Danielle Harris (the kid star of HALLOWEEN 4 and 5, later the perky co-star of ROB ZOMBIE’S HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN II) follows up her turn in the slasher HATCHET II with the eighties slasher throwback BLOOD NIGHT: THE LEGEND OF MARY HATCHET from LionsGate.
Years ago, 12-year old Long Island child Mary Mattock suddenly butchered her entire family Lizzie Borden-style. She was institutionalized where she grew into a shapely naked chick (Samantha Facchi) and was raped by an orderly and gave birth to a baby that apparently died, causing her to massacre the entire hospital before being taken down by the police. For the last twenty years, the local twenty- and thirty-something teens have celebrated the urban legend that Mary stalks the town looking for her lost baby with the usual drunken, horny parties would-be victims are wont to throw on the anniversary of slasher rampages. This year, however, “Mary Hatchet” is back to make this “Blood Night” especially gory. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2’s Bill Moseley pops up as the local weirdo to provide all of the background information on Mary. There’s not a lot of great acting among the supporting cast, but they are attractive and get slashed. With a good amount of gore and nudity, BLOOD NIGHT isn’t trying to be anything revolutionary; rather, it is an affectionate tribute to eighties slasher films (actually, it feels a bit more like those obscure mid-to-late eighties stragglers – not all of which are justifiably obscure – following the slasher boom. Some viewers will decry the lack of originality, others will find it refreshingly un-ambitious, delivering some creative kills and gratuitous toplessness (not just decapitated heads).
LionsGate presents the film in a respectful 16:9 anamorphic widescreen transfer with active 5.1 surround audio. Extras include a making-of featurette, cast/crew interviews, and an outtakes reel.
