User reviews

Dig the crazy "once in a lifetime cast" populating this obnoxious late 80s supernatural teen horror opus: Allen Garfield (THE CONVERSATION, BUSTING), Elliot Gould (M*A*S*H*, BUSTING), Richard "Shaft" Roundtree, Michael J. Pollard (DIRTY LITTLE BILLY, "Star Trek"), Shannon Tweed, Henry Gibson, and 90s porn sensation Teri Wiegel? To hell with the movie! the casting work alone makes watching this crap almost worthwhile.

Which is as lousy of a teen horror movie as they come, though I have to admit it does have a couple of interesting things to offer. Allen Garfield plays a history teacher at a high school for 20 year olds who just happens to be a practicing satanist. With the help of his apparently retarded brother Michael J. Pollard, Garfield has been leading a double life murdering hookers for Satan when he isn't giving his pretty boy students a hard time for being late to class.

The pretty boy is played by Derek Rydall who fellow aficionados of 80s teen horror will recognize (or, not) as the freak at the center of ERIC'S REVENGE: PHANTOM OF THE MALL, which also had a somewhat bizarre, once in a blue moon cast (Paulie Shore, Morgan Fairchild, Brinke Stevens, and Ken DAWN OF THE DEAD Foree). Rydell is a stunt performer turned would be leading hunk and now a writer ("The Power Rangers") which is helpful because he got to do all of his own stuntwork, though I am not sure if Allen Garfield was that spry.

Back to the movie, Rydell's pretty boy hunk Billy is blessed with a hot mom, a hot gal-pal best friend, and a new hot blond neighbor who is apparently a hooker turning tricks right in her own home. She also doesn't mind if young Billy watches her at work through her windows, gives him cans of beer and flashes her cleavage at him whenever she gets a chance. What a place! In fact everybody in this movie is either gorgeous, well dressed, comfortably rich or all of the above. Even Elliot Gould as the burnt out washed up cop who used to be Billy's dad's partner back when he was on the force. His place has Japanese wicker furniture, a polished hardwood floor and yet he still mopes around in a funny hat just like in BUSTING looking all burnt out & washed up, which Elliot Gould is of course very good at.

Where was I. Oh yes, the neighbor finds herself being murdered for a satanic ritual while Billy watches, he decides to climb up onto her roof to get some pictures to better remember the moment by, and realizes his history teacher is really a disciple of Lucifer. The film then becomes a "Nobody believes me!" game where Billy tries to convince Shaft that his history teacher murdered the hot blond next door.

You'd think someone might listen to the kid -- he even has pictures, mind you -- but no, he and his spunky cute girlfriend have to play Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boy to try and get evidence nailing the guy and end up being chased by Michael J. Pollard in D-Day's Deathmobile from ANIMAL HOUSE. Their solution to get away? THROW A WATERMELON THROUGH THE FRONT WINDSHIELD, which isn't as surprising as the realization that people grow watermelons in Los Angeles in random urban lots.

Meanwhile (there are a LOT of meanwhiles in this movie) Michael J. Pollard also has porn starlet Teri Wiegel chained up down in their basement, and she gets to display her naked breasts for the camera before being slaughtered as a ritual prize for Satan. Yet amazingly this is done in a manner that is surprisingly un-sleazy, which is about the only thing I would fault the movie for: It's not sleazy enough, and ultimately too stupid to actually take seriously.

And yet it has a certain something: Allen Garfield is one of cinema's great overlooked villain actors, his crazed bugging expert gave me nightmares after seeing THE CONVERSATION for about the hundredth time, and what's funny is that the movie actually has no problem with his high school teacher being a satanic pervert. It's just like belonging to the Rotary Club or something, and the weird part is that nobody seems to care even when it should be pretty obvious that the guy has some major judgment issues as he plays bizarre, legally problematic head games with his students. While wearing a pink tie. Right.

You'd think somebody would have said something to the school board about him, but there's a sort of white-bread suburbanite conspiracy going on in the movie's fictional community where everybody does their best to fit in, not rock the boat, and just shrug it off as one of those things. Which is what might work best about the film: Any community that has hookers wandering the streets, satanists butchering them and hot blonds moving in next door who don't mind being ogled by their horny neighbors can't be all that boring of a place to live, I guess.

