Girls Nite Out (1982)

As Good As It Gets

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The idea of a sporting mascot, an adult dressed in a costume dancing stupidly on a pitch, is a rather bizarre and slightly sinister invention. It takes a cheap slasher film to poke some fun at this, by subverting the supposedly 'friend to all the family' character and making them into a vicious and deranged killer. An interesting idea and the very presence of this Dancing Bear, complete with razor paws, actually carries a degree of menace with mild panache.As for the plot, you'll be hard pushed to write it down in more than 3 sentences and this follows some familiar 80's slasher traits: a prior tragic event which sets off the killer's rampage, college students with sex, weed and alcohol their sole preoccupation, some gratuitous slayings of women with the camera fixated on their terror and a twist ending with a Scooby Doo style whodunnit.The premise of this all stems from the story of a former student referred to as Dickie Kavanaugh, whom you see at the very beginning, at least his legs which are suspended from an apparent suicide, in a mental hospital and then at the very end, in a truly arresting final shot. His story is that he was presumably a rather troubled young man who was taken out into the woods one night as part of a scavenger hunt. WHilst it is not explained what happened, we learn briefly that the aftermath of this meant that he lost his mind. This is quite an interesting idea but nothing more is mentioned except that some anonymous student refutes this and claims he was mad and was sent to the sanitarium due to the killing of his girlfriend. We see a photo of the girl and possibly Dickie at this point. So has Dickie actually killed himself or escaped his confinement ready to enact bloody revenge, or is someone else responsible? With most of the 80's slashers, the explanations in the final moments last about 30 secs so you always have questions. But no need to frown here, it's silly cheap fun and if you can view these old films for what they are, it isn't a bad viewing at all. Slashers forever I say.

Students at Dewitt University are all getting ready for the annual all night Scavenger Hunt unaware a psycho dressed as the bear mascot and armed with a fist full of steak knives is stalking the young ladies of Dewitt. It sounds like such a simple premise, but director Robert Deubel gives the viewer so much more than a slasher. Severe overacting, bad dialog, unlikable characters, and the lack of a central heroic figure turns a routine slasher into a garbled mess. I suppose the director tried breaking new ground by throwing away most of the Slasher formula unfortunately he threw away the parts that make slasher films great.The first thirty minutes is more soap opera than slasher. Guys complain about their girlfriends, girls brag about screwing other guys. Far too much screen time is given to characters that vanish midway into the film. The middle section focuses on the killer stalking the girls while on the scavenger hunt. One can tell the hunt is a big event because there are five, count'em, five girls involved. The bear costume is rubbish and the third act plays like a police procedural. Drag in the red herrings, ask them a question, then show flashbacks while they answer.Hal Holbrook literally "phones" in his performance. He spends most of his screen time behind a desk clutching a receiver instead of patrolling the campus. His son, David Holbrook, plays red herring #3. David growls and stomps through his scenes. Lauren-Marie (Friday the 13th Part 2) Taylor is a welcome sight as one of the bad girls, but fans might cringe when she brags about having great sex with her cousin. Her line "It hurts when I sit down." is one of the worst in the film.All in all I found this movie quite disappointing, no nudity which didn't really bother me, no gore, low on suspense and plus there is no final girl showdown with the killer a first in the slasher genre which I find a major letdown and what we're left with is a totally stupid ending which kind went out with a whimper instead of a bang. I suppose only die hard Slasher movie fans will want to watch this.

man, this had to be one of the coolest slashers from the 1980s, it was fun, entertaining, fast paced, and all around a fine movie. another thing i liked about it was that it was hard (well at least for me) to guess who the killer was and i was totally surprised at who it was. but i wont ruin it for you! the only real problem i had with this movie was the acting, most of it was wooden, but unlike most people i won't really let that ruin a movie for me and it has hal holbrook! HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO HIM? HOW? um so yeah, if you like 80s horror/slashers and are easily entertained (like me) you should probably enjoy this slice of 1980s cheese.

Girls Nite Out is one of those films that could have great if just a few extra touches would have been used. The acting is good for the most part, Hal Holbrook solidifies the cast as a stern campus security head. The story is fair, nothing you haven't seen in a horror film a million times. The look and atmosphere of the film is very good. With alittle less stupid comedy, some more graphic killing (eye gougings, decapitation, gut spilling), alittle more suspense leading up to each killing, and an overhauled ending, this could have been a real winner. Pass on this one unless you just want to see it for the 80's campus nostalgia. Oh yeah, the whole film is chock full of the worst mind numbing oldies music, UUUGGGHHH!!!