To be read during the day or the night (of the)

July 7, 2020 10:58 AM

Ranking of every movie with ‘Night of the’ in the title [Polygon] “One night, I was thinking about how weird it was to wander the empty streets during the pandemic, which made me think about 1984 post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie Night of the Comet, which made me think of other movies that use “Night of the” in the title. Then some guy on Twitter said I should rank them. I said I would. This was a foolish choice. There are a lot of movies that use “Night of the” in the title, even if you cut out short films and TV movies. But, hey, I’m in lockdown. This brings us here: a ranking of every single movie that starts with “Night of the,” from worst to best. Horror classics rub shoulders with serious dramas and the occasional ’70s porno to create one long, bizarre night. The sun’s going down, so let’s get to it.”
posted by Fizz (30 comments total)

The top two certainly check out.
posted by figurant at 11:33 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

And then there's 29: "Possibly the weirdest entry on this list, Night of the Hex is a fly-fishing documentary!" I love it.
posted by traveler_ at 11:37 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

For once, one of these damn lists gets #1 correct.
posted by holborne at 11:38 AM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

I felt that Night of the Demon could be higher than 11, but I'd also like to see a new adaption of "Casting the Runes," so what do I know?
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:43 AM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

That was one of the most epic exercises in cinematic masochism I've ever come across. The loathing the author has for the majority of these films comes across viscerally and makes for quite entertaining reading.
posted by treepour at 11:45 AM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

"Thrill me."
clicks on link
"Are you fucking kidding me?!?"
posted by Etrigan at 11:46 AM on July 7, 2020

I am scanning the list from the bottom up (because why go through the worst?), and I laughed outloud at "Night of the Hex":

Possibly the weirdest entry on this list, Night of the Hex is a fly-fishing documentary! Every year, the hatching season of the Hexagenia Limbata mayfly draws anglers from all over to cast for trout, who go nuts feeding on the bugs and are big and easy to catch. It’s a cut above your standard fishing flick, not really romanticizing its subjects.

I'm also intrigued by the Italian drama about the cathedral, and trying to decide if Tom Wilkinson doing a Texan accent is possibly scarier than zombies.
posted by jb at 11:47 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I kind of love the stuff that film critics are coming up with to write about since there are no new movies to review.
posted by octothorpe at 11:59 AM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I love that the internet enables this sort of list. 20 years ago there just wouldn't have been any way to come up with a mostly exhaustive list and you certainly wouldn't have been able to link to trailers for the majority of the films you did compile.

Also the comprehensive criteria of the list neatly side steps the recentness problem "best of" lists usually have enabling a pretty good sort. Probably helps that there are few standout films in the pile.
posted by Mitheral at 12:12 PM on July 7, 2020

I think #5 is a decent placement for the movie that started the whole discussion, "Night of the Comet".
posted by hanov3r at 12:35 PM on July 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

An old VHS of Night of the Lepus coincides with one of my first experiences with cannabis. I laughed so hard I thought I was gonna die.

I can't honestly say it deserves to be higher than 50 on this list, but it's top 10 in my heart, I'll tell you that.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 12:36 PM on July 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

Night of the Comet just keeps on giving and giving. What a terrific film.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:01 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

what is...your standard fishing flick like
posted by dismas at 1:13 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Night of the Lepus is the one I ctrl+f'ed upon opening up the list, I know that much.

#50 is perfectly fair.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:15 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Night of the Lepus should be higher as the bits with bunnies hopping around on well-done train sets are amazing.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:20 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm disappointed Night of the Blood Beast is only #63... oh, who am I kidding, that's probably about right.
posted by biogeo at 1:22 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fun fact - I read somewhere (Mitchum's biography maybe?) that Charles Laughton strongly disliked children, so Mitchum directed the child actors in Night of the Hunter. He must have been very different and much more approachable on set. Brrrrr.
posted by dancing_angel at 1:27 PM on July 7, 2020

I love that the first line describing "Night of the Blood Beast" nods to its (very good) MST3K riffing, but I was really hoping they'd get meta with it and list that MST3K episode higher than the movie itself.

I like the #1 entry quite a lot. I also like LOVE and HATE knuckle tattoos because of this movie.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 1:28 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Night of the Kickfighters sounds rad, not gonna lie.
posted by rodlymight at 1:31 PM on July 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

61. Night of the Bloody Transplant

The selling point for this remarkably gross 1970 horror effort was that it contained real documentary footage of open-heart surgery.

The 1970s were a special time, weren't they?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:37 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Daddy would have gotten us Uzis.
posted by lon_star at 2:11 PM on July 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

It's a testament to how sharply attuned his critical acuity remained throughout this exercise that he concluded, correctly, that Night of the Demons 2 is marginally better than Night of the Demons.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 2:51 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have seen way too many of these. I need to rethink my life decisions.
posted by Scattercat at 4:44 PM on July 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I am among the cohort that gazes fondly towards Night of the Lepus on a list like this.

Our old VHS dub of 'Aria' (1987) had an added-on clip of attack of the bunnies overdubbed with Purcell. Fun times.
posted by ovvl at 5:52 PM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ok now this right here is a funny list. I was ready to snark but... it is solid. I have, unremarkably perhaps, seen a lot of these. Je ne regrette rien.

On Edit: I am disappointed that they fail to mention the penis ripping scene in NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1979). It is a highlight (if you're into that sort of thing).
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:57 PM on July 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

MetaFilter: they fail to mention the penis ripping scene
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:30 PM on July 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I find these lists (listicles, even) almost always have a commonality: the bottom is a lot of dreary, cheaply made product; the top is sone solid stuff usually with a few axe-grindy calculated low placements to drive comments; but somewhere in the middle is where the magic happens.

82 items on the list: at exactly the halfway mark of #41 we find Night of the Shark:

An extortionist tries to shake down a corrupt businessman in this Italian-Spanish-Mexican flick shot in the Dominican Republic. The titular sharks are friends with his brother played by Treat Williams, who inexplicably becomes the movie’s protagonist in the third act. This movie has a uniquely weird laid-back vibe considering it has explosions, car chases, and a man-eating shark named “Cyclops.”

Tell me you wouldn’t watch that. It sounds fantastic.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:37 AM on July 8, 2020 [3 favorites]

i saw night of the lepus on tv when i was very young. and for many years i thought the entire experience was some strange fever dream. in the end i guess it kind of was
posted by Bwentman at 3:09 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

I saw Night of the Iguana on TV when I was a kid and let me tell you I was quite disappoint that there was not a giant iguana attack at some point.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:33 AM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

How could we not mention that Night of the Lepus features DeForest Kelley?!?
posted by Chrysostom at 4:54 PM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]