Rayting:
7.7/
10 11.1K votes
Language: English | French
Release date: 15 October 1945
An architect senses impending doom as his half remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.
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User Reviews
I was fortunate enough to see this movie the way it was meant to
be seen: I was about 13 and my brother was 11. We were
supposed to go to bed, but we snuck and watched this movie. We
were also fortunate enough to see it on PBS (of all places!) uncut,
without commercial interruption. Perhaps, the fear of being caught
by our parents added to the experience. We sat by the flickering
light of the TV set (on low volume) in the dark. Needless to say, by
the end of the movie we thought our heads would explode with
fear. I thought my eyes would bulge out of my sockets. It was a
definitive bonding experience for me and my brother. Strange that
fear should be so relished! Up to this day, when posed with the
question, "You wouldn't do that?" Our response is in that devilish
high-pitched voice, "Wouldn't I? WOULDN'T I??" Thanks to Anchor
Bay putting out the dvd double feature of Dead of Night with Queen
of Spades (also excellent!), I have just watched it again and that
old friend fear comes right back. Hugo Fitch lives on!
Fmovies: Dead of Night is one of those movies that actually started a genre. Tame to today's standards many of its short stories can be traced to horror plots today; most notably the ventriloquist dummy come to life (Michael Redgrave sequence). This movie takes horror where it should remain...the suspense film. We can see all the blood and gore today but why do films like The Six Sense (1999) or What Lies Beneath (2000) remain a success? Everyone has their own fears and thoughts of horror; and the thought of that fear and horror adds to the suspense film in all ways more thansay the breed of horror slasher films...probably best portrayed by Psycho, Halloween and the Scream Films. Dead of Night isn't a Hitchcock film but it uses the same actors of his England days and uses the same suspense techniques seen in his tv series. Check this film out and watch it from the perspective of the 1940s viewers eyes and see why it was popular. Also check out Cat People (1942)and M (1931)
I watched Dead of Night for the first and (unfortunately) for the last time on TV when I was 10 or 11 years old but I still remember it like one of most fearful experience of my life. Later, like a mature person I realized that my fear was nothing but the mirror image of geniality of this movie. The best horror ever made. Without effects, without computers, without trivial editing. Just with immense psychological sophistication. Something what good horror should always be: a kind of social and psychological criticism, story about dark side of our lives and souls. I just cannot find the words to express my respect to this monument. Dead of Night should never be forgotten. Never.
Dead of Night fmovies. I saw Dead of Night when I was ten years old, and the horror stayed with me through most of my teen years. The mini-story about the antique mirror that showed the reflection of a totally different room than the one the man was in, made me afraid to be alone in a room with a mirror. Even to this day, as a grown man, I am a bit uncomfortable if I am alone at night in a room with a big, old mirror. Most of the mini-stories in this movie stayed with me for years, making me shudder whenever I would think about them. It is interesting, too, that the story of the ventriloquist's dummy that "comes to life," an oft-repeated theme in other movies and TV shows, originated with Dead of Night. I did not see the movie again until decades later. I was not as horrified, seeing it as an adult, but certain scenes still made me shudder. The main, underlying, weird idea of the movie, which becomes plain in the closing scene, leaves you with a spooky feeling and this thought: "could something like this be true of my life too?"
"They just don't make them like they used to", is one of those clichéd sayings spouted by older folk and ignorantly dismissed by the young. However, "Dead of Night" is a shining example of where these words may be applied without fear of being misplaced.
From my youth, I remember several episodic horror films, made up from short stories and cleverly linked together but this was by far the best. Although I can't remember the age at which I first saw it I can definitely remember being really quite terrified at times. There's no grotesque blood spilling, or horrific undead monsters, CGI special effects or anything that todays horror filmmakers seem to have on their "must include" list. In fact, it's the charm of the film that gives the horror aspect such a contrast to work against.
Think of it as the spookiest episodes of The Twilight Zone merged into one terrific movie and you won't be far off.
Scary British horror film with a bunch of people in a beautiful British country house sitting around and telling horror stories.
A man in a hospital has a horrific vision that later saves him; a young girl has a ghostly experience at a Christmas party; there's a haunted mirror sequence; a purportedly humorous ghost story involving two golfers and a downright terrifying sequence. This has Michael Redgrave playing a ventriloquist whose dummy seems to have a life of its own. The dummy is terrifying and Redgrave is superb--he actually became a ventriloquist for the role! It all has a framing story which ends with a somewhat predictable ending. However, back in 1945, this ending was probably brand new and must have jolted audiences.
I caught this on TV back in the 1970s. It was on LATE at night (about 1 am) and I was only 13 but I stayed up to watch it. I was fine with it until the Redgrave sequence and the one following it--those two scared me silly and I couldn't get to sleep--Hugo's face kept appearing in front of me! Seeing it now, all these years later, it STILL works on me. The stories have all been redone as episodes of "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"...but none have matched this movie. It's well-acted and has multiple directors doing separate sequences. There's next to no violence and no sudden shocks--it scares you but it sort of creeps up on you. A perfect example of subtle horror. The only misstep this makes is the stupid golfer story--it's not funny and pretty dumb--but this is a small complaint. A true horror classic.
The DVD print is in pretty poor condition. The picture is clear but somewhat faded and the audio drops in and out (music especially). Still it is watchable and that's what counts. A 10 all the way.