A Night to Dismember 1983
Directed by
Chris Smith
Made by
Juri Productions
A Night to Dismember Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for A Night to Dismember (1983). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
The Kent family of Woodmire Lake is tied to a chilling belief: they’re cursed, and that curse seems to drive a trail of murder and familicide through each generation. Bonnie Kent is among the first to fall, found hacked to death with an axe by her sister Susan; after committing the brutal act, Susan slips in the bathroom and falls onto the blade, killing herself. Later, Broderick Kent’s wife Lola Kent, Lola Kent, Cindy Boudreau is discovered murdered in her bathtub; he initially denies involvement, but soon confesses to the crime before taking his own life. Broderick’s niece Vicki Kent, Vicki Kent, Samantha Fox, is then revealed to have murdered two neighborhood boys in August 1981 and is sent away to an asylum.
Six years pass before Vicki is released, apparently having overcome the homicidal tendencies that plagued her. Her return unsettles her family—especially her brother Billy and sister Mary, who want her recommitted—while Adam and Blanche, her parents, struggle to help her readjust. Vicki tries to reconnect with her ex, Frankie, and is soon haunted by unsettling visions as she attempts to rebuild her life. One night, Frankie and his new girlfriend are murdered during a private moment; an unseen assailant decapitates Frankie and burns the head in the fireplace, a grisly act that shakes the household to its core.
Tension thickens as Vicki seeks out relatives, including Uncle Sebastian and Aunt Ann; Great-aunt Bea is staying with them as well. They turn her away, deeming her and her siblings dangerous and unsafe to be around. The next morning, Sebastian is murdered with a hatchet, and Ann is run down by a car. Bea is pursued inside the house and decapitated, her head wrapped in a cloth and stored away. Out by the lake, Vicki is chased by a pale, zombie-like figure that rises from the water, only to discover later that it is Billy trying to terrify her.
Vicki’s attempt to resurface socially continues as she tries to lure Tim O’Malley, a detective investigating the murders of Sebastian, Ann, and Bea, into a dangerous encounter by performing a striptease; the moment becomes a hallucinogenic fantasy of a sexual encounter between them. Billy, William Szarka, repeats his harassment with a Halloween mask, driving Vicki further toward the edge. Mary, meanwhile, has a nightmare in which her entire family turns on her and stabs her to death. The house’s electricity flickers out, and Adam, Saul Meth, goes to check the main breaker, only to be stabbed to death by an unseen assailant. Blanche is then brutally murdered in her bed, leaving the home soaked in fear and confusion.
Billy discovers his parents’ bodies and is later killed by Mary, who, convinced her family has conspired against her, strikes him down with a rock. Mary then experiences the lingering voices that echo through the house, a chorus of disembodied reminders that keep steering her thoughts toward madness. She retreats to the basement, but the voices continue to taunt her as she flees into the woods, seeking an escape from the relentless memories.
Detective O’Malley arrives at Woodmire Lake and uncovers the staggering carnage—Vicki stands among the corpses, her hands still dripping with blood, gripping a hatchet. In a desperate struggle, she fights back, but the detective overpowers her and strangles her to death. In a somber voiceover, O’Malley reads diaries from each family member, ultimately revealing a shocking truth: Mary committed all the murders for which Vicki had been blamed, including the two neighborhood boys’ deaths that led to Vicki’s confinement. As the tale closes, Mary leaves Woodmire Lake in a taxi and murders the taxi driver with a hatchet, a final act that seals the grim legacy of the Kent curse.
A Night to Dismember Timeline
Follow the complete movie timeline of A Night to Dismember (1983) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Bonnie Kent's murder and Susan's suicide
The Kent family is haunted from the start by a supposed curse as Bonnie Kent is found hacked to death with an axe by her sister Susan. After the murder, Susan slips in the bathroom and falls on the weapon, killing herself. This violent act marks the beginning of a family saga built on blood and tragedy at Woodmire Lake.
Lola Kent's murder and Broderick's suicide
Lola Kent is discovered murdered in her bathtub, shattering any denial of the curse. Broderick Kent initially denies involvement but soon confesses to the killing. He hangs himself soon after, sealing a grim chapter in the family history.
Vicki Kent's murder of two boys and asylum confinement
Vicki Kent commits the murders of two neighborhood boys, an act that shocks the community and the family. As punishment and concern for her safety, she is sent away to an asylum. The crimes set the foundation for her long, troubled arc.
Vicki's release from the asylum
Six years later, Vicki is released from the asylum, returning to a home that is wary of her. Her release is met with strong opposition from her siblings, who want her recommitted. The family atmosphere grows increasingly tense and unstable.
