Dead of Night AKA Deathdream
Andy Brooks is stationed in Vietnam when he is shot and apparently killed in the line of duty. The next night, his parents receive the bad news through a military telegram. Strangely enough, after the telegram arrives, Andy appears home, seemingly fine. Over the next few days, his parents start to notice a few strange things about him and soon he is displaying borderline psychopathic behaviour. Can they figure out what's wrong with their son in time to save him?
The Monkey's Paw is a famous short story that tells the tale of a couple who make the mistake of tempting fate by wishing things into existence that should not be. It has been told countless times on stage, screen and even an episode of The Simpson's parodied it. However, Bob Clark's Dead of Night may in fact be the quintessential version of the story, though it is loosely based on it as opposed to an exact copy. At once a chilling piece of horror and a poignant commentary on the effects of trauma suffered by soldiers coming home from the war, the film is quite simply a masterpiece of modern cinema and one that has gone criminally unnoticed for many years since its release. Featuring standout performances from its entire cast, a director working at the pinnacle of his prowess and a story that will linger with you long after its finished, Dead of Night is one of those rare films that compel you to watch, force you to understand and then brutally ravage your emotions before kicking you to the curb. Also known as Deathdream or The Night Andy Came Home, it is easily one of the greatest films that I have ever seen and an absolutely essential piece of true horror filmmaking at its finest.
Directed by Bob Clark (who had earlier done the seminal slasher film Black Christmas) and written by Alan Ormsby (later to write the remake of Cat People), the film can best be described as a slow burning piece that takes a lot of focus and attention to truly appreciate. Thankfully that's not hard, because Clark's direction is impeccable here. His sense of pacing is near flawless in its execution and he never seems to waste a single frame of film in telling this tale. Ormsby's screenplay is fascinating and actually a very good read on its own. It was never going to be easy to tell this story, since it attempts to use horror to create a telling portrait of society and the disintegration of the family unit due to war, but it manages to do it so easily that I seriously consider it one of the best written horror works of all time. Of course borrowing from The Monkey's Paw could only help its case, as that also happens to be one of the great works of horror, but its more intriguing to see just how well Ormsby expanded on that tale to tell his own version. One thing is for certain, without a top notch cast to handle this material, it may have been a total disaster; thankfully they were all more than up to the challenge of bringing this vision to life.
The always serviceable John Marley (some of you may know him as the man who wakes up with a horse's head in his bed in The Godfather) portrays the patriarch of the family, Charles, and does a fantastic job. He keeps his emotions in check, as any good father should, but one can see that he is simply getting closer and closer to letting them boil over past the surface and many times during the film he seems ready to explode. Lynn Carlin portrays the mother, Christine, and also does a great job, easily stealing several of her scenes with her near flawless portrayal of this mother who is totally in denial about the state her son is in. She comes across as partially schizophrenic at times, which makes sense considering the gamut of emotions she is going through, but she is never anything less than totally convincing in the role. However, the real star of this film is Richard Backus as Andy, in his debut role. Backus is nothing short of a revelation as the character, easily altering his moods and emotions when the role requires it. There is a simple moment early in the film where he is coaxed into a smile from his parents, and it is quite a chilling scene. Backus really had to be bang on for the character to get over, and he was more than that. I can easily say that he gives one of the all time great performances in a horror film and that's saying a lot because again, this was his first piece of work.
As far as thrills and chills go, this film has quite a few of them, and Backus is front and center for them all. From the beginning we realize that something may not be quite right with Andy when he strangles a dog to death in front of some neighbourhood children. This is a particularly disturbing scene that requires no gore to get its point across, it is clear to see that Andy is carrying something evil within him, and the emotionless face he has while killing the dog paints that picture quite nicely. Later on he kills a man by repeatedly stabbing him with a scalpel and the blood shoots across his face, painting a strange sort of smile across it and really driving the point home that he has become a bloodthirsty beast, ready to kill and devour his prey at a moment's notice. Finally, there is an extremely tense moment featuring Andy and his former girlfriend in a car that simply has to be seen to be believed. It is incredibly scary in its simplicity and the big reveal towards the end of it ranks up there with the greatest moments in horror film history, even if its never mentioned as such. However, the chills in this film don't always come from the killing or the violence, more often they come from the implication that perhaps the war has affected this boy in a much deeper way than anyone thought possible. Indeed, his very zombie-like state can be attributed to his experiences in Vietnam, and his inability to reintegrate himself into civilian life is a very common issue among those who have fought in battle across the world.
From the many scenes featuring Andy interacting with the various townsfolk that come by to visit him, we can see that he has been deeply affected by the war. Though he is in fact a zombie in the strictest sense of the word, he is a metaphor for many of those who return "changed" from the war as well. His very demeanour is reflective of this, as he prefers to spend all day either sitting quietly in his room or relaxing in a chair outside, never really speaking to anyone directly. This complete and total removal from society is at the very heart of this film, and it is displayed so overtly that one cannot help but recognize the intentions of the filmmakers immediately. It is also an excellent allegory on the death of the family unit, and through the actions of the principal characters, it is easy to understand how something like this can occur even among those who return "unscathed" from war. The ending of this film is inevitable but its power is no less diminished because of it. Understanding how to cope with and accept loss is the root of the story, and though it is painful to watch, it is nevertheless a sad and harsh reality of the lingering effects of war. Dead of Night may not be as well known as some of its contemporaries or even some of Clark's other works, but that doesn't change the fact that it is arguably one of the all time great horror films and one that will stay with you for a long time after you've watched it.
Dead of Night was shot on an estimated budget of $235,000 and unfortunately there are no box office numbers for it though I can imagine they weren't that strong. It has never seemed to permeate the consciousness of the horror community as much as it should, which is a shame as it is certainly among the true masterpieces of that genre. A compelling family drama, a sinister and violent horror film and a truly upsetting allegory on the silent suffering of the soldier, it is nothing less than flawless and well deserving of the highest praise. The old adage "be careful what you wish for" never rang more true than it does in this film, and all I can hope is that each and every one of you who read this will make it your goal to watch and appreciate this brilliant piece for what it is. My highest recommendation and yes, it is a definite
10/10.
"We'll be having a bloody good time a little bit later."
