~Spoiler~
Night Visitor seems to be a horror film that disappeared over the years. The film is one part Fright Night and one part Devil's Rain. And since Fright Night is one of my faves, I dug this one. How can a movie about devil worshippers be anything like Fright Night you ask? Let's look at the similarities. 1. A mysterious neighbors moves in next door to our young hero. 2. Hero witnesses a murder from his bedroom window but no one will believe him. 3. Hero has to enlist the help of an aging expert who is not as gutsy as he would have you believe. 4. Hero's girlfriend is kidnapped in the last act. 5. Together with the old guy, hero has to enter the house and fight the villain and his henchman. Do you believe me yet? It has that same sense of fun that Fright Night had, but here it's definitely cheesed up. It's more of a comedy than you would think, but it was very entertaining. The cast is actually top notch. Derek Rydall plays the lead. You might recognize him from The Phantom of the Mall...or you might not. Co-stars include Elliot Gould, Richard Roundtree, and Shannon Tweed. But nobody holds a candle to the film's hammy villains: Allen Garfield and Michael J. Pollard. The two of them have a great rapport as the bumbling satanist brothers. They were a joy to watch. One thing that bothered me though, the box claims "from the director of Wolfen." Yes, the second-unit director. Can they do that? I guess they did.
Night Visitor seems to be a horror film that disappeared over the years. The film is one part Fright Night and one part Devil's Rain. And since Fright Night is one of my faves, I dug this one. How can a movie about devil worshippers be anything like Fright Night you ask? Let's look at the similarities. 1. A mysterious neighbors moves in next door to our young hero. 2. Hero witnesses a murder from his bedroom window but no one will believe him. 3. Hero has to enlist the help of an aging expert who is not as gutsy as he would have you believe. 4. Hero's girlfriend is kidnapped in the last act. 5. Together with the old guy, hero has to enter the house and fight the villain and his henchman. Do you believe me yet? It has that same sense of fun that Fright Night had, but here it's definitely cheesed up. It's more of a comedy than you would think, but it was very entertaining. The cast is actually top notch. Derek Rydall plays the lead. You might recognize him from The Phantom of the Mall...or you might not. Co-stars include Elliot Gould, Richard Roundtree, and Shannon Tweed. But nobody holds a candle to the film's hammy villains: Allen Garfield and Michael J. Pollard. The two of them have a great rapport as the bumbling satanist brothers. They were a joy to watch. One thing that bothered me though, the box claims "from the director of Wolfen." Yes, the second-unit director. Can they do that? I guess they did.