Dead of Night

This is the stuff that fever-dreams are made of 

(Spoilers)
The concept of British Horror is very difficult to define due to how little it stands out amongst its contemporaries. American Horror is most often been focused around powerlessness against the supernatural, the idea that whilst you can temporarily stop the evil, it will always come back later. Japanese Horror often relies on very disturbing imagery and themes that shock a viewer into a lingering fear that takes a long time to pass. British Horror? Everyone thinks of Hammer and the idea of “high-camp” and always sitting just behind everyone else in terms of widespread popularity. But we were on to something for while, something that could have very easily blossomed into the mainstream if only it had a chance.

Dead of Night is a 1945 horror anthology produced by Ealing Studios, who were known at the time for making war documentaries and propaganda films, and was directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Robert Hamer and Basil Dearden. It was an attempt by Ealing to expand it's range and thrive in the post-war period, but it doesn't show. The film does appear to be attempting to make a Horror identity for Britain, one of psychological horror.

Dead of Night's framing device is Walter Craig, an architect visiting a country house to help plan an expansion. From the very beginning, he seems confused and in a daze. As he steps into the home and walks into the sitting room, he is greeted by a roomful of people he claims to have seen before, despite never having met them. It is revealed that he has been having a recurring dream that he can only vaguely remember, but it somehow involves all the people in that sitting room. Met initially with scepticism, especially from the visiting psychologist Dr Van Straaten. But when some of the predictions he makes start to play out, the guest begin to believe him.

The film is then neatly divided into segments. Five short stories, each being told by a different guest in an attempt to calm Walter and convince Van Straaten of Walter's claims. Each short revolves around an unexplained paranormal event, with each event binge described in much the same way Walter explains his dream. The result is not so much horror as lingering unease, wondering what everything means and what the pay off will be. And when you get to the pay off, you're left still wondering. Each director tells a different story with their own personality and style, but they all follow this theme.

The way each segment is shot and directed makes them stand out against each other, with no one particularly outshining the others. The first short is about a race-car driver recovering from a crash. The suspense and unease in this short comes from long takes and sustained silence. The moment where he gets out of his bed to look out the window is perfectly shot to make you feel as anxious as he looks when he reaches for the curtain. The second story feels more like a classic short story. A teenage girl at a party walks around in a haunted house and finds a ghost. Not very suspenseful, but has a good flow and energy which suits the teenage story teller. The next story may actually be the first cinematic example of a haunted mirror, but is over far to quickly to really go anywhere.

The fourth story comes almost entirely out of left field. It is a seemingly random dark-comedy about two golfers. It features some honestly brilliant gags, feeling like an Abbot and Costello routine only with more death. The best part is how it ends and transitions back into the story taking place in the sitting room. It is revealed to be a funny, possibly fake, story told by the host in an attempt to lighten the mood of the room's occupants. Whilst initially jarring, the story manages to draw you deeper into the mindset the film wants you to be in, that of a guest in the sitting room.

The final story is perhaps the most stereotypical horror story, but once again is almost certainly one of the originals of it's kind. A man may have manifested his split-personality into his ventriloquist dummy. It is important to remember that, at the time, this was not a played out idea for a story. If anything it was near brand new at the time. And to the film's credit, this short stands out the most and reveals a theme that was present in all previous stories. As this story is in fact told by Van Straaten, the ventriloquist is shown to be most likely suffering from a mental illness. And that can colour the previous stories as other examples of mental breakdowns. It looks like everything, including Walter Craig's prediction were just people suffering from mental illness. And then the ending storms in and changes everything again. And it has to be seen to be believed.

Overall, Dead of Night is a great example of early classical horror filmmaking. It may not scare the same as it used to, but it is still a solid psychological thriller.