Customer Reviews

Dead of Night

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Granted much of Dead Of Night isn't going to hit home with a lot of people. It's old and, as such, doesn't strike a cord with our modern sensibilities (just watch the segment about the two golf players and you'll know what i mean). But in a way, that's good. It's like sitting around with your friends in the... ahem... dead of night and telling each other ghost stories. They may not have a lasting effect on you but when you're there, in the moment, they work under your skin. The movie is more fun than frightening. It also has the most amazing ending I have seen in a long time, more then a typical pay-off. It's like witnessing your own horrific nightmares all coming true at once. The last segment of the film is also it's strongest and deserves to be a classic all by itself, featuring Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist fighting a losing battle with his evil dummy. This brief 15 minutes of film easily qualifies Dead Of Night as a classic of British horror.

You've seen the plots if you ever watched The Twilight Zone or half a dozen other series which generously stole the idea from Dead Of Night. But even if you are familiar with the tales, no film manages to invoke such fright as Dead Of Night.

A series of stories told by a group who are in an isolated English cottage on the moors, the suspense starts with the first tale and doesn't let up until the surprise, knock-out ending that beats them all.

Slightly Hitchcock in feel, the movie plays beautifully, even today, despite the lack of technological gimmickery.

Look for Sally Anne Howes in one of her first roles and a very young John Mills in the last tale.

Although the film does slow down with a comedic tale in the middle, it makes up for it with the John Mills episode.

Even if you are not a horror film fan, this movie will stun and fascinate you and is not to be missed.

A popular and critical sensation in its time, DEAD OF NIGHT was the first horror film to be released in Britain since the beginning of WWII. It's a splendid anthology of occult stories told by five people in a country house visited by a young architect, who had anticipated the scene in a nightmare. Each recounts a bizarre personal tale, and after hearing the last, the architect strangles the sole remaining guest, a disbelieving psychiatrist. Awakened the next morning, the architect discovers he had dreamed it all.............Or has he? As a lifetime fan of ghost stories and the like, I recommend this movie highly; it's definitely of the best in the genre to this day. Essentially, it's a group of 5 (really four) horror stories loosely and cleverly linked together. The Christmas ghost story is good material a little weakly done; however the haunted mirror sequence (with Googie Withers) is first-rate; actually one of the most gripping ghost stories you'll see in any film. An antique mirror reflects the tortured life of the previous owner (who commited suicide) ......... The knockout finale, however is the brilliant and justly famous climatic ventriloquist sequence with Redgrave. The film evokes rather than depicts horror, and waves its symmetrical spell with the magic of a good script and good direction. Contributing in no small measure to the uncanny mood is the ominous, Wagnerian score by Georges Auric. who had written the music for Jean Cocteau's films. The whimsical golfing episode is ridiculously out of place and it could be completely omitted from all prints and one would never know the difference. There is an obscure 1945 British film entitled "A Place of One's Own" with James Mason and Margaret Lockwood which sounds interesting -a story of spirit possession; I hope it finds it's way to video soon!

I agree with a previous reviewer- this is a wonderful movie, one I had waited to buy for years. This particular taped print is unwatchable- both sound and video are bad. Don't waste your money on this print, please! I returned one copy and got another, and it was just as bad. Avoid this version by "Congress Video Group" and pray that someday someone puts out a watchable version.

My parents took me to see this movie when I was little (they took me to the drive-in, hoping I would sleep through it - fat chance) and it wasn't until years later that I saw a still from it in a book - boy, it all came back! Seeing it again as an adult was a revelation. No wonder ventriloquist's dummies scared me my whole life! And the mirror segment is scary, too. The whole movie is put together very well. If you like slice 'n' dice horror movies, this is not for you, but if subtle, supernatural, psychological scares are up your alley, this is a good one.

"Dead of Night" is a mid 40's English paranormal horror type flick that succeeds in conveying it's supernatural theme.

Architect Walter Craig is played by Mervyn Johns, better known as Bob Crachit in the classic 1951 Scoroge, the finest version of Dickens' Christmas Carol. He is called to a countryside farmhouse to do some renovations. As he approaches in his car, the scenery somehow seems familiar. He is speechless as he enters the farmhouse. A group of people gathered there are characters he has seen in a recurring nightmare that he has been having.

Each person there has had some bizarre experience which they recount. In effect the plot is a series of weird occurrences encountered by the members of the group at the farmhouse. Frederick Valk playing psychiatrist Dr. van Straaten, one of the guests, tries to explain these tales scientifically. He recounts a strange tale of his own, featuring Michael Redgrave as a crazy ventriloquist.

The movie is rather amusing and has an effective twist at it's conclusion, very reminiscent of Rod Serling's classic Twilight Zone series.

This is a classic. The film is very entertaining in its succession of paranormal stories that a psychiatrist questions systematically to propose explanations that are farfetched and have to be farfetched because he does not want to accept the idea that there may be some paranormal activities and events in the world. The whole range of such events is explored and leads to a very disquieting ending. What if what we consider the real world were nothing but an illusion, a nightmare, something happening in our own minds, something that only existed in our minds ? What if this dreamlike and nightmarish world became blocked on one particularly event ? What if psychosis were the real natural normal state of tle mind instead of what we generally call normality ? What if schizophrenia were nothing but enhanced consciousness and not some deranged illusion of the brain ? ETC. You will look at the world with different eyes after this film. You may even be tempted to go to sleep and finally enter the reality of a nightmare or just a plain dream. Do so and bring the reliefs of this nightmare or that dream into what you have so far considered and called the normal world. You will discover then that most people around you will consider you as a real nightmare and that you will consider them as either real dummies or real monsters from the dead of night. Anyway life will become a lot more interesting and fascinating.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Our anonymous reviewer from California is 100% on the money when he says that the "this particular taped print is unwatchable." I also had his experience of ordering twice and both of them were equally bad. It's a great film and I'm encouraged to see that it's now out on DVD. If you love the genre, you might want to fork over the 22 bucks for it. But DON'T spend the 10 on the VHS version ... you'll be sorry!

This is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Not blood and guts, but even more frightening - full psychological disintegration for the viewer. This will sneak up on you, and disturb you more than you ever thought possible. Extraordinary casting and acting. THE BIG QUESTION: WHEN WILL THEY RELEASE THIS ON DVD? I appreciate that perhaps someone is taking their time restoring the picture and audio before releasing it, but can anybody tell us if this is slated to be released?

The "Dead of Night" pictured on the cover of the box as shown is for the 1945 British anthology film, NOT the made-for-televion 1977 film as reviewed in the two reviews I just read. There is a mix-up here. Which of the two films is actually for sale? The 1945 film is excellent. It has five different stories, each told by a different character. Each story has also been handled by a different director. The characters who tell these stories are all wrapped up in a sixth story which starts and ends the film.