget movie and Media’s notoriety, it looks like it was run through mud before being transferred. There were a few moments I had no idea what has happening in frame.  This had been languishing in analog purgatory until this year. Kino Lorber just put out a Blu-Ray and DVD release in October. Presented in it’s original aspect ratio, and given an HD transfer, it’s more love than this movie has ever received.  In the interest of film preservation, I think all films should be treated equal. Despite watching this dull duck twice, I would sit through it again just to see the remaster. I would only recommend this little seen slicer and dicer to completists.