In the first years of the 1970s we had been treated to a variety of Yuletide horrors, however despite Black Christmas being a truly seminal movie, rather than a rash of fresh festive frights, it all went rather quiet. Now partly this is down to the fact that the film business moved a good deal slower back then. And while Black Christmas would indeed be hugely influential, when it was first released, it was just a little Canadian movie, made outside the Hollywood machine, and hence didn't get an instant worldwide release. Therefore, while it was released in 1974 in Canada and the US, Black Christmas didn't hit theatres in the UK and some other European countries until the following year, with some territories including Italy, Australia and Norway, not getting screenings until 1976. So then, it took time, years in fact, before Black Christmas would become the influential movie it is today.
However it is still somewhat odd that the latter half of the 1970s was a fallow time for Christmas horror movies. Indeed it wouldn’t be until a new decade dawned that a new wave of Yuletide terrors would appear. But in 1975, there was one movie that deserves an honourable mention. Or perhaps that should be a dishonourable mention, for here we have our first festive flick that would later be classified in the UK as a video nasty! And that movie is Last Stop on the Night Train, which also goes under the titles The Night Train Murders and Don't Ride on Late Night Trains. Released on 8th April 1975, this movie was very much the Italian answer, or if you prefer, unofficial remake, of Wes Craven's seminal 1972 shocker Last House on the Left, which was itself a loose remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (1960). In fact Last Stop on the Night Train has been released as The Next Last House on the Left and The New Last House on the Left.
It was directed by veteran Italian film-maker Aldo Lado, who is best remembered these days for his contributions to the giallo genre, in particular The Short Night of the Glass Dolls (1971) and Who Saw Her Die? (1972). Plus in 1979, under the name of George B Lewis, he would helm Italian Star Wars cash-in The Humanoid starring Richard Kiel and Barbara Bach. Last Stop on the Night Train opens in Munich where we are treated to some lovely shots of the Christmas markets. Somewhat less seasonal are two scuzzy hoodlums mugging a street Santa. And they board a train to evade the authorities. Also on the train are two young girls, Margaret and Lisa, who are going home to Italy for the Christmas holidays. The two crims, Blackie and Curly, meet up with a depraved upper class lady and end up molesting, assaulting and eventually killing the girls. Then following the same beats as Craven's film, by happenstance, the sick trio end up at the home of Lisa’s parents, who figure out their identity and take a violent revenge.
Now Aldo Lado has been accused of just sticking Last House on the Left on a train. But, in fairness, Lados' movie is, at least from a technical point of view, a more polished film than Craven’s. It is not as graphic in its violence or nudity either. However it is still hugely unpleasant, despite not being very explicit. And indeed, even reviewers who find some merit in this movie, such as the slow careful way Lado builds up to the ordeal, struggle to recommend it.
And part of the problem is that as a rape-revenge movie, the torment seems to go on forever, but the revenge is somewhat brief, and hence unsatisfying. Which makes for a very bleak and upsetting experience. And while Last Stop on the Night Train is undoubtedly horrible, it's not really a horror movie per se. However it is most certainly probably the darkest and most disturbing film ever set at Christmas. And hence, that dubious honour earns it a most dishonourable mention here.
So then, we wouldn't get another true Christmas horror movie until 1980, however in a somewhat weird coincidence, our next festive fright flick would have a connection to Last House on the Left too. Released on 30th January 1980 was a low budget horror movie entitled To All a Goodnight. Shot in ten days the previous December, this movie tells the tale of a group of student girls who invite some guys over to their sorority house for the Christmas break, with some festive naughtiness in mind. However it seems someone has a list, and has been checking it twice, for soon a mysterious figure in a Santa Claus costume starts offing the students one by one…
Now To All a Goodnight is pretty much your typical 1980s slasher. However it is the talent behind the camera that will raise eyebrows. To begin with the screenplay was by a chap called Alex Rebar, who previously has scripted the Italian Exorcist/Rosemary's Baby inspired horror Beyond the Door back in 1974. However, he is better remembered for starring as the titular monster in cult favourite The Incredible Melting Man in 1977.
However if that wasn't interesting enough, directing the movie was David Hess. Now Hess had started in the entertainment business as a singer songwriter, and had worked on hits for the likes of Pat Boone and even Elvis Presley. However in the early 1970s, he became a method actor, and landed the role of main villain, Krug in Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. He would go on to play similar human monsters in movies such as House at the Edge of the Park (1980).
Now considering this was the first and indeed only movie he made, Hess actually does a fairly decent job. Yes, it is true that this movie bears all the hallmarks of a low budget product - it was very clearly shot very quickly on location in a handful of days, and the acting is of, shall we say, a variable quality. But the film moves at a reasonable pace, and has some inventive kills created by a young makeup effects artist, future legend Mark Shostrom, who would go on to work on a plethora of classics such as The Beastmaster, several of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, From Beyond, Evil Dead 2, the Phantasm series, and on a more festive note, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). In fact To All a Good Night was the first movie he worked on. Also making her feature debut was a young Jennifer Runyon, who would later find fame appearing in movies such as Ghostbusters and Up the Creek, and co-starred in the Scott Baio sitcom Charles in Charge.
However while the film offers some fun but no frills slasher fare, what has caught many reviewers’ attention are the uncanny similarities to Friday 13th. For, aside from sharing the same basic slasher tropes, there are more striking parallels. Friday 13th has Crazy Ralph, an old geezer who warns all and sundry away from Camp Crystal Lake. However in To All a Good Night, we have a somewhat eccentric handyman who warns the girls that evil is abroad and is called…you guessed it, Ralph! Furthermore both movies share a rather large plot point which I won't reveal as it will spoil both of them.
So were Rebar and Hess just borrowing heavily from Friday 13th? Well, the weird thing is To All A Good Night appears to have come out first. And Hess certainly knew Friday's director Sean Cunningham, as he had been the producer on Last House on the Left. But on the other hand, while Friday 13th wasn't released until 9th May 1980, it had been shot in the summer of 1979. So possibly Hess knew what was going to be in the movie.
But just to muddy the waters further, it is possible that the release date for To All a Goodnight is inaccurate. For Mark Shostrom, who did the special makeup effects, remembers the shooting of John Lennon happening while filming was taking place, which would mean that this movie was made around 8th December 1980, a whole year later than we presume. And while we might never know the truth of who borrowed from who, To All a Goodnight does have another key element - that again I won't reveal as it's a spoiler for both movies - that would be repeated decades later in another famous slasher, Scream… which was, of course, directed by Wes Craven! What a tangled web we weave…
Now some would say that all these offscreen shenanigans are a tad more interesting than the movie itself. However despite its low budget limitations, To All a Goodnight is a fun little film, and for certain viewers, the rough edges and *ahem* interesting performances will be part of the charm. Additionally, like many early slashers, the plot is basically a whodunit mystery, which Hess plays out nicely. It's just a shame that the hot dry Californian location is a little less than festive, as this would have been enhanced by a cold and snowy setting. But hey, I would recommend To All a Goodnight over Last Stop on the Night Train any day! But as it was, To All a Goodnight was just the first in a brand new wave of festive fright flicks coming in the early 1980s, as we will hear tomorrow...
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