Soif de sang

So many horror films, both then and now, exist solely to provide cheap titillation to gore hounds and casual thrill-seekers. 'Dead of Night' (aka "Deathdream"), however, is serious business, and seriously scary. Comparable to 'The Exorcist' in its exploration of the parent-child dynamic when the child is given over to something sinister, I personally liked this more than I liked 'The Exorcist.' It's leaner, more suspenseful, and less pretentious.

Richard Backus is Andy, a soldier who returns from the war (presumably Vietnam) the very night his parents and sister are informed of his death in combat. The homecoming is not a happy one, however. Andy just isn't quite himself. Laconic, humorless and irritable, he doesn't want to go out and isn't interested in seeing visitors. Worse, there could be a link between him and the gruesome murder of a truck driver that occurred the night of his return.

Like 'The Exorcist,' 'Dead of Night' - a reworking of "The Monkey's Paw" -- aspires to be more than simply a horror film. It aspires to be a Vietnam allegory, and it aspires to be a family drama. Remarkably, it succeeds as all three. It makes a compelling statement about returning soldiers, is a truly frightening horror film, and also a harrowing family drama. John Marley, as a Andy's father, conveys torment and confusion effectively, and Lynn Carlin is especially good as Andy's mother, a woman who has disappeared completely inside of her denial. The suspense is unbearable, and there's skillful use of both sound and space in creating it. The chills are never cheap and are consistently hair-raising. The movie marches headlong into its inevitable conclusion and is utterly uncompromising throughout. That it was rated PG at the time is a shocker.

The movie has some flaws and lacks visual polish, but this is almost irrelevant given how brilliantly everything works. The director is Bob Clark, who would go on to direct the first two 'Porky's' films, 'A Christmas Story,' and 'Baby Geniuses,' and he has made a rare horror film, one that is intelligent, thoughtful, and damn scary.

A very interesting movie by Bob Clark who has just passed away.Gore and special effects are kept to the minimum,the director and the screenplay focusing more on the family than on the dead man walking.

Bob Clark renewed a theme which French Abel "Napoleon" Gance had broached in the silent era (and remade as a talkie): "J'accuse" .Gance showed the dead soldiers rise from the grave and attack the profiteers of war .Too bad Clark did not follow suit and show the veteran attack those who sent him to war...but after all,it was this over possessive mother who made him join the army (that'll make him a man).The parents 'responsiblity is obvious here.The love the mother feels for her dearest son verges on monstrous -and becomes really monstrous in the final scenes,in every sense of the term.

An unusually inventive use of music creates a disturbing eerie atmosphere,a "something is not normal" feeling,some black humor (the drive in),and the hero swinging in his chair like a robot.All that makes "Dead of Night" a movie worth watching.

NB:Should not be mistaken for "Dead of night" (1946) a scary film made up of sketches.

Like this?Try these....

"Jacob's ladder" Adrian Lyne 1993

"The war at home" Emilio Estevez 1996

Before I get into the review, here are my ratings for the movie.

The story gets 1.25 out of 2: The Direction a 1.25: The Pacing receives a 1.25: While the Acting gets 1.25: And my Enjoyment level earns a 1.5 out of 2: This brings the total for Dead Of Night to 6.5 out of 10.

What a wonderful surprise this movie turned out to be. It's a basic story, filmed in an average style, with above-par acting. But it's so enjoyable. Dead Of Night is one of those films that has that particular indeterminable something, which you can't put your finger on, or name. I think it's the subtlety that oozes throughout the picture.

Charles, Christine, and Cathy Brooks are having dinner when the fateful knock comes at their door. It's the news they've been dreading. Their son, and brother, Andy has been killed-in-action in Vietnam. Charles and his daughter Cathy breakdown in grief while Christine fights to believe her son is still alive. That night, Charles and Christine awake to strange noises. Upon their nervous search of the property, they find Andy has returned and is waiting in the shadows. Everybody's delighted to welcome the returning hero. However, as the day's pass, it becomes evident that all is not right with Andy.

Alan Ormsby uses Andy's unfamiliar behaviour to create the eerie atmosphere. Brilliantly added to this are the perfect characterisations of the Brooks family. I know families like the Brooks. A strong father type. A mother who doesn't argue and stands by her family; until they do wrong. And, a sister who loves her parents and little brother: But who is realising her own decisions are becoming more important. These relationships keep you interested. You relate to them and become concerned in their lives. Ormsby drives in a nice deep wedge when Charles realises Andy isn't as good a boy as when he went to war. However, Christine is still trying to hide the truth from herself. These two opposite positions bring them to near all-out war. And, I know families like this too.

