Login
Posted : 1 year ago on 6 April 2023 09:26
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it was included in ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was actually quite impressed by the damned thing. First of all, I’m not sure if it was the first one but it was definitely one of the first horror anthologies ever made and it is easily the best one I have seen, no less than that. To be honest, the beginning was rather clunky with Walter Craig showing up at this farm and acting like some kind of zombie. However, as soon as he explained why he was acting so oddly, I was completely hooked though. As pointed out by another Listal member, this anthology really felt reminiscent to ‘The Twilight Zone’ and, basically, each tale felt like some ‘Twilight Zone’ episode and it’s definitely a compliment. Another interesting thing with this anthology was the fact that, even though it was involving 3 directors, it felt really homogenous in style and quality which is something so rare with such anthologies. Concerning each separate segment, they all focused on things which were inherently creepy by nature (car accidents, hide and seek, mirrors, dummies and… golf!) and I was surprised that each one of them turned out to be actually quite entertaining. However, even if the first scenes slightly bothered me, I think I enjoyed above all the overarching story taking place at the farmhouse. Indeed, there is nothing more unsettling that a total stranger telling you that they have seen you in their dreams and predicting all kinds of ominous things. Eventually, I still think it was missing something to become truly amazing but it wasn’t far from it though. Anyway, to conclude, I really enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
Dead of Night Reviews
Dead of Night review
Posted : 4 years, 5 months ago on 5 November 2019 08:56
Released at a time when the portmanteau was an unknown concept, "Dead of Night" was the first British horror film, a genre banned from being produced during the war, to adopt the unprecedented format. Featuring individual sequences of a mysterious or supernatural bent, a framing device established the circular plot with each segment seamlessly seguing into the next. Neatly connecting each of the stories depicted as anecdotes to make for an indispensable, nightmarish whole, the film must be viewed in its entirety, but that is not to say each story is equivalent in terms of quality. It should be said that the various tales are bizarre and unique, one is even comical in its light-hearted tone, but looping them together as if they are collectively of doom-laden, parallel importance is what renders the film as an influential setup of the horror genre, implementing the convention of the recurring nightmare that eternally circles on itself.
"Dead of Night" innervated the horror genre in the UK, arousing more interest in the scene and enabling more productions to be commissioned, although none had quite the same impact. Perhaps the spasmodic effectiveness and eeriness of the compendium arrangement is wholly attributable to its multiple directorial contributions, excellent camerawork, smooth editing and accomplished special effects, but the final story is in itself a standalone spooky classic that lingers in the mind long after the film has ended.
"Dead of Night" innervated the horror genre in the UK, arousing more interest in the scene and enabling more productions to be commissioned, although none had quite the same impact. Perhaps the spasmodic effectiveness and eeriness of the compendium arrangement is wholly attributable to its multiple directorial contributions, excellent camerawork, smooth editing and accomplished special effects, but the final story is in itself a standalone spooky classic that lingers in the mind long after the film has ended.
0 comments, Reply to this entry