The Night of the Hunter

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Birithivy Y The Night Of The Hunter - 10/10. So when this movie was released, the Hays Code was in effect for films. This prohibited films from showing anything in the extremes. Maybe that's why this film, which follows a sociopath religious serial killer, might feel tame by today's standards. But even within those codes, this is a solid and very effective film. Its a movie that is delivered through its really great usage of symbolism. There's a lot to unravel here, whether it be the very blatant symbolism shown through the tattoos on Robert Mitchum's (who delivers such an amazing performance here) character's hand. Or the symbolism of the animals throughout the film. Or maybe its the way the beautiful cinematography captures the dichotomy of the religious characters in the film. Its all done oh so well, and you can sucked into the surprisingly tense situation of these kids trying to escape the literal hands of death. Love how when they initially escape, the hand that the kids slam the door on happens to be the hand with the Love tattoo on it too. Its a film which also highlights and shows how religious beliefs and thoughts can either be taken in a beautiful manner, or a dangerously dark one. In the case of the preacher, he believes he's doing divine work with his devilish deeds. In the case of the kids' eventual caregiver, she's doing divine work through her divine deeds of raising a bunch of orphans. We see how the man's corrupt sensibilities corrupt the town folk and kids' mother, literally embodying the warning given at the beginning of the film of being careful of wolves in sheep's clothing (again with the animal symbolism). We also see how the young boy just wanted a father figure, and even after all that this sociopath has put him and his sister through, he doesn't want to see the man go to jail just like his real father. Sad how even through all this, he just wanted the care and love of a father figure. And great great music as well, just really capturing the situation in a symphonic way. The cinematography is just so scrumptious here, capturing shadows and darkness so well. Though I feel like the ending is a little bit too bow tied and perfect christmas ending, this is still a testament to film making and showing how to properly use symbolism in film and story. Really great film and a classic! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review Jonathan O Night of the hunter is truly the og of the boogeyman noir suspense thriller classic it really feels like a Gothic fairy tail to children or grims fairy tail and Robert Mitchum's performance is absolutely so frighting and menacing as a tall devilishly handsome preacher including the iconic love and hate hand tattoos which later in 1989 Spike Lee joint film do the right thing inspired that scene. But really fantastic cinematography it looks really noir and spooky and really outstanding cast including two childrens at peril to get away from the preacher and really well done director by Charles Laughton in his first feature noir cinema. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/04/24 Full Review Michael V The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE! The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American film noir thriller directed by Charles Laughton 💰 Not bad, but not my favourite either 😐 Meh, it passed the time. Just. 😐 👍🏼👎🏼 After a strong start, this soon loses momentum… In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Teddy B While it definitely works better in separate facets rather than as a collective whole, those parts are masterfully executed and satisfyingly thrilling. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review Doug H We watch a lot of classic films and somehow had never seen this one. It's really dated now, almost laughable. The sets look so fake and the acting is wooden. We made it a little more than halfway through. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/29/24 Full Review Pica R This movie is AMAZING! And so is Pearl. She is adorable, and steals the movie in a way, unlike John. John is Pearl's older brother, and John is not the best child actor i've seen in movie history. He is annoying. If John didn't throw the hair brush at Powell, HE WOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KILL THE KIDS!!! Ok, and Powell is just a TOTAL creep. He is a liar, trickster, and, well, just creepy. Ms. Copper is a pretty strict grandma, but seems like a nice person, unlike John. Uncle Birdie seems like he would be cool to hang out with, unlike John. Icey and Walt Spoon are actually very evil. Only by listening to what Icey Spoon says throughout the movie, you see that she is VERY evil. Willa is stressed because she has to raise John and Pearl on her own, because her husband was hung by committing a crime. Although Willa is not the best mother, she would probably be a nice person, unlike John. I also recommend reading The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/17/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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