4/10

Basically the boy who cried satanist. High schooler Billy Colton (Derek Rydall) thinks his dreams have come true when "working girl" Lisa (Shannon Tweed) moves in next door. He gets more than an eyeful one night when he sees her murdered by a Satanic serial killer who just happens to be Billy's history teacher Zachary Willard (Allen Garfield). Of course no one will believe him since Billy and Willard have a history. So he enlists the help of girlfriend Kelly (Teresa Van der Woude) to try and convince his deceased dad's former cop partner (Elliot Gould) to help him prove it. This is pretty standard stuff and director Rupert Hitzig and screenwriter Randal Viscovich seem to be taking quite a bit from the earlier FRIGHT NIGHT (1985). If I had to recommend it for anything, it would be the loopy performance by Michael J. Pollard as Zachary's brother and co-killer. He really has some funny bits, which I'm sure were improvised, in that always amusing Pollard delivery style. Richard Roundtree is the unconvinced cop and Henry Gibson has one scene as a satanic expert. Surprisingly, Tweed stays clothed the entire time she is on screen (even during her sex scenes).

A pair of satanists drive around in an old black Cadillac, picking up hookers to sacrifice. A high school student who's always telling tall tales (I was late to school because my mother burned her hair when her hairdryer exploded!) tries to get closer to a female friend, and meets a sexy older woman who moves in next door.

The high schooler witnesses a murder, and even though when the police show up the body is there as described, murdered when and how he described, they don't believe him when he says who the killer is. I found that a bit hard to believe, even given his penchant for making up stories.

A bit randomly, his best friend is a smartass named Sam Loomis, like Donald Pleasance's character in Halloween.

The satanists (of which there are only two) kill some women in their car, and some in their house. They don't seem to actually have any satanic powers.

There's a few recognizable faces in the movie. Michael J. Pollard plays a sort of character he's played before, a man with the mind of a child. Henry Gibson shows up briefly as a police consultant on satanic crimes. Richard Roundtree plays a cop, as he has a thousand times. Elliot Gould is a family friend who the student tries to enlist.

The movie never really takes off at any point. The ending concludes things, and then follows with a musical montage and a freeze-frame which struck me as silly.

Very uneven thriller, but the results are still enjoyable. The film is about a constent liar (Derek Rydall) who witnesses his teacher (Allen Garfield) murder his sexy neighbor (Shannon Tweed). Film blends teen comedy, horror, and police detective films together. While it isn't very well directed or scripted for that matter, it is well cast right down the line and the actors turn in good performances, especially Garfield and Tweed in an appealing turn. The finale is especially amusing and the film has a good pace and is never boring.

Rated R; Nudity, Extreme Violence, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

It's the solid performances from some recognisable faces that lift this all too typical boy-who-cried-wolf theme in this inconsistent low-budget satanic thriller. What strike me the most was how the storyline is so close to Tom Holland's terrific vampire film 'Fright Night (1985)', but it comparison it does lack the charm and thrills of that film. Vampires no more, but Satanists are the flavour. The hysterically unusual pairing of a wearily scorning Allan Garfield and playfully loony Michael J Pollard was a hammy blast as the two Satanist brothers. Derek Rydall and Teresa Vander Woude make for appealing teen leads that get caught up in the devilish mess. Richard Roundtree's no-bull performance is lean, but potent as the detective on the case and Elliott Gould is amusing as a retired detective who comes out of retirement to help out the teenagers. In support roles the ravishing Shannon Tweed and eventual porn-star Teri Wiegel added some sexual energy. Henry Gibson also pops up. Director Rupert Hitzig hones in a workable display and keeps it on the move, even if his jump tactics inadequately fail. Anyhow the predictably implausible and contrived screenplay seems to be playing it for camp laughs, than actual chills. Just wait for the chainsaw and shotgun clash! It's like it's made up of a bunch of comical errors and eccentric passages, but one or two sequences install some welcoming suspense. But really, the humour does overplay it. And what was the idea of that corn-riddled, over extended ending accompanied with a howling song. It was awful! The whip-lashed musical score drums up the repetitive chanting ala 'The Omen' style, but it doesn't come near Goldsmith's classic piece.

Cute, young Billy Coulton (Derek Rydall--who wears really tight pants all during the picture) sees call girl Lisa Grace (Shannon Tweed) stabbed to death by his high school teacher (Allen Garfield). This all happens within the first 30 minutes. The next tedious hour involves Billy trying to convince the police that his teacher is the murderer while the teacher zeroes in on Billy.

