Just when you thought it was safe to spend the night in the cemetery... Julie (Meg Tilly) is the new girl in town. She's smart, pretty, and has a new boyfriend named Steve. What Julie wants most of all is to be accepted into Carol's exclusive group of friends. Carol, who used to date Steve, is extremely jealous of Julie. She agrees to initiate Julie into her group if Julie will spend the night in a mausoleum. Dying (no pun intended) to be accepted, Julie agrees.
Meanwhile...back at the mausoleum...
Olivia is mourning the death of her father. He had been a magician who actually could move things with his mind. He had been found dead in his apartment, along with many bodies of young girls. The police theorize he believed he could "suck the lifeforce" out of his victims in order to strengthen his powers.
After she is purposely locked in, Julie prepares for a long, yet uneventful, night. But she doesn't know that Carol and the other girls are sneaking into the mausoleum to frighten her. And what's even worse, none of the girls realize that the newly-deceased magician is getting a little restless inside his coffin.
If you'd compare "One Dark Night" to some of the horror movies made today, it would seem pretty tame. It is rated PG after all. There's not much blood, and fewer guts (unless you count a zombie who gets kicked in its decomposing stomach). But this movie has something that some special-effect horror films don't: a growing sense of creepiness. It's a movie you could watch again and again, and it retains its creep.
Stars: Meg Tilly, Robin Evens, Adam West
Director: Tom McLoughlin
MPAA Rating: PG
Why You'll Know It's From the 80's:
Meg Tilly before fame, Adam West afterwardsDog Appeal:
None, unless they like corpsesDaisy's Rating:
