Girls Nite Out

Girls Nite Out, a 1984 B-movie slasher film, is unquestionably incompetent in character development, dialogue, and pacing. But don't let that blind you to its considerable achievements. For one, it seriously tackles the themes of sexual jealousy and promiscuity in the campus setting, which are subjects of great significance among college kids, and I'd like to think among humanity in general. Secondly, when the murders begin (not until after 45 minutes of nearly un-watchable exposition) the film reaches a genuinely creepy rhythm, satisfyingly gory and with an unforgettable finale.

The concept is that a vicious serial killer, dressed in the college's bear mascot costume (replete with makeshift metal claws), terrorizes sorority girls on a late-night, campus-wide scavenger hunt. In theory, the sight of a bear mascot slicing and dicing dimwitted sorority girls might elicit a laugh, but the director, Robert Deubel doesn't play the murder scenes for camp value. The sheer violence and aggression of the killings and the terror depicted among the victims make it difficult to watch the murder scenes through a comforting prism of irony.

The best part of the film is by far the finale. One of my favorite freaky killer attributes is the ability to manipulate his or her voice to do the devil's work. The revelation of the killer at the end of the film incorporates this and reaches a satisfyingly dissonant chord of originality and weirdness. Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook does commendable work as a rigid campus security officer, and outshines nearly all of his co-stars, except perhaps Rutanya Alda who is absolutely brilliant in an unforgettable role.

It is unfortunate that Girls Nite Out is bogged down by such an awful first hour. The disparity in competence between the character development and exposition of the first half vs. the scares of the last half is vast. But if you can make it to the last lap, you will find much to admire about Girls Nite Out.