Double Dog Dare Ya: Prank-Themed Horror Movies


Dares, initiations and pranks gone wrong - some of the favorites of the horror genre.  Here's some to whet your appetite for terror!

I will give you my personal scoring of one to four stars for each.



Hell Night ***
Linda Blair stars in this 1981 classic of a college initiation involving a scary old mansion with a dark history and some paired off teens about to be locked down with more than just a legend. I personally like this one a lot. It has your sex, drinking, drugs as expected of the 80s horror slashers, but this one has a seriously eerie feel with a fight to stay alive in a super creepy house/yard. 





One Dark Night **
This 1982 gem has some girls dare another girl to stay in a mausoleum overnight but didn't realize what they were locking themselves in with. Starring Meg Tilly.





The Initiation **
This 1984 movie stars Daphne Zuniga and was the epitome of the era - a college dare to spend a night in a mall.






Night of the Demons ***
This 1988 movie has 10 teens partying inside an abandoned funeral home.  This particular one is a cult favorite of the era.





The Initiation of Sarah **
This 1978 made-for-tv movie is about an awkward girl who wants to join a sorority and she ends up using her psychokinetic powers against them.




The House on Sorority Row **
After pulling a prank that goes wrong, at graduation party time, the sorority girls find themselves having to be paid back.



The Hazing **
This 1977 movie involves a college hazing that results in a death and the subsequent cover-up.




The House On Haunted Hill **
A wealthy feuding couple invite group of strangers to spend one night in a scary house for a large sum of money if they stay the night. The original version of this movie is more campy and moody, but the newer remake is pretty action-packed and scary. 



Joy Ride ***
Two brothers play a prank on a road trip, teasing a trucker who does not take the joke well at all.




Terror Train ***
After a college prank on a nerd goes badly and the boy goes mad, New Year's rolls around and the popular crowd parties on a rented train for the night, only it appears some crazy person wants them dead in this 1980s classic.




Catacombs **
This 2007 movie is about a woman who goes to France for her first time and is invited to a rave in the catacombs only to have a horrific prank played on her.




The Funhouse **
This 1981 movie has two couples dare each other to spend the night at a carnival funhouse, only to witness a murder and be chased by a killer mutant. 






Prom Night **
This 1981 film has Jamie Lee Curtis caught up in more high school drama when the prom popular crowd is being killed off, all of it relating to a childhood prank that killed one of their group.