Memorable, crazy movie

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Spoiler warning..I saw this on vacation after renting it from a mom and pop video store. At the end, I remember the Final Girl escaping by jumping off a roof. Another sorority sister, the mean one, was doing some kind of dance on the roof while the killer watched from a second story window. What the heck did any of that mean? Anyone know?

This 1980 horror film features a crazed killer dressed as Santa Claus stalking a group of friends at an all-girl school where an accidental death occurred 2 years prior. What can I say? This film is disappointing. Many scenes are dark which makes me want to go to sleep, the characters are unlikable, except for the main girl, Nancy (Jennifer Runyon), the editing stinks and the ending is kind of predictable and ridiculous. Also, The film obviously rips off "Prom Night," "Black Christmas," "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th." The only plus is the girls showing some skin and a couple of kills/deaths. I'd only view this if you're into slasher flicks, but it's a weak one.

A killer dispatches a few people on Christmas at a finishing school. Give a film credit where credit's due. First of all; this is the first film depicting a killer Santa at Christmas (the "Tales From the Crypt" segment with Joan Collins is just that, a segment), it's a few months ahead of "Friday the 13th" with the undying formula of disposable people hacked to death at a secluded location, a minuscule budget and a 10 day shooting schedule definitely called for fast thinking and fast shooting (and a lot of painfully obvious day-for-night scenes). The fact that David Hess and co. managed to churn out a semi coherent slasher must be considered quite a feat in itself. Too bad that "To All a Goodnight" is such a bore. The kills are mostly clumsy and the extreme gore scenes look pretty bad, there's no suspense and any attempt at a creepy atmosphere in promising surroundings falls flat with cringe worthy dialog and well below par performances. For me; a William Lauer (never heard of him before) delivers the best performance as the typical horn dog of the pack while others quite literally stink. Kiva Lawrence, as the cook and overall watchdog of the girls at the finishing school, is the most experienced actress and she's not bad per se but doesn't come off any better than the rest. Future mini starlet Jennifer Runyon doesn't do any better either. There's also that killer second twist in the end where you think everything's wrapped up but it turns out not so much. Needless to say it doesn't better the film but it's another point in the flick's favor concerning how it beat most others with that indispensable routine. With no Christmas atmosphere to speak of, no real suspense, not any great gore or memorable scenes for that matter or any other small things associated with decent slashers to recommend; I hardly think "To All a Goodnight" will be a seasonal mandatory viewing in the yuletide season for slasher fans. I wanted to like...scratch that...Love "To All a Goodnight" but it's a plain old stinker in most respects.

OK People come on... TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT , may be marred by some poor lighting, but overall this is a serviceable and nasty lil' holiday treat. There are some fantastic kills in it, and hell anything directed by Mr. Hess, Written by The Incredible Melting man and starring 80's teen film regular Jenny Runyon, is well worth the price of admission. If anything, watch it for a Plane propeller killing. Worth a rental. Keep your eyes peeled for a DVD release. I mean, if Christmas Evil can get a fantastic repackaging, then surely something like this can get some decent treatment. 7 out of 10 definitely, for a myriad of great gruesome deaths.