Vicki returns home and family struggles to adapt
Vicki comes back to Woodmire Lake, and her parents Adam and Blanche struggle to help her assimilate back into normal life. The atmosphere at home remains oppressive as old suspicions resurface. The family dynamics become a powder keg waiting to explode.
Frankie murdered during a tryst
Vicki attempts to rekindle a romance with Frankie, but an unseen assailant murderously interrupts a sexual tryst. Frankie is decapitated, and his head is burned in the fireplace, underscoring the brutal reach of the curse. The crime shocks everyone connected to Vicki.
Sebastian and Ann attacked; Bea decapitated
Vicki's attempt to see her uncle Sebastian and Aunt Ann ends in rejection as Bea is staying with them. The next morning, Sebastian is murdered with a hatchet and Ann is run over by a car in the family's circle of kin. Bea is later decapitated inside the house with her head stored away in a cupboard.
Bea's head stored in a cupboard
The killer pursues Bea inside the house and decapitates her, then wraps the head in a cloth and stores it in a cupboard. The chilling aftermath amplifies the horror surrounding the Kent family. The room becomes a shrine to the brutal acts that followed the initial murders.
The lake encounter: Billy in disguise
While reflecting by the lake, Vicki is chased by a zombie-like male figure emerging from the water. It is later revealed that this figure is Billy trying to scare her, a disturbing prank that foreshadows deeper family violence. The lake scene heightens the sense of an inescapable legacy of murder.
Vicki's seduction attempt on Tim O'Malley
Vicki tries to manipulate Tim O'Malley, a detective investigating the recent murders, by performing a striptease. She also hallucinates a sexual encounter with him, blurring the line between reality and madness. The moment underscores her psychological collapse and the danger she represents.
Night of the power outage: Adam and Blanche die
As the house plunges into darkness, Adam goes to the main breaker and is stabbed to death with an ice pick by an unseen assailant. Moments later, Blanche is brutally murdered in her bed, heightening the night's terror. The electricity outage intensifies the sense that help is absent while danger closes in.
Billy's death and Mary's unfolding guilt
Billy discovers his parents' bodies and flees the house, only to be killed by Mary with a rock. Mary later retreats to the basement, hearing disembodied voices that seem to beckon her deeper into madness. This sequence marks a turning point toward the revelation of true guilt.
O'Malley confronts Vicki; the diaries reveal the truth
O'Malley arrives, finds the carnage, and pursues Vicki through the house. He overpowers her and strangles her to death, ending her direct involvement in the terror. In a voiceover, he recounts diaries from each family member that reveal Mary committed all the murders Vicki had been accused of, including the two boys.
Mary escapes and murders the taxi driver
Mary departs Woodmire Lake in a taxi, and in a final act of violence, murders the taxi driver with a hatchet. The true killer's identity is confirmed as the diary revelations settle over the family’s dark legacy. The ending leaves Mary free, but culpable for a litany of crimes.
A Night to Dismember Characters
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Vicki Kent (Samantha Fox)
Vicki is a recently released patient whose return home is marked by attempts to reclaim a semblance of normalcy. She is beset by hallucinations and traumatic memories, and her fragile sanity drives a tense dynamic with her family. Her relationship with Frankie complicates matters, and she becomes entangled in the unfolding murders as the mystery deepens.
Mary Kent (Diane Cummins)
Mary is the quiet center of the family’s tragedy, whose actions ultimately reveal her as the true killer behind the murders. Her mental state deteriorates under pressure, and the diaries later expose her as the perpetrator behind the crimes attributed to others. Her character embodies the theme of hidden guilt within a seemingly ordinary family.
Adam Kent (Saul Meth)
Adam is the patriarch trying to hold his fractured family together in the wake of horrifying events. He grapples with protecting his loved ones while confronting the possibility that danger may come from within his own home. His death marks a turning point in the escalating violence.
Blanche Kent (Miriam Meth)
Blanche is the matriarch who carries the weight of her family’s past and the strain of trying to help a daughter who has survived an asylum. She represents the emotional toll of fear and grief as the murders continue to unfold around her. Her character embodies the fragility of the family unit.
Billy Kent (William Szarka)
Billy is the brother who torments his sister and embodies the volatile, threatening edge of the family’s dynamics. His pranks and stalking culminate in his own violent end at the hands of Mary following a cascade of paranoia. He represents the terrifying reach of the family’s madness.
