warsystem04 I've seen nothing but poor reviews for this movie all over the internet, and after finally watching it I have absolutely no clue why. "Girls Nite Out" not only contains every element of a good slasher flick, but most of the elements and nuances of a GREAT slasher flick. After popping in the original VHS of the film that I recently acquired, the grainy, dark atmosphere was immediate.A college is having it's annual sorority scavenger hunt on campus, but someone is picking the girls off one by one. There are multiple events leading up to the scavenger hunt that create quite a wide range of suspects, and I absolutely did not guess the killer, something that is rare for me after having seen so many movies in the genre. Once the bear suit was donned by the murderer and the knife hand was made (so perfect, bravo), I truly knew I was dealing with something out of the norm. The bear suit is comical, but is at the same time very twisted, lulling the victims into security and having "that look" to it.While the plot itself is not too out of the ordinary, character relationships, legitimate suspenseful moments and a dark atmosphere work for this film. The ending is also highly noteworthy and creepy, although it does borrow from "Psycho" quite a bit (what doesn't?). There is no nudity, and no gore aside from lots of blood, but not even this bothered me. The bear grabbing the victims and whispering misogynistic rants is quite perfect enough. The tie in to the history mentioned throughout the movie of the other crime is fully realized, and I was not bored even though there are multiple extended scenes of partying, dialog and walking."Girls Nite Out" might just be THE most criminally underrated slasher film I've seen so far. Most of the harder to find and obscure titles in the genre are buried deep for a reason, but "Girls Nite Out" is a shining example of what atmosphere, creativity, character development and a great ending can do for an otherwise basic film. Don't let IMDb or some horror blog fool you, this one is crucial.

Scott LeBrun The story here is simple enough: on a college campus, coeds find their good-hearted fun, in the form of a scavenger hunt, hampered by the activities of a brutal killer who has murdered the basketball team's mascot, appropriated his goofy bear costume, and is using it to escape detection while slaughtering the participants. To add to that, there's a melodramatic sub plot about the killing of campus security head Jim MacVey's (Hal Holbrook) daughter once upon a time, which is going to prove to be important to the story later. Name actor Holbrook is clearly slumming here, and looks rather weary; his appearance certainly must have something to do with the fact that his son David is also in the movie playing the pivotal role of Mike Prior, a volatile athlete. But it is great novelty to see him here, and it's a treat to see the other adult actors, lovely Rutanya Alda as Barney (!), and her husband Richard Bright as the detective who shows up on the scene. Other familiar faces include some slasher alumni: Lauren-Marie Taylor ("Friday the 13th Part 2") and Carrick Glenn ("The Burning"), and of course ravishing lead Julia Montgomery was Betty Childs in "Revenge of the Nerds". The problem that this viewer has with this movie is that it gets a little tiresome after a while. Yes, it does have some things going for it: the addition of a scavenger hunt helps to create a somewhat playful approach, as well as the bear costume (it is a hoot to see a slasher villain wearing something like this), the soundtrack features golden oldies like "Summer in the City" and "Do You Believe in Magic", and the killer's weapon of choice automatically calls to mind the glove made famous by Freddy in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" two years later. There is some atmosphere and suspense and a little bit of gore. However, in order to get to this movie's good stuff, one has to sit through a lot of dopey comedy & tomfoolery, and emphasis on character relationships before the pacing picks up at all. The beginning is pretty good, but the ending, once our psycho's identity is revealed, is fairly abrupt and not altogether satisfying. At least the calls that this person places to both campus DJ Kaiser (Larry Mintz) and MacVey are good for major amusement. Underwhelming overall, but does have its moments here and there. Five out of 10.

lost-in-limbo I had this one sitting on my to-watch pile, but every time I grabbed it. I ended up putting it back favouring something else. Finally I gotta round to watching it last night and ended up thinking while amusingly odd, it didn't really rock my boat and its focus on college melodramatics really made sure the stalk-n-slash elements took a back seat. It really does take quite awhile before it eventually kicks into gear… but in a way it's short-lived. While it wasn't terrible, it didn't deliver the goods… well just not enough of it. A killer murders the college mascot and steals the bear costume as they go about murdering the girls who are taking part in an all-night scavenger hunt held by the campus radio-station. Campus security officer Mac begins to get the feeling something isn't quite right, especially when he gets a strange phone call from someone who claims to be the guy who killed his daughter on these grounds many years ago. Rather a copy-and-paste low-budget 80s Canadian campus slasher outing, that typically sets up its red herrings, harbouring motivations, teenage shenanigans and the likable heroine/s. Although not that distinguishable the performances are believably natural by its young cast, especially the buoyant Julia Montgomery and James Carroll. Adding some class is Hal Halbrook as security officer Mac, but he did look rather weary by his turn. A lot of time is spent with the characters being teenagers, as the thin narrative aimlessly moves around before going on to set-up its vicious shock moments. There's a raw and seedy side to it, but at the same time it can be strangely goofy with its playfulness. From the soap opera dramas, to the homicidal killer bear spouting out sadistic hatred towards women and then the police interrogation sequences. The novelty of the killer in the bear costume is the most original aspect, as it goes on their own little scavenger hunt using its claws which are made of blades to cuddle then hack-up their victim. Then calling the radio station providing its own cryptic clues. As for the revelation to who's behind it, well that comes from left field in a rather unfocused manner and its final freeze frame shot is twisted. Even the campus setting is a perfect place for the carnage to occur, but it's the moodily unhinged music score that sets up its fairly uncanny presence. Solid handling, but slow and silly."You almost scared the hell out of me".

levelheader99 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!!!