"Night of the Dark Full Moon" is also known as "Silent Night, Bloody Night" and it's surprisingly a pretty darn good horror film. This one I had my expectations of the film set very low so the film took me by surprise just how interesting it is. It's a low budget film but quite effectively filmed with a story that kept my interest.This one is a bit bloody - it's a prelude to the slew of slasher films that came about in the late 1970s through the 1980s. This film is not one that is a simple hack-them-up teenage movie without a solid story. This film has a solid story that is quite good with some bloody scenes - it's more story than blood and gore.I will have to add this film to my list of "spooky holiday films" to watch during the winter season.7/10

Story that takes place in Arlington MA (my home town:)). A creepy old mansion that has been deserted for years is going to be sold...despite the will of the former owner who said it should never be touched. The real estate agent who helped sell it (top billed Patrick O'Neal) and his girlfriend decide to spend a night in the mansion...and are axed to death. Soon townspeople are getting calls from the mansion telling them to come on up...to celebrate.The story is disjointed (to say the least), the dialogue is terrible and some of the acting is pretty bad...but it works in spots. It was shot in the winter giving it a sparse, creepy atmosphere. The house itself is beautiful...and scary. Genre favorites John Carradine and Mary Woronov are on hand and are pretty good. The murders are mostly heard and not seen but that actually works in their favor. Best of all is an incredibly eerie sequence during the last half hour shot in sepia. That part alone makes this worth watching. Also there are a few surprising (if totally implausible) twists at the end. It's worth at least one viewing for horror fans.

This is a twisted tale, taking place at Christmastime but not really revolving around the holiday. A man named Jeffrey Butler (James Patterson) inherits an old country house but needs money and is eager to sell it. So he sends his lawyer John Carter (Patrick O'Neal) to arrange a deal with the town council, who want to buy it. Of course, this being a horror film, the place has the expected sordid history, and a mysterious figure starts placing calls to the people on the council - the mayor (Walter Abel), switchboard operator (Fran Stevens), newspaperman (John Carradine), and sheriff (Walter Klavun) - promising retribution for an almost 40 year old crime and stating that "Marianne" has come back.Also featuring appearances by Andy Warhol film graduates Mary Woronov (the ever delightful cult icon, very young and sexy here) and Candy Darling, this film, also known as "Silent Night Bloody Night" and "Deathouse", is very reminiscent of a giallo and is also similar in some ways to "Black Christmas", although this one actually predates BC. It's undeniably crude at times and obviously a low budget affair, but damn if it doesn't have a reasonably engrossing mystery (involving such sundry elements as incest) and some effectively stark atmosphere. Co-written by author Jeffrey Konvitz ("The Sentinel") and director Theodore Gershuny, it's amusing in spots, has one unexpected plot twist about a half hour along, and has a deliciously gory murder set piece. The music by Gershon Kingsley is quite good.None of the performances are really all that hot, but the actors are still watchable, especially Woronov. Poor Patterson was dying of cancer during this time, and had to be dubbed by another actor. One nice touch is to have Carradines' character be a mute and acknowledge what others have said by ringing a bell. Gorgeous Astrid Heeren plays Carters' gal pal; Philip Bruns (the original Morty Seinfeld) has a role in the flashback scenes, and Staats Cotsworth provides the eerie hissing voice of our black gloved antagonist.Worth a look, overall.Lloyd Kaufman of Troma fame was the associate producer.Seven out of 10.

I wanted to like this movie. In fact, I like watching low budget horror movies so I thought I would like this. But it didn't work for me. To be fair, I didn't find the movie to be awful or even bad. There are some things that work. The movie often has a moody, somewhat creepy feeling to it. Occasionally there is a striking image that burns itself in your mind. There is also some mystery at the beginning, and the movie does its best to play tricks on us, even pulling a "Psycho" on two characters we think will be the central characters. But eventually, the movie runs out of juice - the second half of the movie has next to nothing of importance happening. You'll be squirming in your seat with impatience. And whether it was due to the dark print or the garbled storytelling, I couldn't figure what was happening or revealed at the climatic sequence. It's a close call, but I can't recommend this movie. By the way, if you're a John Carradine fan, be warned - the movie gives him next to nothing to do.