Lola Kent (Cindy Boudreau) (uncredited)
Lola is Broderick Kent’s wife, whose murder in the bathroom foreshadows the gruesome violence plaguing the family. Her death contributes to the atmosphere of dread and serves as a catalyst for the unraveling of the Kent clan.
Ann Todd (Mary Lamay)
Ann is the aunt who houses a wary distance from the troubled brood, representing the older generation’s fear of what the younger generations might unleash. She is part of the family’s circle during the period of mounting danger, and her presence underscores the widening division within the kin.
Aunt Bea (Rita Rogers)
Aunt Bea is the stern elder relative whose protective caution toward the younger members of the family highlights the generational gap and fear of repeating past traumas. Her murder adds to the horror and rapid escalation of the events at the house by the lake.
Frankie (Frankie Sabat)
Frankie is Vicki’s ex-boyfriend whose violent encounter with death marks one of the early brutal acts in the string of murders. His relationship with Vicki complicates the emotional stakes and contributes to the misdirections that propel the mystery.
Broderick Kent (Levi Richards) (uncredited)
Broderick is a figure in the family whose troubled marriage and eventual suicide factor into the broader history of the Kent family’s decline. His death, and the surrounding suspicion, adds to the house’s haunted legacy.
A Night to Dismember Settings
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Time period
Mid- to late 1980s
The initial murders occur in 1981, and six years later, Vicki is released from an asylum, placing the main events in the mid- to late-1980s. The investigation and the final revelations unfold around 1987–1988, culminating in the diary-based reveal of the true killer.
Location
Woodmire Lake, Kent family home
The story unfolds at the Kent family home beside Woodmire Lake, a secluded residence that becomes the focal point for a wave of murders. The lake and the house provide a claustrophobic, eerie backdrop where secrets fester and violence erupts. The setting is integral to the sense of inevitable tragedy that haunts the family across generations.
A Night to Dismember Themes
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Family Curse
The film centers on a purported ancestral curse that supposedly drives each Kent family member to murder. The pattern of violence repeats across generations, suggesting that blood ties bind the family to tragedy. This theme explores how lineage and unresolved trauma can shape behavior in unforeseen ways. The narrative continually tests whether the curse is supernatural or a product of inherited dysfunction.
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Madness & Perception
Madness and altered perception thread through the story, with Vicki released from an asylum and plagued by hallucinations. The characters navigate unreliable memories, dream-like sequences, and terrifying visions that blur the line between reality and madness. The atmosphere emphasizes how mental strain can drive people to extreme actions and misinterpret others' motives. The result is a chilling tension between what is seen and what is believed.
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Truth & Deception
The narrative hinges on uncovering the truth behind a string of murders, only for a twist to reveal that the author of many killings is someone within the family. The diaries from each family member piece together a final, uncomfortable truth: Mary committed the murders Vicki had been accused of. The theme challenges the reliability of testimony and memory, showing how appearances can mask the real killer.
A Night to Dismember Spoiler-Free Summary
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The remote community of Woodmire Lake clings to the whispers of an ancestral curse that has haunted the Kent family for generations. The lake’s mist‑shrouded shores and the creaking old house where the Kents reside create a brooding backdrop, where every hallway seems to echo with the weight of forgotten sins. The town’s uneasy peace is constantly disturbed by the lingering fear that the past is never truly buried, setting a tone that oscillates between gothic melancholy and nervous dread.
When Vicki Kent is finally released from a secluded mental facility, she returns to the house that has both defined and confined her life. Determined to rebuild, she steps back into a world that feels both familiar and hostile—her parents, Adam and Blanche, try to smooth the transition, while her siblings, Billy and Mary, wrestle with their own reservations and protective instincts. The family’s dynamics are a tangled mixture of love, suspicion, and an unspoken awareness that something darker may still be lurking beneath the surface.
The atmosphere thickens as relatives from the wider Kent branch begin to appear, each bringing their own shadows and secrets. Unsettling encounters in the dimly lit rooms and the ever‑present lake serve as silent reminders that the family’s legacy is more than just a story told at dinner. As Vicki attempts to reconnect with the outside world, the line between reality and paranoia blurs, and even the most mundane interactions feel charged with an unseen menace.
Against this backdrop, a lone investigator arrives, drawn by the strange undercurrents that flow through Woodmire Lake. The detective’s presence adds a fresh, probing perspective to the already tense environment, hinting at revelations that could either untangle the knot of the Kent curse or tighten it further. The film lingers in the spaces between what is seen and what is felt, inviting the audience to question how much of the horror is inherited and how much is simply waiting to be uncovered.
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