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I first saw this movie 25 years ago on 'Sammy Terry'

posted 14 years ago by Fat_Lives_Matter
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For those who live outside of the Hoosier State, Sammy Terry was a popular late night horror host in Indiana back in the day. He used to air these really bad and low budget horror movies every Friday night, and the locals loved to tune in no matter how low grade his featured films were. As a kid, I would stay up to the wee hours of the night to watch these B movies like they were the best thing in the world (although many times I would succumb to my fatigue and would miss the last quarter of the films). One of the movies featured on Sammy Terry was Hell Night, and I remembered it scared the crap out of me when I was 7. After rewatching Hell Night again recently, I couldn't help but laugh at how cheesy it is, but the film still holds a nostalgic place in my heart. They just don't make 'em like that anymore. Like old-school horror hosts, films like Hell Night are extinct.

[–] Nightflyre9 14 years ago

I just re-watched Hell Night recently myself and I didn't find it "cheesy" at all. If anything, it reminded me just how bland and soulless much of modern horror has become. Hell Night used suspense and scene set-up more than graphic bloodletting--and it's spooky, fun, and atmospheric in a way that today's movies are too cynical to achieve. There was an odd innocence to the 80's that I truly miss. You're right though: the days of old-school horror hosts like Joe Bob Briggs at the Drive-In and Ronda Shear on USA Up All Night have become a distant memory. They're nostalgic reminders of a sadly bygone era.