Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      Night Creatures

      Released Jun 13, 1962 1h 21m Horror List
      Reviews 58% 500+ Ratings Audience Score Pirate Captain Clegg (Peter Cushing), an English vicar by day, leads ghostly mounted smugglers by night. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Mar 07 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      Night Creatures

      Fandango at Home Prime Video

      Rent Night Creatures on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

      Critics Reviews

      View All (2) Critics Reviews
      Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Various disparate elements come together in a satisfying manner in this Hammer production. Rated: 3/4 Apr 30, 2022 Full Review Sean Axmaker St@tic Multimedia Unleashes Hammer's trademark Gothic style on a dynamic genre mix: part pirate film, part smuggler thriller, part shadowy small-town crime conspiracy. Sep 19, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (53) audience reviews
      martin a This is a great film, less of a horror and more of a drama that finds the Soldiers chasing Pirate Captain Clegg who has now hidden as a Vicar and is smuggling illegal alcohol. The story soon unravels as a snitch informs the soldiers of the smuggling and is murdered on the moors. A great film Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review kevin c Peter Cushing stars in this Hammer production which sees an investigation of bootlegging and other occurrences happening in a coastal village. What I love about these old films are the acting which can sometimes be over the top and these stories became the inspiration of so many movies that came after them. Always enjoy the classics. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Based on the Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn series of books by Russell Thorndike — just like Disney's The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh which was released a year later — this Hammer film was called Night Creatures* in the U.S. A sailor (Milton Reid, who wrestled as The Mighty Chang and showed up in three Bond movies) has his tongue removed fromhis mouth and is left behind to die on an island after attacking the wife of pirate captain Nathaniel Clegg. However, when we get back to England, the prevailing theory is that Clegg has been hung by the Royal Navy and rests in the Romney Marsh. However, by night, glowing spectral riders known as the Marsh Phantoms are terrorizing the people of the village of Dymchurch. Captain Collier rescued that sailor and keeps him as a slave. He arrives in the village to investigate rumors of smuggling, attacking bars and safehouses before he finds a secret passage in the home of Jeremiah Mipps (Michael Ripper), a coffin maker, that leads to the smugglers' headquarters. When the mute sailor goes into their lair, he meets clergyman Dr. Blyss (Peter Cushing), who he attacks and even tries to open the grave of Clegg. Is Clegg still alive? Is he one of the phantoms that roam the night? Are the villagers in on it? All of these questions have very easy answers, but this film has so much style that you just enjoy it. It's directed by Peter Graham Scott, who created Into the Labyrinth, which aired in the U.S. as part of Nickelodeon's The Third Eye, along with The Haunting of Cassie Palmer, Under the Mountain, Children of the Stones and The Witches and the Grinnygog. It was written by Anthony Hinds, who wrote a ton of films for Hammer, including The Curse of the Werewolf**, The Kiss of the Vampire, The Reptile, Frankenstein Created Woman, Taste the Blood of Dracula and many more. In Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, the band in the movie is Captain Clegg & the Night Creatures. It's Jesse Dayton, who played as the band Banjo and Sullivan for The Devil's Rejects. *Hammer was planning to adapt the Richard Matheson story I Am Legend into a film that would be titled Night Creatures. The British Board of Film Classification told them that they would not pass the film — the script must be sent to the BBFC before a movie is filmed — and because Hammer had promised Universal a movie with that title, Captain Clegg became Night Creature. **The werewolf star from that movie — Oliver Reed — is in this in a rare heroic role. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Part of an 8 film set of Hammer horror. The poster seems to reference skeletal horses and riders such as appeared in some Georges Melies' and other early silent horror films. I looked forward to how the British studio handled this effect. However, the black costumes with white skeletons painted on shot mostly in a dark forest did not blend well to sell the illusion, and when they were shot in a studio with Universal's Invisible Man like effect then superimposed on scenery it also appeared shaky. Several stock cast and crew of Hammer are involved such as Cushing, Reed, and Hinds. The 18-century coastal town in England is a somewhat unique setting. The antagonism between the villagers and the soldiers is well played. The drama is a bit dull, but when you figure out the twist (involving pirates) the pieces begin to fall into place. Even though the skeletal Marsh Phantoms do not ride to inspire fear in other races, but in those who support the authority of the crown, it suggests an uncomfortable parallel. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Captain Clegg is a little devil. It's a pretty fun hammer affair in their typical Gothic style. Cushing and Reed stand out, as they chew the scenery. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member This is yet another great Hammer effort. It's a mashup of a pirate/ghost/conspiracy story. Cushing is brilliant as always, while Oliver Reed and Michael Ripper give solid supporting performances. The look of the "marsh phantoms" is simple but wonderfully effective. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      Photos

      View All Night Creatures photos

      Night Creatures

      Night Creatures (1962) Night Creatures (1962) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Pirate Captain Clegg (Peter Cushing), an English vicar by day, leads ghostly mounted smugglers by night.
      Director
      Peter Graham Scott
      Screenwriter
      Anthony Hinds
      Distributor
      Universal Pictures
      Genre
      Horror
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jun 13, 1962, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 13, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 21m
      Most Popular at Home Now