Flickering Opinions: Night Warning

Film Details:

Directed by William Asher (That's right folks -- the director of TV's "Dukes of Hazzard")

Written by
Stephen Breimer
Boon Collins (Abducted)
Alan Jay Glueckman ("Swamp Thing" TV series)

Starring
Jimmy McNichol ("General Hospital")
Susan Tyrrell (Cry-Baby, Tapeheads, Big Top Peewee)
Bo Svenson (Heartbreak Ridge, Walking Tall Part II, Tarantino's upcoming Kill Bill)
Julia Duffy ("Newhart")

Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

If you can track this movie down in any format, treat yourself to a viewing. Then, after that, make a copy of the film and send it to me.

This is a really fabulous example of early 80's teen exploitation psycho killer filmmaking. It's ridiculously over-the-top. It features Bo Svenson as the biggest asshole cop on the planet. It starts off with a decapitation scene that was filmed by a young Jan de Bont. It has a cameo by a very young Bill Paxton. And it showcases an utterly mind-blowing psycho-woman performance by Susan Tyrrell that will make you think twice about drinking milk.

I mean, how could you possibly go wrong?

Even the script is yummy camp. Check out this plot: After Jimmy McNichol's parents are killed in a grisly car accident, he is adopted by his aunt, deliciously played by Tyrrell. Things go fine until Jimmy makes plans to go off to college, which is when his aunt decides to not let him leave her -- ever.

YES! Freudian motives! Creepy family members!

This is when psycho-aunt starts getting creepy enough to make you crawl over furniture to get away from her.

Susan Tyrrell is truly a force to behold. If anything, watch the film just for her phenomenal scenery-chewing. Not that the scenery is particularly tasty, but man, does she ever chew on it! Think about a Doberman with a nice raw steak. Mmm, chewy scenery! This movie is completely her playground.

When she's not onscreen, Bo Svenson usually is, and usually he's waving guns around or accusing teens of being homosexuals. I'm not exactly sure what he's doing in the movie other than being a belligerent ass, but he's sure fun to watch.

I'm not sure why this film utterly vanished from the radar of the midnight movie circuit, but it's one hell of a lot better than 99% of the slasher horror fare that was so rampant in it's day. It's not quite Evil Dead (the one thing Night Warning lacks is an inventive director), but it deserves to be resurrected like so many psycho-killers who you thought were already dead.