Dead of Night

One of the original and most seminal horror anthology films. It takes a while for it to build up steam, and it definitely shows its age, but the ventriloquist segment is a classic, and the climax is cool.

The anthology segments vary in quality and atmosphere, but the interesting framing story, the classiness of it all and the wonderful ending more than make up for any shortcomings.

Some of the segments work better than others, but for me the framing device is very effective and wraps everything up nicely in a creepy little package. It's curious that this feels simultaneously a bit dated (perhaps due to the script?), and also ahead of its time (probably in terms of the plotting). The cast and direction are an asset here; it's all very capably put together. I'm typically a fan of anthologies, especially in the horror genre, and this is one of the better ones. Recommended.

There's only one dud (the golf story) in this otherwise marvellous "Twilight Zone-y" anthology film. As other reviewers have mentioned, the playful framing story and the ending are the highlights.

Way ahead of its time, Dead of Night is original, suspenseful, and surreal. The whole thing has a decidedly Twilight Zone feel to it.

As usual with antologies the quality of the segments differs a lot and that makes it a very uneven film. It's still a quite charming film and the frame story is pretty cool. And of course, everyone should watch it at least for that last segment with Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist for that story is truly awesome!

Charmlingly dated and predictable from having been ripped off innumerable times, perhaps moreso than any other horror movie. It's pretty much the be-all end-all of said genre anthology films, so the subsequent emulation is understable. It really is quite awesome. Myesh.

Fun horror anthology, with good shorts framed by an interesting story in its own right. Nothing too scary (if you rate your horror by how horrible it is), but well made. The only piece that really didn't fit was the comedic golf story, which came from H.G. Wells seemingly trying his hand at P.G. Wodehouse. I'd like to read a ghost story actually written by Wodehouse, though.

Gets better and better as it goes on, each story is a well acted gem with each director putting their own touch on their sections but without it overpowering the film. Not for everyone but I recommend that you at least try it and certainly watch till the end.

Extremely enjoyable, maybe one of the best episodic movies (otherwise rarely a type of film that works well for me). Funny, scary and fairly subversive for it's time it has several episodes that the viewer will remember and that have certainly produced lesser copies.

Remembered this one as being very creepy, particularly the mirror story, but seeing it again recently I didn't really feel it held up. Feels a bit clumsy.

Horrifying without the use of over-the-top special effects. The writing is brilliant, the acting is tops and the ending is brilliant, wrapping up all the awe and fright into one genius scene.

When a horror from 1945 makes you shake at the end, it means it's a classic and a darn good movie. Possibly the best written horror ever.

Some of the stories in the anthology are actually very good. The Ventriloquist, in particular, is quite a spooky classic.

Horror anthology has some good bits. I'd love to have a mirror like that.

Quite good and, except for the golf story, appropriately creepy. At times things don't really tie together and give the film a disjointed feel, but it's not a big deal and the ending is pretty nice.

I imagine the entire thing was very original back in 1945, from the structure to the plot of the individual vignettes. It certainly has charm, but a handful of awkward scenes and one poor vignette drag it down.

I know this is heretical, but I don't really like this very much. It's well-put together, and well-acted, but I didn't think the stories had much bite to them and the film generally lacked in atmosphere. There's a kind of matter-of-factness to the ending of the stories ... it was a ghost and we were scared ... that made them just land there with a big ole THUD. Not bad, but I was generally disappointed.

Oh my, what a climatic chill! For me, on first viewing, the early stories were the warm-up. Kept a decent dark energy of psychic illusions and British sense of humor. But once that ventriloquist story with Michael Redgrave came alive, this was just brilliant horror! Builds such an intensity. And to top it off that deja vu vibe of the end credits... speechless!

87.00

I enjoyed it, but not as a whole. There are some bits in there which are done beautifully, but the way they are tied together isn't quite there in my eyes. If the characters slowly let go of reason and give in to the supernatural i think it could have worked beautifully. To be frank, the little side stories were better than the complete picture. The one about the golfers felt a bit out of place though. Too much humor. I wonder if this film could have been better with only one director.

A classic, still effective and memorable.

The segments are generally creepy and well-made but also rather tame and predictable for the most part. The best of them features Michael Redgrave as a mad ventriloquist. What's actually most impressive is how all the threads are so majestically pulled together in the final scene for an ending that's smart, original and memorable.

It plays not unlike a Twilight Zone episode. Or rather, like a collection of Twilight Zone episodes. There's a bit of an anthology style going on in the movie, and the different stories have different levels of quality. Some lean much more toward horror, and some are basically comedy. Again, not unlike a random assortment of Twilight Zone episodes.

watched: 2015, 2024

My fave Ealing horror romp..Trend setter for the Horror portmanteau.Beautifully atmospheric,stunningly surreal.. Total British classy nostalgia."Room for just one inside sir ?"

Excellent.

İstanbul Modern: Farklı yönetmenler tarafından çekilmiş hikayelerin tek bir potada eritilme çabası sürpriz bir şekilde iyi çalışıyor. Finalin de çok iyi bağlandığını söylemeliyim.

The stories themselves are pretty basic - ghost stories or general odd occurrences. The final segment, featuring a story about ventriloquist dummy, is probably the strongest. The framing narrative is simple, too, but includes the best part of the film by far. The last 5 minutes of the film are excellent - creepy, clever and well-made. I don't think the rest of the film truly lives up to it though.

86.500

* Casting, Acting : 8 * Script : 10 * Directing, Aura : 8 * Ease of Viewing : 7 * Naked Eye : 8

This movie scared the life out of me. Don't watch it alone

old

A bit slow and some bits too long. But the ending and the horrific puppet part made up for that

Saved by the last 30 minutes

Good Movie

Very classy, more intellectually chilling than viscerally scary.

88.500

Well shot and wholly entertaining. The ventriloquist segment was excellent!

A horror film with a good story and a neat clever screenplay with sprinkled with good humor. An entertaining matinée to watch.

A nice little horror anthology within a somewhat ineresting frame.

Classic chiller.

Good horror anthology with interesting circular plot. Stories work because they relies of primal fears or genuinely creepy things, like what does dreaming same nightmare each night means, or ventriloquism. The story with puppet is my favorite.

One of horrordom's best.

"Spasmodically effective."

Watchable... even a little bit creepy here and there.

The granddaddy of the horror-anthology subgenre, and still one of the best of its kind

This is one of the British films I always try to re-watch for Hallowe'en. Several creepy short stories tied by the narrator's recurring nightmare.

Wherein we learn the source of that Twilight Zone ("Room for one more, honey"--actually I think it's a story by E F Benson)--and also the original musical setting of The Beatles' "Golden Slumbers."

By turns amusing and creepy. One of the earliest horror anthologies and one of the best.