Reviewed by Geno McGahee
The 1980s was a good time for horror and whenever I stumble across a horror movie that I haven’t seen from that time, I feel like I did when I was younger and finding a gem at the video store. Today’s horror is so bad, for the most part, but in the 70s and 80s, you found a lot better product. Also, it’s nice seeing the styles….stone washed jeans, mullets, heavy metal tee shirts….etc.
NIGHT VISITOR is about a high school student, Billy Colton (Derek Rydall)…well, he looks 35, but you see this a lot in movies. In GREASE, John Travolta played a teenager and he was 24 and then there was his fat ass buddy and he was 32….playing a 16 year old. We overlook it because we just want to enjoy the movie, so I was able to look beyond the older looking high school student, Billy. He is the rebel bad-boy and you know this by the skin tight jeans and mullet … anyone that can have their grapes squeezed that tight and still sit down is a bad boy in my opinion. And they say male camel toe doesn’t exist. Fools.
Mr. Willard (Allen Garfield), Billy’s teacher, has had enough of his student coming in late and lying continuously about why he’s tardy. He comes into the room and claims that his mother’s hair dryer exploded and now she needs a wig. It was rather funny, but Willard doesn’t buy it. Billy gets the reputation of a liar and storyteller, which hurts him badly when he witnesses something beyond belief.
Billy has a hot older neighbor that has sex with the shades open. He watches and masturbates (well, I’m assuming he does), and then tells his girlfriend and best friend that it’s an all night wankathon thanks to his hot neighbor, but they don’t believe him. He presumes that his neighbor is a prostitute because it’s a different man every night and is going to prove it through photography, but he gets more than he bargained for. When he sneaks onto the neighbor’s roof and crawls up to the window, he sees a man in a goat mask, killing his neighbor with a knife. He struggles with the masked man when he’s detected and wrestles the mask off. It’s none other than (spoiler) his teacher, Mr. Willard.
Mr. Willard has a brother, Stanley (Michael J. Pollard), a dimwit that does what his older brother says and that includes murder and Satanic ritual. When it is reported that Willard is a Satanist, the reputation of Billy hurts him immensely. The fuzz won’t believe him because of it, so he must prove it himself.
He pays a visit to one of his father’s old friends, police detective Ronald Devereaux (Elliot Gould). I am a big fan of Gould. He steals the show in every film he’s in. Here is no different. He plays the wimpy but honorable former cop with a secret. He backs up young Billy and collectively, they break into the house of Willard and the fight ensues.
The ending of this movie is a lot of fun. Watching Gould go to battle with Pollard is a scene to remember and it’s chainsaw vs. shotgun in a life and death struggle. While they go at it, Billy’s taking on his teacher in a punch for punch battle, including funny catch lines like “school’s out,” and “it’s graduation day.” They must have been preparing for this battle.
NIGHT VISITOR is a fun movie. It’s not scary, but it’s really compelling with great performances all around and a remarkable cast. It reminds me of FRIGHT NIGHT with the evil neighbor and young kid going head to head. I really enjoyed it….and it’s hard to go wrong with this cast. I recommend it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10. Satan makes me wear tight pants.
