Nothing But the Night

Every now and then you stumble on an unheard of gem..

This is one of those movies you've never heard of which has a decent story and good cast. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in this modern film about a mystery surrounding the children of an orphanage and a bizarre series of deaths. This is definitely worth watching if you like these Hammer stars and like occult movies. I must admit this one caught me off guard. The end could have been fleshed out a bit more but I definitely enjoyed the story and have even managed to obtain a DVD transfer for my collection.

I think this plot could be done to make a great modern horror. I found it on Youtube...

Odd and unusual but nevertheless highly imaginative British supernatural horror/thriller story, once more pairing the two legendary genre veterans Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, this time under the skillful direction of Peter Sasdy. "Nothing but the Night" somewhat plays in a league of its own, as you definitely can't compare it to the extremely popular contemporary Hammer productions. I even daresay this is quite a unique piece of Brit-horror, which is probably why it required the constitution of a brand new production company, named Charlemagne, that didn't last very long afterwards. "Nothing but the Night" may be overly convoluted and full of irregularities, but it's really not a bad film and it definitely doesn't deserve the embarrassingly low current IMDb rating of 3.2 out of 10! Adapted from a novel by John Blackburn, the screenplay offers up a very ambitious and compelling mixture of mystery, medical horror, creepy country sides and typically British police work. The film is incredibly fast paced (I can't fathom that some of my fellow reviewers call this movie boring) and the plot is literally a non-stop series of red herrings and vague clues, desperately attempting to avoid that any viewer would figure out the climax too fast. Let me tell you straight away: you won't guess the full denouement no matter how clairvoyant you are, as multiple story aspects and twists in "Nothing but the Night" are simply too absurd and implausible for normal human beings to even consider. Once again, though, this doesn't mean it's not fascinating and entertaining to look at. The film opens with an immediate attention-grabber, as we're right away treated to grisly images of three murders looking like suicide. Police Colonel Bingham (Christoper Lee) later explains to his friend Dr. Mark Ashley (Peter Cushing) that all victims were trustees of a prominent but highly secluded orphanage on a small Scottish island. When one of the orphanage's children is hospitalized after a mysterious bus accident, the young doctor Haynes wants to investigate the girl's bizarre nightmares, but the influential Van Traylen Fund trustees prevent this. The girl's flamboyant and aggressive birth mother also wants to reclaim her, but the orphanage lies isolated and well protected a small island only reachable by ferry boats. Some abrupt plot twists work very efficient, whereas other red herrings are blatantly obvious. For example, we're supposed to believe that Anna Harb – the girl's real mother – is a complete psychopath, but that would just be too easy. Peter Sasdy maintains a sinister atmosphere throughout and the Scottish isle and countryside filming locations are stupendous. There aren't many bloody moments, but there's a fair portion of suspense and a couple of shocking insinuations. Other people claim that both Lee and Cushing are underused in the film, which may perhaps be a little true, but their characters are terrific and I swear I've seen films where their names were more shamelessly exploited for even smaller roles (like "Scream and Scream Again", for instance). Not a masterpiece of Brit-horror, but a worthwhile movie in case you're looking for something creepy yet different.

With an overall rating of just a bit over 3, I sure didn't expect much from this Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing collaboration. However, I was surprised to find this film was a lot better than I'd come to believe. Perhaps some of the reason the film has a lower score than the usual fare from these actors is that although the film has the usual supernatural angle, you don't learn about this until the end. Up until then, it just seems like a detective film about some nasty ex-con who is being sought be Scotland Yard. I could say more, but it would spoil the suspense.

Strengths of the film include a very novel script, generally good acting (though the ex-con is about as unsubtle a character as you can find), and nice location shooting. The biggest minus is that the thing just takes a long time to get going, though by the end of the film the whole thing is steaming full speed ahead.

I think this movie was the premis for the modern movie Get Out. It's too coincidental not to be. That being said it's not a bad movie. A little slow until the end but worth the wait. It's more mysterious than horror until the conclusion. If you're a Cushing fan I think you'll like it.

Three trustees of the Van Traylen fund have died suspiciously during the last nine months. A bus load of the trust orphan kids are almost killed. Police Colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) suspects that someone wants the trust money for themselves and he recruits Dr. Ashley (Peter Cushing).

This sets up an interesting mystery. It also has yet another pairing of Lee and Cushing. It could go somewhere with these ingredients. Instead, it gets tied down by one child's story and other characters doing the investigating. It seems to meander in circles for the first act. Most of that section with Peter is unnecessary. He's better off as a random doctor given her case. Lee and Cushing are moving at a snail's pace. They should be Sherlock and Watson but they are too far behind the audience. They come off looking clueless or somewhat uncaring. They take way too long to get to the orphanage. Anna Harb is a more interesting character. At least, she's more active and more invested. Finally, there are the kids. I don't know if the child actors are any good. The movie needs them to do more. They need to get into this movie sooner, front and center. They are the children of the bus. That's a better title.