Dead of night

Year of release : 1945


Run time : 1h44m


Genre : Mystery / Supernatural Horror



The movie is one of the few horror movies made in the UK in the 1940's, as horror movies were banned during the World War 2.


Walter travels to the country as he is an architect who was asked to consult on the renovations by Elliot Foley.

When he enters the room other guests are, Walter is hit with a deja vu feeling, as he is presented to all of them. Walter even dares say that although he's never met them he knows who all of them are, and what's about to happen, as he keeps on having the same dream about them . Walter says something terrible is going to happen at the end of the night.


Although the psychologist says his fears are unfounded, the other guests start telling him about their weird experiences, and even other people they heard about.


The young girl tells them a story that happened when she was at a Christmas party, when she met a child she later found out was dead ( this short story was based on the 1860 murder of Francis Saville Kent, for which his half sister, Constance, was convicted in 1865! ) ;

a man tells them about how he thought he died in a car crash (he was an automobile racer; motor racing started in 1902 in the UK!) for, as he was recovering in the hospital, he lost track of time, and he saw a hearse driver inviting him in ( this story is based on the short story " The bus conductor" by E.F. Benson published in 1906);

a woman tells a tale about a beautiful carved mirror she bought to her husband which almost drove him insane, and even the psychologist pitches in, recalling when he had to work on a ventriloquist who went mad.


I watched the movie because one of my favorites, Triangle (2009) is based on it. The movie started out well, but it lost me when they kept on recounting story after story, as I thought the movie was about people who don't know they are dead.

I thought all the women looked alike,from the teenager to the older ones, I don't know if it was intentional.


I wouldn't call the movie horror, as there was nothing scary about it, as in, there are no scary images on screen .


The acting was good.


The soundtrack was fine, usually the music of this era is loud and obnoxious , but this was Ok, I didn't like it, but it didn't hurt my ears.


The visual effects were really good for that era! They stand the test of time!


The movie received positive reviews over the years, as the film critics see this movie as a classic, being very influential on the horror and anthology film genres.


Rating : Could have been a contender !