To All a Goodnight is about a group of girls at a finishing school during Christmas break that are joined by a group of guys and sexy hijinx start. Soon a killer dressed as Santa Claus starts taking them out one by one. Nothing too original here, but kind of interesting seeing a killer dressed as Santa, years before Silent Night Deadly Night started an uproar. The characters are pretty cliche, we have the good girl Nancy played by Jennifer Runyon (Gwendolyn Pierce on Charles in Charge), the slutty girl Melody, Alex the nerdy guy and a slew of other body count contributors. Also pornstar Harry Reems has a small role as the pilot. The killer walks around in a santa mask and suit, wielding an axe most of the time.
Axings is a word right?
The special effects are pretty decent. There is a scene where the killer buries an axe into a guy’s forehead and it is pretty solid. He swings the axe really slowly though which is a little funny to be honest. We get a good variety of chokings, slashings, stabbings and axings is axings a word? The best kill, at least in my opinion is the propellar blade chopping up two people, that was fun. The acting is ok, it is passable honestly. Nothing too great but nothing horrible. Jennifer Runyon is pretty solid and Forrest Swanson whom plays Alex is decent as well. The santa killer is pretty creepy and at the time was a brand new idea. I really can’t think of another slasher where a Santa is the killer, predating this. Christmas Evil came out the same year but this came out in January…a Christmas themed slasher came out at the end of January.
There is a fair amount of nudity in this movie. Much like any other early 80s slasher you get a fair amount of boob shots. The killer even kills a dude while he’s on top of a girl mid thrust. Then lops the girls head off. Not sure how many times someone has died mid coitus. I know Friday the 13th Part 2 has a scene. Linda Gentile whom plays Melody the promiscuous girl is super cute, and she spends most of the movie in a button down shirt, unbuttoned and tied at the bottom. Idk but that look was really working for me HAHA.
a little death mid coitus (above)
Melody in her tied shirt (left)
Along with many slashers of the 80s there is a fair amount of clunky dialogue and strange scenes. Like how Melody seduces Alex and gives him a handy, then the next day Alex is acting like he’s Nancy’s boyfriend. I’m not sure the dynamic of this group, they all seem to mingle. Leia has a mental breakdown which is something you don’t typically see in a slasher, which is admirable honestly.
The ending is decent. The Santa killer is revealed to be Mrs. Jensen she’s like a teacher or headmistress or something at the school. Anyhoo, she’s hell bent on revenge for her daughter that died years ago at the school from falling off a balcony. It is basically Friday the 13th if we’re being honest right? This came first though, at least it was released first. There is a slight twist in the movie, there are actually two killers! Yes this did the two killer thing years before Scream did. The second killer is revealed to be Polanksy aka Mr. Jensen after Mrs. Jensen is thrown over a balcony and dies. Nancy and Alex are able to flee leaving Leia behind still dancing around like a lunatic.
I have seen this movie twice now. The first watch I had the bluray, and I found it slow and dull. This watch, I was really enjoying it. It does a lot of interesting things and it is obvious that this movie tried. That is all I ever ask for in a slasher, try to do something new and make an attempt at building characters and a story. To All a Goodnight made a strong attempt at creating tension, decent characters and showing some new things I’ve not seen in the genre. I ended up giving this a B-. It has a few things that could be improved but this movie is sadly overlooked.
