''Pledge Night'' is a 1990 American

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

directed and edited by Paul Ziller. Its plot follows a

college fraternity A fraternity (from Latin '' frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...

that incurs the wrath of a deceased pledge named Sid, who died during a

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation ( Australian English), ragging ( South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliat ...

years prior. The film's soundtrack is provided by the American heavy metal band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...

, and the film also features the band's lead singer Joey Belladonna as a young version of Sid.

Plot

To become a

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

member, the applicants have to go through initiation rituals to show their loyalty. Back in the 1960s, someone played a nasty trick on the student Sidney Scheider: He had to take a bath in a tub filled with cornflakes and coffee grounds, vinegar, and even more disgusting substances. But someone had replaced the water with pure acid. Sidney was seriously wounded and died a horrible death. This year Acid Sid returns with a vengeance, killing everyone who comes his way.

Cast

* Todd Eastland as Bonner * Shannon McMahon as Wendy * Will Kempe as Acid Sid ** Joey Belladonna as Young Sid * Dennis Sullivan as Bodine * Craig Derrick as Cagle * David Neal Evans as Goodman * Robert Lentini as Silvera * James Davies as Zahn * Lawton Paseka as J.D.

Production

Development

The film was initially titled ''A Hazing in Hell''.

Filming

''Pledge Night'' was filmed at the

Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" ...

fraternity house at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Music

The film's soundtrack was provided by the American band

Home media

In 2019, ''Pledge Night'' was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Vinegar Syndrome Cellulose acetate film, or safety film, is used in photography as a base material for photographic emulsions. It was introduced in the early 20th century by film manufacturers and intended as a safe film base replacement for unstable and highly ...

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0095878, Pledge Night 1990 films American slasher films American independent films 1990 horror films Films about fraternities and sororities Films directed by Paul Ziller 1990s English-language films 1990s American films