Dead of Night (1974)

So much average

One of my all time favorites.

Better Late Then Never

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

When the twenty-one year-old soldier Andrew "Andy" Brooks (Richard Backus) is murdered in Vietnam, his mother Christine (Lynn Carlin) is summoning him asking him to come back home. Andy is the pride and joy of Christine that has eyes only for him. When the Brooks family is having dinner, they receive an Army´s letter telling that Andy died in the war. However a couple of days later, Andy arrives at home late night surprising his father Charles (John Marley), his sister Cathy (Anya Ormsby) and Christine. In the same night, a truck driver that is giving a rider to a hitchhiker is murdered in his truck. Soon Charles suspects that Andy is the killer and he has a conversation with his friend Doctor Allman (Henderson Forsythe) that agrees with him. Does Andy really come back home?"Dead of Night" is a creepy and depressing horror movie directed by Bob Clark. The story is sad, with family, friends and girlfriend missing a twenty-one year-old missing in Vietnam. His return as an undead killer is depressing and bringing tragedy for those who loves him. Richard Backus is creepy in the role of Andy. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Sonho de Morte" ("Deathdream")

Dead of Night (1974) *** (out of 4)Bob Clark's somber horror tale about parents Charles and Christine Brooks (John Marley, Lynn Carlin) who learn that their son Andy (Richard Backus) was killed in Vietnam. A short time later they are shocked to see that Andy has returned home. The mother accepts her son but the father seems to think that there's something not quite right.Clark's DEAD OF NIGHT, also known as DEATHDREAM, is one of the more unique horror films from this era because not only does it work as a horror movie but it's also quite effective as a drama. Obviously being 1974, the Vietnam war was still a hot topic and the film's screenplay by Alan Ormsby perfectly borrows from The Monkey's Paw story while also throwing in a few twists and of course there's the updating of the setting.I think Clark deserves a lot of credit for the visual style and atmosphere that he created for the film. The film really does a great job at capturing this small town and I really loved the dark look that he gave it. Obviously this is a fairly sad story about a dead soldier returning home to his parents and Clark's direction is right on the mark. The story is told in a rather slow fashion but this too really helps build up the atmopshere and the overall look of the film.Another thing that really works well is the drama. Seeing how this dream come true of having their son return to them turn into a nightmare as it slowly rips the family apart is perfect drama and every bit of it works. Even better is the fact that we're treated to some really fine performances including both Carlin and Backus as the mother and son. The real standout is Marley who is simply wonderful as the father who knows that the person living with them isn't really his son.DEAD OF NIGHT certainly has some flaws as it's not the perfect movie but, considering the budget, Clark was really able to build a rather dark and twisted tale.

A couple receives word that their son has been killed in Vietnam. The mother refuses to accept this and stays up all night wishing over and over that her son return home. Which he does, but not like she hoped. He's very weird and says next to nothing. Soon there are murders happening in their small town with people drained of blood.Cool low-budget horror movie from Bob Clark. It's a variation on the Monkey's Paw story -- "Be careful what you wish for." The cast is pretty good, particularly the actors playing the parents, John Marley and Lynn Carlin. Richard Backus plays the son and was apparently cast for his creepy stare, which he uses to great effect throughout the film. Chilling at times with a great atmosphere throughout, thanks in large part to the budgetary limitations. Low-budget '70s horror films are some of the grittiest and creepiest ever made. The first half is much better than the second, which is why my score isn't higher. After awhile the strangeness gives way to a more traditional vampire type story. I'm not sure if we can even call this a vampire movie but it has the primary element -- undead person who craves blood from the living. Tom Savini handled the special effects in one of his earliest films. It's an interesting and worthwhile horror film you should check out.

Having been informed of the death of their son Andy (Richard Backus) during the Vietnam War, Charles and Christine Brooks (John Marley and Lynn Carlin) are surprised when the young soldier returns home, apparently still alive and kicking. Unfortunately, he is actually a zombie who needs to drink blood to stay looking fresh…I'm not really a big fan of Bob Clark's movies, but I'll give the director his dues: with the exception of Porkys and Porkys II, no two of his films are alike. Even though his first two horror movies, Deathdream and Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, both featured zombies, they were as different as chalk and cheese (or day and night, since we're talking about zombie films).Clark was also an innovator, pioneering the slasher genre with Black Christmas and, with Deathdream, making one of the earliest films to deal with the horrors of the Vietnam War: following so soon in the wake of Night of The Living Dead, it would have been easy for Clark to have cashed in on George Romero's success with a similar storyline, but instead he offers up a totally different approach to the zombie movie. While it might not be anywhere near as gripping as Romero's '68 classic, being a little too slow and drawn out to be wholly effective (unless rocking chairs happen to be your thing), it is an undeniably creepy and atmospheric tale that cleverly uses the medium of horror to illustrate the tragedy of war.