This new Studio Canal 4K/Blu-ray release celebrates the 80th anniversary of the classic British horror anthology Dead of Night, a film that has garnered legendary status over the years and it’s not difficult to understand why. The film benefits hugely from being made by four of the most acclaimed and able directors of their time – Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer. The story tells of guests gathered at a manor house who regale themselves (and us) with five supernatural tales of varying degrees of horror, the best of which involve an enchanted mirror, a Christmas party, and finally a dark and memorable tale of a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) tormented by the sinister dummy that is the focal point of his act and indeed his life. This is the segment of the movie most fondly remembered to this day.
The reputation of this film is such that it still retains an important place in the annals of horror cinema despite the fact that its gore content and nightmarish imagery might be considered tame and toothless compared to what we’ve become used to in the ensuing decades. This is partly because of excellent performances from the likes of Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Naunton Wayne, and Basil Radford, amongst others.
Anthology films were uncommon at the time Dead of Night was made, but it must have been apparent even then that the horror genre lent itself wonderfully to this format, hence the proliferation of horror comics and paperbacks that delighted readers in subsequent years. It wasn’t until 1965, though, and the successful release of Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, that cinema dabbled in anthology storytelling again, and a superb documentary on this subject called Short Sharp Screams, hosted by author John Llewellyn Probert and included on the disc, makes for essential viewing. Other equally informative new features include Dead of Night: Dreams and Duality, hosted by Alice Lowe, and Marketing Galore! The Art of Ealing with Nathalie Morris. Further archival interviews make for excellent and absorbing viewing, covering Ealing films in great detail, not just Dead of Night.
Those who think that such a vintage movie might not be to their liking should think again as they will find that Dead of Night is a masterful and timeless example of how to create material for the cinema screen that has lasted far beyond the era in which it was made and still has the capacity to provide brilliant entertainment for receptive audiences young and old. It’s a film that’s never looked better than on this crisp and vibrant new 4K release.
DEAD OF NIGHT is released by Studiocanal on October 20th.