Bob Clark, does an okay directorial job on the story. For the most part, he keeps it average. Though, he does compliment the story perfectly with his shots. For example, when the lorry driver pulls in for a coffee, he informs the waitress that his hitch-hiker is a strange one. As this point, Clark gives us a shot out of the Pit-Stop's window at the cab of the lorry. We see a silhouette of a person, who is just a shadow in the darkness, sat high and starring unfalteringly forward. There's nothing iconic in the composition, and it's not a great shot, but it still makes your skin crawl. Most of the creepiness comes from imagery like this. The iconic and memorable footage comes when Andy dons his sunglasses. This guy is creepy at best, but in these black spec's he's freaky to the maximum.

Andy's weirdness comes from his characters resistance to talk and engage with others. Richard Backus was ideal for this role. As we progress through the story, Backus builds on Andy's traits, at first it's an unnerving slow smile. This builds to an unnerving slow smile with a growing deadness in his eyes. Then the madness starts to build within his stares, and his eyes haemorrhage. The thing I loved most about this was the slow evolving of Andy. When he first returns home, he's not evil. The wickedness comes on in slow waves. John Marley, who is the A-lister in this film, does a superb job of bringing Charles to life. The character fits him like a glove, and he is highly realistic in his portrayal. I felt a tad sorry for Anya Ormsby, who played Cathy, because in one scene Charles shoves his daughter away. And, he really does shove her away.

Lynn Carlin is great as Christine. Not only does she have one character to portray, but Christine's persona gets splintered and ripped apart, and Carlin handles it superbly. Though I will state that if you don't like high-pitched screaming and wailing women then be warned, there are a couple of scenes where Christine and Cathy get rowdy. Get the ear-plugs. Why does everybody in the horror genre think women act like this? It's the only unrealistic thing about the film. My mother would slap both of them for behaving so foolishly. I've never known a woman act in such a manner when stressed or anxious. I detest this stereotype.

Dead Of Night is a definite watch for all the horror fans and newbies to the genre. It's not a gore-fest though, so all you gore-hounds should stay away. Though I do have to say there's a couple of quick shots of Andy's hands when they're starting to rot and they are great. The FX people even added maggots to the wound. Awesome. The film is one for the Friday Night Fright-Fest. A great movie to grab a brew and put your feet up to watch.

Once, you've clawed your way out of your grave come and visit my Absolute Horror and see where Andy finally buried himself in my rankings.

Take Care & Stay Well.

I've heard about this movie for years and read the praise heaped on it, and I knew it couldn't be as good as all that. I could never get my hands on it anyway, so I figured I'd never know. But I just watched it yesterday, and it is as good as all that.

Though filmed in the early 1970s, Deathdream doesn't come off as hopelessly dated. Its themes resonate strongly even today.

As an allegory, the film makes its anti-war points bluntly. This war (thought it is never named it's obviously Vietnam) is killing too many of our boys and making zombies out of the ones that make it home. But the movie is not generally anti-war -- it manages to contrast Vietnam with WWII, represented as a good war (in the person and words of the mailman), where there was little doubt what we were doing was right and that our military forces were being led authoritatively to absolute victory. The same couldn't be said for Vietnam, and by 1972, no one really remembered what we were fighting for anymore. Deathdream was filmed before Vietnam ended and released after, making its timing perfect.

There are a few criticisms, hardly worth noting -- some scenes are poorly staged and lighted, and Clark doesn't always get the best out of his actors (and has little to work with in some cases). Early scenes are a bit stilted (Was the movie shot in sequence with the story? That might explain it), but the movie finds its groove at about the 30 minute mark.

Don't expect a slick production. It's a small, claustrophobic, personal movie with rough edges to spare. Some scenes of violence are cartoonish and others are brutal. Also, the effects and makeup are much better than we have any right to expect. Poor, rotting Andy is a heck of a sight, and a sad sight in the scene where he is led down the stairs by his mother.

Deathdream is an amazing accomplishment all things considered.

"Everything's fine, Bob."

I saw this movie on Chiller Theater sometime in the late 70's, and

it stuck with me for a long while. I never knew the title, however,

until I re-discovered it a few years ago. My memories of seeing it as a young kid mostly focused on the

weirdness of the film itself. Richard Backus does an amazingly

creepy performance as "Andy," a soldier in Vietnam who returns

home after being supposedly killed in action. His mom, overjoyed

to see him, refuses to believe anything is wrong, while his sister

and father begin to suspect all is not quite right given his behavior,

pale, vampiric appearance and the many strange incidents which

begin to occur around him. Mom continues to stay in denial until

the very end. The scene with the double date in the drive-in particularly stuck

with me after all those years. Honestly scared the bejezus out of

me as a kid! But re-watching as an adult, I saw the movie more for what it was

meant to be, a social commentary about the Vietnam war. It still

holds up very well today. I am glad to know it has been re-released on DVD with additions,

though I haven't seen this yet. For years it was difficult to even find

a video copy. Plus it was released under several different names. I

think I originally saw it as "The Night Andy Came Home." Definitely recommended.