Night of Death! (1980)

Perfect cast and a good story

As Good As It Gets

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

A fair maiden takes a job at a crotchety nursing home. Retirement home? A home for old folks! A grouchy, game playing, cryptic group. Except for Betty Bakers; lady is a boss. LIKE. A. PRO. There are strange rules at this old folks' home, namely that our fair maiden cannot leave the premises for 2 months. 2 months! 2 months of changing Depends, giving sponge baths, and cooking only veggies! That's right. These old bats are vegetarians. Or are they? DUN DUN DUN!Fairly entertaining French horror flick-- bits of juiciness mixed in with a whole lot of Zzzz. Everything is competent; acting, direction, music. Ending is vicious and darkly comical. In fact, there is a bit of black comedy throughout the proceedings, but not all of it works. The comedy is a bit like... "Oh. That was funny. Wasn't it? No, really, wasn't it? I think it was." AHA! Not a horror film, but a thinking film!

Martine (Isabelle Goguey) begins working as a nurse at a convalescent home and quickly discovers some strange things afoot. Her co-worker has mysteriously disappeared, the residents are all a bit nutty and a murderer nicknamed "The Golden Needle Killer" is terrorizing the town. To say any more would give away too much for this fun little French horror film. If you have any interest in it, I would suggest staying away from any reviews or discussions. While the director gives some major things away early, there are still a few nicely done twists later on. The film has a few graphic gore scenes and some great dark comedy moments. One of the best things about the film is the great location and house. The Synapse DVD is crystal clear, as if the film were just shot last week, and presents the film in French with English subtitles.

After several years of unemployment Martine finally finds a job as a nurse in an old people's home.On her arrival she is greeted by a worrying and mysterious guard who presents her to cold and dominating director Miss Helene.Soon the nurse in station Nicole vanishes without a trace.In fact she is butchered by old French people,who feast on her naked flesh.Her cannibalized body is hidden somewhere in the building.Martine tries to solve the gruesome mystery of rural retirement home...Raphael Delpard's "La Nuit de la Mort" mixes black humour with suspense and stomach-churning gore.There are two pretty graphic scenes of cannibalism,hand cutting and hysterical climax.The score is quite eerie and old men and women with the taste for human flesh are creepy enough.Unfortunately not much happens during most of the film.Overall, "La Nuit de la Mort" reminded me a little bit S.F Brownrigg's "Don't Look in the Basement" with its bizarre aura of insanity.7 out of 10.

The precedent user and I ,we have not seen the same movie!But there's no accounting for taste they say.Amateurish directing,horrible soundtrack,abominable performances ,only the cinematography is rather decent.A cursory look at Raphael Delpart ,the "director"'s filmography:from coarse comedy to abysmal horror films ("la Nuit de la Mort" and its doomed successor "Clash"),he made five films in total and that's enough! Here Delpart's idee fixe is to be Roman Polanski: Rosemary and the cannibals.It's all there ,from the first victim who writes a letter to the heroine,to the old people who give her a green beverage added with vitamins ,to the nightmare which is not really one...You'll probably notice snatches of "Beauty and the Beast" too.Here's Delpart's first mistake:after twenty minutes ,we know almost all about the plot.And it's not much of a plot.On a similar subject, Alain Jessua did a lot better with his overlooked "Traitement de Choc" .Ah! Lemme think! there are two unexpected twists but they come at the most awkward moment.The pictures are often disgusting and some people might go veggie after watching that.But why should they bother?