Unscary, stupid, dull "horror" movie with gratuitous nudity thrown in (all the victims are hookers). Also Elliott Gould (who doesn't pop up until a hour into the film) is totally wasted. I'm giving this a 2 because Rydall is good (and really handsome) and there are good performances by Tweed and Richard Roundtree (!!) as a detective. Otherwise this is just a hopeless mess. Skip it.

Dopey combination high school horror movie and serial killer nonsense has goof-off student accusing his hard-ass history teacher of murdering the sexy prostitute who lives next door. B-grade item distributed by MGM/UA (!) at least gave employment to some interesting and talented actors, including a heavily-bearded Elliott Gould as a retired detective (excellent), Richard Roundtree as the local police captain, Henry Gibson as a psychologist, Brooke Bundy as the kid's mom, Shannon Tweed as the flirtatious neighbor, Allen Garfield as the evil, smirking teacher and Michael J. Pollard as Garfield's Renfield-like brother. Director Rupert Hitzig never finds an appropriate tone here; he presents a Satanic ritual with an absolute straight face, but nearly all the surrounding drama lapses into either camp or cliché. *1/2 from ****

The compulsive liar teenager Billy Colton (Derek Rydall) witnesses the murder of his sexy and prostitute neighbor Lisa Grace (Shannon Tweed) by his history teacher Willard (Allen Garfield). Willard is an unknown Satanist wanted by the police for killing prostitutes with his brother. Like in the fairytale, nobody but his girlfriend believes in Billy. He looks for help with the former friend of his deceased father, the retired Detective Devereaux (Elliott Gould), and they two decide to investigate his teacher's house. But his snoopy girlfriend Dolan (Kathleen Bailey) has had the same idea and is captured by the twisted brothers.

"Night Visitor" is the first movie I have watched in 2004 and uses elements of horror and suspense, like in "Rear Window" and "Fright Night". Indeed it works well on video and entertains. At least three points deserve to be highlighted and commented. The first one is the beauty of Shannon Tweed, impressively sexy in the role of a call girl. The second is the ridiculous character of the great actor Elliott Gould. I do not know how he accepted such a role. The other point is the lack of continuity from about thirteen to sixteen minutes. Bill visits Lisa and gets a beer in his right hand. When Tony arrives, he waives goodbye to Lisa with empty hands. When he arrives home, he has the can of beer again in his right hand and is wearing a type of dark blue coat. When he arrives in his room, he is wearing only the light blue shirt that was beneath the coat. Very funny mistakes. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Nunca Chame o Demônio" ("Never Calls the Demon")

Note: On 21 Jul 2000, I saw this film for the first time.

On 03 Jun 2022, I saw this film again.

This is a perfect example that around the end of the eighties early nineties horror was really death. This flick do has the perfect cast and even that shows that a perfect cast doesn't make a movie.

It started pretty will with the kidnapping of a hooker. A new girl (Shannon Tweed) arrives and looks rather sexy (which is normal have been Playmate of 1982 and married to Kiss member Gene Vincent) and her neighbor, a teenager Billy Colton (Derek Rydall), falls in love and is peeping tom on her. One night he see she's handcuffed and he wants to take a picture. Climbing the roof he witnesses that her neighbor is being killed by his teacher Willard (Allen Garfield).

Of course being a teenager and full of imagination no-one believes him when he tell the police that his teacher is the killer. With comedy elements, especially when Billy visits Lisa, in a horror you have to be sure that it all fits together. Sadly it doesn't. Once the killing is done you do see girls being captured but the horror is far gone. Oh yes, sure, there's some satanic rituals involved and the score does work but on screen the retard and the black mess doesn't work. They do show a breast to please the viewer but once the dagger goes into the flesh is doesn't satisfy. You see the dagger going down from the POV of the victim and only a bit of red stuff appears on her face. No on-camera stabbing or result to see.

Can't say anything bad about the filming and editing except a few continuity mistakes for first time director Rupert Hitzig, already produced Jaws 3D (1983). But I can say that it wasn't a good flick. Still some will seek for it for all the well known thespians in it.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0,5/5

You know there are a lot of fun, low budget horror films that are very ambitious and fun. Like Blood and Lace, Night Visitor, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, I Was a Teenage Zombie and hundreds of others that are always fun to watch.

