Wayne K
With no less than 4 directors at the helm, Dead Of Night is an anthology film, but not in the way I expected. I thought it would be a series of stories with either an overarching theme or a single character who appears in all of them to provide a tenuous link. Instead, it’s based around a room of people, many of whom have an interesting and bizarre story to tell. The stories, of course, vary in quality, and one segment which leans heavily into zany comedy feels out of place. It’s the last segment, featuring a malicious ventriloquist dummy that may or not have a life of its own, which stands out the most, and the ambiguity surrounding this mystery is what makes it the most compelling. Also, while I wouldn’t necessarily call the ending a twist, it’s a pretty shocking revelation that makes everything we’ve seen before feel all the more depressing as a result. Uneven at times, but creepy and affecting when it needs to be.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
11/04/24
Full Review
Joe S
One of the great horror and suspense films with a great cast wherein a number of people recount their dreams. It stands up after all this time.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/17/23
Full Review
Matthew B
Dead of Night is something of an oddity in the history of British horror movies. It was made just after World War 2, a period during which horror had been banned in Britain. However it did not spark a new interest in the horror genre in British cinema. While the film was successful, Ealing chose instead to make feel-good comedies rather than make similar films to Dead of Night.
Dead of Night shares similarities with the Amicus films. Typically a group of people gather in one place and then either tell or see a story relating to themselves. Each story ends on a darker note. At the end there is a subversive twist, and it is revealed that the framing story is not taking place in a safe environment as originally thought. Inevitably the stories are of variable quality, though in all fairness there are no terrible ones in Dead of Night.
There are some original aspects to Dead of Night. While Amicus typically took its stories from sensationalist publications such as EC Comics, the stories in Dead of Night are in some cases derived from literary sources. The first tale about the hearse driver comes from an E. F. Benson story. The fourth story about the golfers is based on a tale by H.G. Wells.
Another unusual feature is that the film has four directors instead of one, representing an interesting amalgam of some of Britain's most talented filmmakers - Basil Dearden, Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton and Robert Hamer.
The subject matter of some of these stories is hardly original. Ghosts, haunted houses, premonitions, a mirror that possesses a man's mind and a ventriloquist's dummy that seems to have a life of its own – these ideas have been used many times since, and they were not new when the film came out either. Still Dead of Night is unusual in telling the stories in a chilling and memorable way that makes them seem fresh.
At first Dead of Night seems like a cosy set of mildly chilling supernatural tales designed to entertain rather than disturb the viewer. As the film reaches its finish, it becomes clear that darker forces are at work. Characters lose all sense of their identity as they find themselves possessed by obscure forces beyond their control (Peter Cortland by the owner of the mirror, Maxwell Frere by his dummy, Walter Craig by curious impulses that leave him feeling powerless).
There are rooms within rooms, flashbacks within flashbacks, dreams within dreams, stories within stories. Finally the movie dissolves into a swirling collage of images in which all the six stories are blended together. There is a disorientating variety of visual trickery – rapid cuts, Dutch angles, blurred images, claustrophobic close-ups and rapid camera zooms both in and out. Finally the dream-like visions disappear, but the return to normality proves to be deceptive.
This brings to an end one of the finest British horror movies ever made. While Dead of Night proved to be a dead end in the development of British horror, it demonstrated to future British film executives that the horror genre was not moribund, and there were still opportunities to make imaginative and spine-tingling films in this genre.
I wrote a longer appreciation of Dead of Night on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/04/25/dead-of-night-1945/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/23/23
Full Review
Jody V
Like some film-length Twilight Zone episode as written by studio writers rather than those with a penchant for and skill in writing fantastical stories and psychological dramas, "Dead of Night" did not add up to what it could've been, imo. It also had the issue of what seemed like lesser actors of the time. The typical weaknesses of 40's acting is prevalent- stiff, unrealistic performances mixed with the overt gesture and vocalizations as used by stage actors.
So it's a blend of some good ideas and hokey execution. Some scenes work fine, but they tend to be those involving just a couple of the characters together, with further explication or just nice chemistry between actors.
So it's a blend of some good ideas and hokey execution. Some scenes work fine, but they tend to be those involving just a couple of the characters together, with further explication or just nice chemistry between actors. Not sure if the idea had been used before, but I'd imagine the ventriloquist's dummy being 'alive' would've been pretty scary for the time.
3 stars
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Very clever concept. Grips your attention right from the start. As it develops, you feel like you're watching top of the list Rod Serling Twilight Zone episodes. A triumph of the imagination.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
joel h
I first saw Dead of Night almost 20 years ago, and it definitely made an impression on me. I think the version I watched this second time was a different one, because it was about a half-hour longer and included a story about golfing that I did not remember at all. Truthfully, the golfing story isn't really scary, but the other tales are sure to give you the shivers. This entire movie is basically an excuse to tell some short scary stories, but it does it in such a clever way that the plot framing the vignettes is just as compelling. Plus, it has a truly haunting ending that will stick with you.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
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