SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Christophe Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

BA_Harrison An early entry in the horror anthology sub-genre, Dead of Night is an important and highly influential offering from Ealing Studios, one that has provided inspiration for numerous later scary movies, including the popular Amicus portmanteau films of the '60s and '70s.But as noteworthy as it undoubtedly is, Dead of Night is also somewhat over-rated, the film suffering from that frequent horror anthology handicap, the comic relief story, and just a little too much of the wraparound tale, which begins as architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) arrives at the country home of Eliot Foley (Roland Culver) and his wife (Mary Merrall), having been invited to stay the weekend.As Walter is introduced to the other guests in the house, he experiences a sense of déjà vu, recognising the names and faces from a recurring nightmare, which he proceeds to divulge. This, in turn, leads to each person recounting their own experience of the supernatural.Tale number one, The Hearse Driver, is short but sweet, telling of how race car driver Hugh Grainger, injured in a crash, is saved from certain death by a haunting vision of a creepy hearse driver. The shock ending is memorable enough that one can easily forgive the unconvincing miniature model effect.Story two is traditional ghost story Christmas Party, with Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes) befriending a small boy, unaware that he is in fact the spirit of a murdered child. The twist in the tale is not at all surprising, a disappointment considering the wonderfully melancholy atmosphere that had been so carefully established.The third tale to be recounted, The Haunted Mirror, is one of the best, and sees Peter Cortland (Ralph Michael) slowly becoming possessed by the spirit of a murderer after his wife (Googie Withers) buys him a haunted mirror. Extremely creepy and well played by Michael and Withers, this one would provide the inspiration for a chapter in the excellent From Beyond The Grave (1974).Golfing Story stars Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as sporting and love rivals George and Larry, who play a round of golf to decide who shall win the hand of the woman they both adore. Loser Larry kills himself and winds up haunting George, who had cheated during the game. Played for laughs, this one is out of place and could have been left on the cutting room floor (the shorter American version of the film did just that, along with Christmas Party).The last segment is about a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) who believes that his doll is alive. If that sounds familiar, it's could be because the same idea was used for the Anthony Hopkins film Magic (1978). Like Magic, this one is supremely creepy—there's something that is inherently unsettling about a ventriloquist doll, and this one wastes no opportunity to freak out the viewer.With its five tales told, Dead of Night wraps things up by revealing that everything we have seen thus far has been part of Walter Craig's recurring dream. The architect wakes up and receives a phone call: it's Eliot Foley inviting him to stay for the weekend. The cyclical dream ending might seem trite these days, but was probably considered rather clever back in 1945.With more killer than filler, the film is still a neat package of spooky stories, one that will no doubt please most fans of the multi-story format. If anything, it's worth seeing just to see quite how many of the characters light up a cigarette during the entire film: it's almost like smoking was mandatory in the '40s.

classicsoncall I usually abhor movies that turn out to be dreams because it almost makes watching them a wasted effort, but this one was different. The principal character Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) continually dropped hints that he'd seen and done all of this before, so when it finally comes around to the finale and the nightmare loop he was experiencing, it felt more like the story was bringing all the disparate elements together for one last hurrah. I thought the resolution was cleverly done, and well set up by all that had gone before.In the spirit of deja vu, what surprised me more than anything about the film was how it might have served as inspiration for episodes of my all time favorite TV series, "The Twilight Zone". The sequence with the ventriloquist dummy was very similar to Rod Serling's script for a third season TZ story titled 'The Dummy', right down to the twist ending with Maxwell Frere (Michael Redgrave) trading places with Hugo. The series spun off a similar story in the final season with another entry called "Caesar and Me".Then there's the almost plagiaristic similarity to Grainger's (Anthony Baird) story about a bus crash and the eerie invitation of the bus driver to come on board with "Just room for one inside, Sir". In the second season Twilight Zone episode "Twenty Two", the venue changes from a bus ride to an airline flight, with a stressed out dancer questioning her very sanity, while continually encountering a morgue attendant who utters the words "Room for one more, Honey".Which just goes to prove that in movies and books, everything old is new again with the passage of time and the influence of creative efforts casting their subliminal appeal down through the years. Seeing as how this film came out in 1945, I'd have to conclude that this one might have been a trend setter for much of what came after in a similar vein, certainly in the way of anthology stories connected by a recurring theme. As an added bonus, you've got an actress in the cast with the name of Googie Withers (as Mrs. Joan Cortland). How can you pass up a story with someone in it named Googie?

Prichards12345 Dead of Night, as Milton Subotsky admitted, directly inspired the numerous and enjoyable Amicus anthology movies of the 60s and 70s. And it's not hard to see why. This beautifully-written, superbly directed ensemble is one the most memorable supernatural chillers ever made.An architect (well played by Mervyn Johns) makes his way to a farmhouse in the English countryside. He recounts to the occupants the startling fact that he has dreamed all of this before, which encourages his hosts to each recount a story that has recently happened to them - a story in which the supernatural is always prominent.The framing device is one of the cleverest aspects of this movie (though the idea has been done to death since), and the stories are all good. The first is an eerie tale of precognition "Just room for one more inside." The second, concerning Sally-Ann Howes' "Subconscious Thingummajigs" concerns a sighting of a ghostly boy who was previously murdered. It wasn't until I read The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher about the Constance Kent murder that I realised the killing was actually true.Our third tale is the best so far, a chilling account of a haunted mirror. The fourth, the golf story of course, is usually dismissed as the weakest as it gently comedic rather than scary. But this is surely just to relax the audience before hitting them with the full whammy.When we get to Michael Redrave's astonishing performance as the disturbed ventriloquist and his maniacal dummy Hugo - well, just prepared to be afraid. VERY AFRAID. This one of the greatest moments of all supernatural cinema. Wow is it frightening. Even today. I can't praise Redgrave enough for his work here. You have to see it to appreciate it. The film neatly ends with the architect waking from his dream, and starting the story all over again. I've avoided a few spoilers to not give away too much.Rather amusingly British critics of the time thought the film was "sick". Most of us today view it as a masterpiece. How times have changed!

begob A troubled man accepts an invitation to a meeting at an old farmhouse, but when he gets there finds the guests may make his nightmares come true.Interesting anthology that seems familiar and a bit tired. It's certainly heavy on dialogue and some of the stories do drag on, but the framing of feelings versus analysis works well, at least in the first half and in the climax. But a bit lax in the middle.Other reviewers have set out the stories, so I'll just say the haunted mirror is my favourite, and I expected that would be the H G Wells contribution because it uses all its potential. But no - he wrote the daft golfing story.The actors are OK - nobody outstanding (including Redgrave) - and the protagonist has several ucnonvincing dramatic moments. There are a few unnecessary characters in the farmhouse, and I think it would have been more interesting to have the farmhouse actors also play the supporting characters in the stories. Y'know - Wizard Of Oz style.Editing very patchy, with an obvious insert to deliver gravitas to the golfing story. Plus the protagonist's first view of the house, when the car comes to a halt, is so awkward - at the end of the film the same footage is used much better. Music threatened to overwhelm, but thankfully it eased off.Two most impressive moments were the golfing suicide + the scene where the faces press up against the jail bars. The latter is nice and weird and brings the wraparound to a satisfying point, where you think back on everything you've seen. Not perfect, but you get a sense of the conflict of feelings and analysis ending in horror.Overall, interesting but not gripping.