NIGHT SCREAMS (1987)

NIGHT SCREAMS (1987)

Tagline: In The Dark... No One Can See You Scream!

(Horror, Drama, Cut it out Doug) [R]

Note: On streaming services, this gets a TV-MA rating. That is basically a [R]. 

If I had my way, we’d just go over there and turn that whole place into a parking lot.

In this one, we are taken to Wichita, Kansas where David’s friends are throwing him a party at his house while his parents are out of town. Meanwhile, 2 convicts escape from prison and one of them is very homicidal. On top of that David who is apparently dating Joni is also at the party without medication that keeps him from becoming a violent a-hole. As it turns out Joni doesn’t even want to be there, but it is what it is. Will any of their NIGHT SCREAMS be heard?

First off, from the beginning to the credits is nonsense because it’s literally ripped from GRADUATION DAY. There is really no reason for it to be in the movie at all. One thing that is different about this movie compared to others is that it isn’t easy to tell what is going on right away because of how weird the opening is. 

The dialog from the convicts is wildly idiotic. They are convicts, but wow. Probably the most memorable scene was a grill kill. If you ever decide to watch this thing, it’s pretty nuts. Most of the kills are pretty tame and they are definitely all cheesy. 

Acting-wise, this character D.B. is played by Ron Thomas. He is actually good in this except for one part where he’s talking with David and overacts. Ron Thomas is best known for his role as Bobby in THE KARATE KID. Megan Wyss plays Joni in this. She is actually still acting to this day but only did 9 projects in all those years with 2 on the way. Her most famous role was probably on the TV show “Amazing Stories”. She is actually pretty good in this. Joseph Paul Manno is mediocre as David. He only did 4 TV shows and TV movies before getting out of acting in 1996. Randy Lundsford plays Russell and seems to be mostly there to provide comedic relief. He does fine in the role and for some reason was given a brief parking lot dancing scene. Why? I thought Susan Lyles was fine in this with her limited screen time as Chris and the same goes for Barbara Schoenhofer who plays Brenda, but both of them never really got involved in anything else aside from the making of video for this movie called BLOOD AND CHOPSTICKS: ECHOES OF NIGHT SCREAMS. 

They went with a subtle techno and rock score over screeching violins and someone molesting a bass which was helpful. Points for having a FLASH GORDON album in the background of one of the scenes. The sound was recorded in Ultra Stereo, whatever that is. Not sure why the closing song feels like it be better suited for a 70’s elevator, but the soundtrack overall it’s horrible.

This movie isn’t horrible if you just overlook the opening sequence and some of the weirdest villain dialog ever written. The injection of all that definitely comes across as cheap. 

Overall I have to give this thing a 4 out of 7. It’s interesting enough and the ending makes up for a lot of the flaws. This is not a great movie for your Halloween-Horror-O-Thon unless you are just running out of stuff to watch, don’t care if the dialog sucks, and don’t have any kids around. 

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