Reviewers sometimes don't like them because they think they are one reel short of Dr. Zhivago and are spoiled by viewing Halloween, The Exorcist, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and others.

But these great 'second' tier films can be way underrated. Usually made of a few hundred thousand dollars instead of millions, they offer a fun, quirky, style about them.

Night Visitor has a star studded cast in odd ball character roles. The teacher is a Satanist who kills people for his sacrifices. A student tumbles on to his secret and seeks help to help uncover him. See Dig That Crazy Cast review for actor backgrounds.

Sadly, the director mentions that the studio edited his film, which seemed much darker. This version is lighter and fun to watch. I recommend a whole sub genre of horror films made under 1 mil and are exciting adventures into the mind of directors and writers without large budgets.

I recommend this film, I watch it every time it comes on Comet TV, which probably means it has been edited like all the others on TV. You'll have fun.

Elliott Gould, Allen Garfield, Michael J. Pollard, Richard Roundtree, Henry Gibson, are among the interesting cast, that are badly wasted in "Night Visitor". The script involves devil worship, adolescent humor, raging teen hormones, and outrageous overacting by everyone. Nothing in "Night Visitor" can be taken seriously, and that means that the whole mixed up mess just trundles along with the audience left holding the bag, because neither of the elements, the devil worship or the humor work. Do not be tempted by the eclectic cast, as you will be sadly disappointed. I know I was. ............................... Not recommended - MERK

Recently viewed The Night Visitor 1989) on Tubi. The story revolves around a class clown and a local deviant who witnesses a murder, but nobody believes him. He embarks on an investigation and uncovers potential ties to satanic activities, raising questions about his own safety.

Directed by Rupert Hitzig (Backstreet Dreams) and featuring a cast that includes Derek Rydall (Death Wish 4), Allen Garfield (Beverly Hills Cop 2), Kathleen Bailey (Witchtrap), Brooke Bundy (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Child) and Henry Gibson (The Burbs).

While the main cast, as mentioned above, is recognizable and delivers commendable performances, the dynamic between Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Michael Pollard (Scrooged) alone makes the movie worth watching. Both of them bring their characters to life, with a cameo appearance by Shannon Tweed ("Dead Sexy") adding some eye candy. However, the acting feels inconsistent, particularly with the main character seeming to try too hard, and Pollard's partner not quite hitting the mark. Some other characters are somewhat annoying, and there are not enough horror elements to generate excitement. The kills in the film are passable, and it wraps up with a classic 80s ending.

In conclusion, The Night Visitor is a relatively average addition to the horror genre, but it does have some good performances and characters. I would rate this a 5/10 and suggest giving it a watch at least once.

(1989) Night Visitor THRILLER/ HORROR

Unconvincing variation of the 'boy who cried wolf' starring Derek Rydall as Billy Colton who has a habit of being a fibber. And coincidentally witnesses a murder of his next door neighbor done by his history teacher Mr. Willard (Allen Garfield) who practices satanic rituals for his abnormal younger brother, and solely kills mostly prostitutes. And of course, no one believes him including the police headed by Captain Crane played by Richard Roundtree. It has splashes of "Body Double" in here, as well as some recognizable co- appearances such as Elliot Gould and low budget film actress Shannon Tweed. Although, the film has to dumb down proper police procedure since they're supposed to check up on every possible lead if a serial killer is on the loose, one also have to ignore the fact that DNA is for some reason is not optional for some reason. Bomb.

A high school student in Los Angeles (Derek Rydall) is convinced that his grumpy teacher (Allen Garfield) is the serial killer preying on prostitutes in the area. Michael J. Pollard plays the latter's brother while Elliott Gould is on hand as a retired cop that might help the teen and Richard Roundtree plays the lead detective.

Shot in August, 1988, "Night Visitor" is very similar to "Fright Night" just more subdued due to the nature of the antagonist(s). It's an entertaining horror flick, although it's not actually scary due to the semi-goofiness of the villains, but it's amusing and thrilling enough, particularly the brouhaha at the end. And you can't beat the 80's ambiance.

Shannon Tweed has a fairly beefy role in the first act. She never did much for me, but Gene Simmons obviously disagrees. I would offer that winsome Teresa Van der Woude is the real highlight on the feminine front as Kelly, the protagonist's partner.

