Night of Death! (1980)

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

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

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This Euro-horror is very fun to watch but for those fans who like a guessing game, the climax is ruined in the opening scene. You don't even have to be an astute film watcher to catch the casual unveiling of the twist ending when Serge reads Martine's letter. The screenwriter gave too much away which is why I believe they introduced the almost needless "Needle Killer" as a subplot.Night of Death! follows sweet-as-pie Martine (Isabelle Goguey) who after eight months of unemployment lands a job at a retirement home. The headmaster, Betty Buckels, is a bit on the stern side but Martine has known hardship all her life as an orphan so she can handle it. However, her first night there the other nurse on duty disappears and Martine is informed that she quit--we know otherwise but poor Martine doesn't. The fun of the film is watching Martine piece things together before the 28th of the month, which all the geriatrics have marked on their calendar as some sort of great event.STORY: $$ (Far too much is revealed in the first scene of the film which diminishes the shock value of the climax. If you don't see it coming than you have really got to be from another planet. Also, there is a lack of follow through on the tension part. Martine is well-liked and becomes close with Jules and Pascal--two old men at the home--but their friendship, which could have made for some inner turmoil, is forgotten once the 28th rolls around. Jules' fascination with revolutions was great, though!) ACTING: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey was terrific in the lead role. Her work as Martine makes the character easy to like and thus easy to root for. Too many horror films made nowadays just don't have likable leads so they are strictly body count flicks with little value, but this is different. Betty Buckels does a fine job as the headmaster and the wiry ol' fellow that played Jules was great).NUDITY: $$$ (Isabelle Goguey, who easily fits into the buxom bracket, has a brief topless scene while the group of oldtimers stare at her through a window. Her fellow nurse is stripped naked and eaten in a graphic cannibalism scene).

Night of Death! (1980) ** 1/2 (out of 4)French horror film has a woman (Isabelle Goguey) getting a job at Deadlock House, a home for the elderly where she is given orders by the strict owner (Betty Beckers) to look after the clients, cook and other basic chores. The day after her arrival the nurse who was on duty mysteriously leaves and as time goes on she is going to learn the truth and that's that the elderly here are extremely old and killing and eating the young to stay alive. As far as horror films go, this one here really doesn't offer anything new or original but there are some very good moments scattered around that make it worth viewing if you're a fan of the genre. The highlight of the film is without question its music score by Laurent Petitgirard who actually makes the film quite chilling in a few scenes. The music score has a very eerie tone to it and it's one I could find myself listening to often and enjoying it every step of the way. This mixes in well with the atmosphere created by the director, which is very thick at times and so much so that you can smell the death inside this old house. Another major plus is the performance of Goguey who manages to be very believable in her role but she's also good enough to make us care about her, which isn't something that usually comes along in a Euro horror flick. The supporting players are also quite good as they certainly deliver in their roles and give it their all. The gore in the film is extremely cheap as we see a body get sliced down the middle and for the rest of the movie we see our elderly folks pull stuff out of it and eat. The body is extremely fake looking but this doesn't hurt the film too much. We also get a little bit of nudity throughout the film. What really kills the movie is that the screenplay really doesn't offer too much because after we realize that the elderly people are cannibals, it takes way too long to reach the ending that we know is coming. We know they're eventually going to want to eat the new nurse but it takes forever to get there. With that said, fans of the genre will still want to check this forgotten film out as there's still enough here to make it worth watching.

There are not many french horror films, the most famous one is "Eyes without face" and this one is a welcome addition to the short french list. The plot is simple, a new nurse just arrive to an hospice and the old people there seems to hide a terrible secret. Here comes the spoiler, they are cannibals and eat human flesh in order to live longer (and it seems to work). The good points are the ambiance which is spooky, helped by an eerie music and a strange song that comes back a few times, a bit of gore (pretty rare for a french film of this period) and the actors (over)acting weird from start to finish. I enjoy movies with children and old people killing, they're usually supposed to be nice so if it's well made it makes you quiet uncomfortable. I think it's the case here, even if it's not a great film. And for the french audience, it's fun to see Charlotte de Turckeim naked in an early role and dispatched in a gory way (no spoiler here, it was the cover for many editions, to try to cash in on her relative celebrity). This film would please many horror aficionados if they have a chance to see it. I must admit that "Clash", the next Delpard's effort, is not as good as this one. So if you have the chance, give it a try.

The precedent user and I ,we have not seen the same movie!But there's no accounting for taste they say.Amateurish directing,horrible soundtrack,abominable performances ,only the cinematography is rather decent.A cursory look at Raphael Delpart ,the "director"'s filmography:from coarse comedy to abysmal horror films ("la Nuit de la Mort" and its doomed successor "Clash"),he made five films in total and that's enough! Here Delpart's idee fixe is to be Roman Polanski: Rosemary and the cannibals.It's all there ,from the first victim who writes a letter to the heroine,to the old people who give her a green beverage added with vitamins ,to the nightmare which is not really one...You'll probably notice snatches of "Beauty and the Beast" too.Here's Delpart's first mistake:after twenty minutes ,we know almost all about the plot.And it's not much of a plot.On a similar subject, Alain Jessua did a lot better with his overlooked "Traitement de Choc" .Ah! Lemme think! there are two unexpected twists but they come at the most awkward moment.The pictures are often disgusting and some people might go veggie after watching that.But why should they bother?