"Bad Night"

1978

Written by:  Kel Kendrick

Art Director:  Simone Schaffer

Directed by:  Robert Wylan

 Genre:  Horror

Taglines:  One bad girl...one BAD NIGHT

  Tune in or drop out dead

Plot Summary:

(From the 1998 20th anniversary video edition)  17 year old Jenny's parents find her stash and send her off to a convent. Then one BAD NIGHT her best friend Donna is brutally murdered and Jenny must decide to "tune in or drop out dead".   In one 24 hour period she descends into a disturbing world of lesbian nuns, sex slavery to black drug kingpins, torture of choirboys with hot pokers, and the infamous kitten death scene. While HALLOWEEN launched Jamie Lee Curtis as the "Scream Queen" and the mainstreaming of horror films, BAD NIGHT threatened to keep horror in the schlock shock basement. However due to being an early film of Alex Reynolds' and the surprise twist ending involving her character, BAD NIGHT has survived the bargain bins and the MSTK3 treatment.  

 

Cast overview, first billed only

 

Betsy Bartham                      ..Jenny O'Rourke

Alex Reynolds                      ...Donna Wainwright

Robbi Ralph                         ...Sister Mary Pat

Tippi Herd                            ...Sister Mary Francis

Ron Burrell                           ...Mr. O'Rourke

Debralee Everheart                ...Mrs. O'Rourke

Rana Rutt                             ...Mother Superior/Walt the caretaker

Rich Elrod                            ...Choir Boy #1

Mike Samuel                        ...Choir Boy #2

Fidel Marcos                         ...Man with one arm

Runtime: 88 min

Country: USA

Studio: Double Strike/Kel's Television Jax/One Girl Productions

Language: English / Spanish / French / German

Color: Color (Panavision)

Sound Mix: Mono

Certification:  Finland:K-18 (2002) / Finland:(Banned) (1980) / Argentina:18 / Australia:R / Canada:R / France:-16 / Iceland:(Banned) / Ireland:18 / Italy:VM18 / Mexico:C / Netherlands:16 / Norway:15 (DVD rating) / Norway:16 (heavily cut) / Norway:18 / South Korea:15 (DVD uncut version) / Sweden:15 / UK:18 (video rating) (1987) / UK:X (original rating) / USA:R / West Germany:18 / Canada:18+ (Quebec) / Singapore:M18