Screams of a Winter Night (1979)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

James L. Wilson

Writer:

Richard H. Wadsack (writer)

Release Date:

September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

How do you think these stories get started?

Plot:

10 college students go camping, when they get there, they tell scary stories to each other. |

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Cabin | Teenage Boy | Legend | Monster

Cast

Matt Borel	...	John / Ron
Gil Glasgow	...	Steve / Parker
Patrick Byers	...	Cal
Mary Agen Cox	...	Elaine
Robin Bradley	...	Sally / Annie's Roommate
Ray Gaspard	...	Harper / Billy
Beverly Allen	...	Jookie / Crazy Annie
Brandy Barrett	...	Liz
Charles Rucker	...	Alan
Jan Norton	...	Lauri
Malcolm Edmonds
Nicole Salley
William Goodman
Jean Sweeney
William Ragsdale	...	The Kid - Service Station Attendant (as Bill Ragsdale)

Also Known As:

Howlings of a Winter's Night (Australia) (video title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Full Moon Pictures

Trivia:

As an anthology horror film, the main characters tell each other "frightening" stories. One of these vignettes is set and shot in Caspari Hall, a dormitory on the campus of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the college which the film's actors attended. Caspari Hall is now abandoned and, reportedly, haunted, although this does not prevent it from being a popular, if off-limits, make-out/party spot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Times Square (1980)

how do you think these things get started?

This is not a movie for people who like rampaging gore and terror, but it may be best appreciated by those who like the power of suggestion and like having things left to their imagination. I've seen this twice now and I kind of got what I think I missed the first time. This begins with a black background to the credits but there's something going on, some people are being attacked in a house or something, and they're scared as hell, and you can hear the bellowing of the attacker, whatever it may be...and then we're in the present and a bunch of college kids (I guess) are on their way to spend the weekend at a remote house near Lake Durand. Now Lake Durand used to have a different name, an Indian name, but now it's called Durand after a family who was killed round those there parts, oh my. Seems like nobody knows what did it, and all that's left is the ruins of their house & their tombstones. Now, these young folks get to the house they're staying at, have dinner, and then sit around the fire and tell, well, ghost stories, of sorts; in fact they're more like urban legends. There are three tales, which are not terribly original but they're of the "my best friend knew the sister of the person that this happened to" variety. The second tale is perhaps the strangest of the three, and it's about 3 fraternity pledges that have to spend the night in what's supposedly a haunted building and they all go nuts after finding some strange room. As the evening goes on and the stories get told, the wind builds & it seems as though there really IS something out there by this lake where they're staying. And that's all I'll say about that. I like this movie because while it's super-low budget and has little in the way of "special effects" it does manage to conjure up somewhat of a creepy atmosphere & it has its moments, but I also found it hard to get through both times I've seen it, not because I was bored, but because it seems somewhat convoluted or dense at times. Maybe it's just because it's a cheesy low-budget movie that is somewhat lacking in continuity or something. Still though, I like this film because it has something about it that I can't really explain, although most people would probably say that it flat out sucked. 6 out of 10, worth seeing at least once.