The Daily Dig: Night Screams (1987)

David got a football scholarship, and he’s having a celebration party—one no one should RSVP to, including the audience of “Night Screams”.

David throws a party to celebrate the end of high school, but two escaped, murderous convicts threaten to ruin David’s killer fun. Let’s dig into 1987’s NIGHT SCREAMS, directed by Allen Plone!

As I See It

A product of Wichita, Kansas, writer and former Universal Studios accountant, Dillis Hart, this teen slasher is set in his hometown. David’s a stud, on his way to a football scholarship, and he’s throwing a party to celebrate.

Poignant dialogue sets up our characters. David and his friends recount the pressures of high school students to succeed through sports or academics and the expectations their parents thrust upon them. It all wraps up with another poignant moment around the stigma of anti-psychotics.

The world-famous Sweetheart Dancers? Seems like a real sweetheart deal to me. The inclusion of these gals was reportedly obligatory thanks to one of the financiers’ demands.

The threat is a couple of convicts who escaped from Leavenworth prison. One of our major red herrings that never gets proper plotting. Their behavior makes it hokey. Either the filmmakers never knew anyone who had gone to prison, or they intentionally hammed it up.

A common trope in ’80s High School/College movies is a friend group that acts like anything but friends. This party, besides being the most boring party of the decade, is filled with people who shouldn’t be hanging out in the first place. They’re offed as they cook, fornicate, and generally sin, by an unseen hand which is meant to make you believe it’s the prisoners that happen to be hiding in David’s basement.

The other red herring is shoved in our face time and again. “We have to make sure David takes his pills!” What’s going to happen if David doesn’t take his pills!? Surely, he’ll turn into a psychotic killer.

Who ends up being the killer!? You’ll have to watch to find out, this one.

Famous Faces

There are many feature film debuts.

Ron Thomas (D.B.) plays Bobby Brown in the Karate Kid franchise (Karate Kid, Karate Kid II, and the TV series Cobra Kai).

Of Gratuitous Nature

We get some nudity with the very first image. The trope, a lone girl in a locker room at night. It’s a bit meta, being a movie within the movie titled “Graduation Day”. It’s not contrived for this film, though. It’s scenes from the actual film Graduation Day, which this column has had the displeasure of covering. The sauna love scene has a nude shower scene interlaced with someone who isn’t in the movie otherwise. Does it count if they’re just showing a scene from another movie? Does it count if you speak profanities if you’re just quoting someone else? Maybe they wanted nudity, but didn’t want to pay their talent for it.

Heartthrob

It’s hard to pick a favorite moment with this one. Nothing sticks out in particular. As a writer, I do appreciate the effort to hit some deep, thematic notes, regardless of execution.

Ripe for a Remake

I can’t justify much beyond the main themes. Focusing on real-life struggles like mental health and the stigmas that surround it adds to the genre.

Spawns

No progeny to report.

Where to Watch

Vinegar Syndrome, in 2023, released a Blu-Ray with a brand new 4k scan from the original 35mm camera negative. It’s a monster, three-disc set which includes two versions of the film (a “pre-release” and theatrical), new commentary tracks, and a new making-of documentary. The special edition, which features a slipcover designed by Chris Barnes and was limited to 6,000 copies, has since sold out. If you want to stream it, you can subscribe to the Night Flights streaming platform, or there’s always YouTube.