The plot was reused for "Never Cry Werewolf" nineteen years later and, of course, the remake of "Fright Night" (2011).

It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles/Culver City.

GRADE: B-

Why is the Satan worshiper a school teacher, surely the point of working for Evil is you get a better paying job. No offense intended to any school teachers, I believe you should be paid much more but I'm not in charge. But so if you work for the Prince of Darkness, I advise you to negotiate for a better paying job. Now and also so here's this movie and then yeah.

High-schooler Billy Colton (Derek Rydall) is prone to making up wild stories, so after he witnesses the murder of his sexy new neighbour Lisa (Shannon Tweed), no-one believes him when he tells them that the killer is none other than his history teacher Mr. Willard (Allen Garfield). Desperate, Billy enlists the help of a retired cop, Ron Devereaux (Elliott Gould), to try and find evidence to prove his teacher's guilt.

Never Cry Devil (AKA Night Visitor) reminded me a lot of '80s vampire film Fright Night, but instead of witnessing a vampire at work in the house next door, Billy sees Satanist Mr. Willard up to no good. As in Fright Night, Billy's girlfriend Kelly (Teresa Van der Woude) is eventually captured (by Mr. Willard's brother, played by Michael J. Pollard), leaving it up to the teen and the past-his-prime cop to rescue her.

Although not as well written or directed as Fright Night, and lacking that film's impressive special effects and amazing soundtrack, Never Cry Devil is still very enjoyable, with likeable performances from Rydall and Van der Woude, able support from old pro Gould (taking on the Roddy McDowall reluctant hero role), and fun, semi-comedic villain performances from Garfield and Pollard.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb - it's frivolous entertaining nonsense, but I'd have loved to have seen writer Randal Viscovich's original screenplay brought to life, which was apparently a lot trashier and more exploitative, featuring cannibalism and graphic nudity!

Even at age 13, when I first saw this film under its much cooler aka title "Never Cry Devil", I thought it was exaggeratedly foolish and implausible. Neat history teachers that turn out serial killers and Satanists? Beautiful call-girls practicing their profession next door? Seventeen (!) prostitutes picked up and killed in a conspicuous black car without the police having any leads? Yeah, sure... The only credible element in the whole plot was that nobody believed teenage Billy Colton when he claims to have witnessed a ritual Satanic killing, but that part then again was very clichéd.

30 years (and far too many bad horror movies) later, I have become a lot more tolerant towards silliness and clichés. "Never Cry Devil" - this time seen as "Night Visitor" - is a below average late 80s slasher/satanic horror flick, but at least it has a few enjoyable moments. There's gratuitous nudity and a couple of brutally gore killings, and for some strange reason I felt sympathy for the teenage protagonists Billy (Derek Rydall) and Kelly (Teresa Van der Woude).

"Night Visitor" seemingly also has a splendid B-movie cast, but you must take that with a pinch of salt. Elliot Gould receives top billing, but he only appears after 45 minutes, and his acting & body language clearly betray that he didn't want to be part of the film. Sexy Shannon Tweed's character doesn't last very long, and the roles of Richard Roundtree and Henry Gibson are mere cameos. In fact, the only two who are having a blast of a time are Allen Garfield (as the Satanist without a cause) and Michael J. Pollard (as his dimwit brother).

Even before "Night Visitor" reaches the end, there will be one question that will keep coming up in your mind: "How did this terrible independent production get picked up by a major Hollywood studio?" Indeed, it's a mystery as to why MGM/UA got the distribution rights, but it's pretty easy to figure out why they subsequently didn't do much with it. (I'm not even sure it played in theaters!) It's a pretty cheap movie, with the low budget making the movie suffer throughout, such as with poor audio and obviously post-dubbed dialogue. But even if the movie had been slickly executed, it would still suffer from a dumb and unlikable protagonist, unfunny comedy, and unthrilling thriller elements. Oh, and some of the most obvious padding you'll see - there's only enough plot for about half a movie. The movie does boast a once in a lifetime cast - Gould, Roundtree, Tweed, Garfield, Pollard - but none of these actors are particularly well used. (And their performances, especially Gould's, suggest they know they are in a turkey.) The movie should only be seen by those curious about how MGM/UA lost its touch by the end of the '80s.