Dead of Night

Although Ealing studios is best known for producing fine comedies, its most sophisticated offering is a horror film. Dead of Night is that film. Directed by four top directors, the film comprises a collection of five short stories woven together into an absorbing whole. If the finale seems a little predictable, its only because its been copied so many times.

One day, a middle-aged architect (Mervyn Johns) arrives at a country house that seems strangely familiar to him. Inside is a group of strangers that also seems strangely familiar to him. Understandably troubled by this, he explains to the gathering that they have all previously appeared in a recurring nightmare of his. In succession, they reply by telling him of similar bizarrre experiences that they've had. Ever present is a sceptical psychiatrist who cynically attempts to explain away the supernatural occurrences.

Bolstered by some splendid acting, Dead of Night makes a very frightening movie. The stories are as varied as they are entrancing. Particularly memorable is the encounter with Michael Redgrave's obsessed ventriloquist.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96