I've seen nothing but poor reviews for this movie all over the internet, and after finally watching it I have absolutely no clue why. "Girls Nite Out" not only contains every element of a good slasher flick, but most of the elements and nuances of a GREAT slasher flick. After popping in the original VHS of the film that I recently acquired, the grainy, dark atmosphere was immediate.
A college is having it's annual sorority scavenger hunt on campus, but someone is picking the girls off one by one. There are multiple events leading up to the scavenger hunt that create quite a wide range of suspects, and I absolutely did not guess the killer, something that is rare for me after having seen so many movies in the genre. Once the bear suit was donned by the murderer and the knife hand was made (so perfect, bravo), I truly knew I was dealing with something out of the norm. The bear suit is comical, but is at the same time very twisted, lulling the victims into security and having "that look" to it.
While the plot itself is not too out of the ordinary, character relationships, legitimate suspenseful moments and a dark atmosphere work for this film. The ending is also highly noteworthy and creepy, although it does borrow from "Psycho" quite a bit (what doesn't?). There is no nudity, and no gore aside from lots of blood, but not even this bothered me. The bear grabbing the victims and whispering misogynistic rants is quite perfect enough. The tie in to the history mentioned throughout the movie of the other crime is fully realized, and I was not bored even though there are multiple extended scenes of partying, dialog and walking.
"Girls Nite Out" might just be THE most criminally underrated slasher film I've seen so far. Most of the harder to find and obscure titles in the genre are buried deep for a reason, but "Girls Nite Out" is a shining example of what atmosphere, creativity, character development and a great ending can do for an otherwise basic film. Don't let IMDb or some horror blog fool you, this one is crucial.
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