Night 3: ‘Dead of Night’ (1945)
What do you get when you combine a horror anthology with an Agatha Christie-like setting and a Groundhog Day-type of twist? Well, you get an enjoyable collection of spooky stories that will sometimes creep you out, and at other times will have you cackling!
The film begins with architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), who is called into a house in the middle of nowhere, and is suddenly struck with an odd sense of déjà vu: he’s been there before. It happened in a dream, and he has a foggy memory of the people gathered in the place… as well as a premonition of some terrifying events that are to come.
Soon, everyone in the house starts telling their own paranormal stories in an effort to sway Dr. Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), a skeptical man who refuses to believe in such things –even when his is probably one of the strongest and scariest tales of the bunch!
This simple setting connects every story in the anthology: a group of characters, talking to each other. It is effective and clear-cut, just like the stories themselves.
Some of the tales are rather memorable indeed. I was particularly fond of the stories of the cursed mirror, the encounter with a creepy self-sufficient dummy; and even the hilarious tale of a man who is haunted by the ghost of his deceased friend and romantic rival.
Unfortunately, the amount of tales does affect the pacing of the film. The uneven tone and the varying length between the stories, does make some of them stand out quite negatively. Perhaps, had they reduced the number of tales and focused solely on the more effective ones, the movie could have been even better.
However, the most efficient part of the film is the surprise twist at the end. A type of dream-within-a-dream device, long before ‘Inception’. As the movie reveals that it’s just one huge loop, it’s impossible to avoid reacting with chilling dread: these characters are, indeed, damned to relieve a horrible night… forever! Good luck sleeping after that one!
Overall, ‘Dead…’ has some really great frightening stories, perfect for a horror month. For those of us who grew up with horror anthologies such as ‘Are you afraid of the dark?’ or ‘Tales from the Crypt’, you’ll probably recognize the seeds of some episodes in these tales.
Grade: 7/10. Perfect for a night with the dead!
Scare Factor: varies from tale to tale.
Gore/violence: none.
Nudity/sexual situations: none. Parents are allowed!
Tomorrow: ‘Altered States’ (1980)
