One Dark Night isn’t a great movie but as supernatural-horror goes, which I’m generally not a big fan of, it’s fairly entertaining and features some impressive make-up effects and a solid finale.
One Dark Night
— MVD Rewind Collection —
(1982)
Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
MVD| PG – 89 min. – $29.95 | August 24, 2021
Date Published: 10/11/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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MVD Visual provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: World renowned psychic Raymar is found dead after announcing he had uncovered the secret of how to become even more powerful in death by the use of telekinetic powers. At the same time, two high school girls (ROBIN EVANS, LESLIE SPEIGHTS) plan an initiation night for Julie (MEG TILLY), who is determined to shed her “goody goody” image. Her test is to spend the night locked in the crypt – the same one that Raymar has been buried in that very day.
Quick Hit Review: One Dark Night is a fun enough supernatural-horror film that is a bit sluggish in the middle but picks up in the finale thanks to some, for its time, impressive make-up and visual effects (think the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark). The characters aren’t anything special outside of some very basic traits but the acting from Meg Tilly and Robin Evans weren’t half bad. The film was co-written and directed by Tom McLoughlin and although it’s not fantastic, I do think there’s enough to make this for an entertaining little horror film more than suitable to watch late at night on Halloween. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3½/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the inner sleeve is reversible. There is a fair amount of bonus features here. Included inside is a small fold-out poster. Audio Commentaries:
Both of these tracks, sometimes a bit redundant, provide some behind-the-scenes stories on the writing and filmmaking process including bits of trivia. Interviews:
All told there is nearly two hours of interview footage here, each participant telling of their roles on the production. No real standouts but Baily was probably the most interesting of the bunch. There is also an Alternate Director’s Cut/Work Print Version (1:29:55), some Behind the Scenes Footage (38:53), a Photo Gallery and the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:16) and TV Spot (0:29). |
VIDEO – 3½/5 |
| MVD Visual releases One Dark Night onto Blu-ray presented in the original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. This isn’t exactly a pristine looking picture as dust marks, scratches and other flaws permeates the transfer throughout, some sequences worse than others where there is significant film damage. Outside of that, though, there are spots that look okay and detail for the most part is sharp and colors do at least have some vibrancy even through the darker scenes, such in the finale. |
AUDIO – 3/5 |
| The movie includes an LPCM 2.0 Mono track which is serviceable enough but not without its own issues. While dialogue does come through well enough, there was plenty of hissing and some pops throughout the film’s entirety, especially with a very damaged section of the film where the video shows signs of wear and tear. It’s not terrible but admittedly did get a tad distracting a time or two. |
OVERALL – 3/5 |
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One Dark Night isn’t a great movie but as supernatural-horror goes, which I’m generally not a big fan of, it’s fairly entertaining and features some impressive make-up effects and a solid finale. The Blu-ray release from MVD does have flawed video and audio transfers but a solid selection of features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.