Dead of Night : They overdid the arc of suspense

They overdid the arc of suspense

There was something inherently wrong with the script. We are given a suspenseful setup of the hero's story with his recurring dream. We know there's something horrible to happen and are thrilled as how it's gonna play out.
Then they throw in four unrelated, mildly interesting ghost stories that seem to drag on forever. And though I kind of liked the hide & seek storyline, I just couldn't wait for everything to be over, so we could return to the main plot.

And while the climax delivered - and obviously only worked in connection with the subplots - it didn't make up for those 60 minutes of waiting.

I feel this would have worked better in shorter length, e.g. as a Hitchcock Hour or Outer Limits episode.

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Last movie watched: Dead of Night (5/10)

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Re: They overdid the arc of suspense

One of the scenes (I think it was Michael Redgrave's insane grin at the end, or maybe the ventriloquist's dummy's head revolving -- or am I thinking of the Anthony Hopkins film Magic?) was listed in a Favorite Monsters of Filmland's 10 most horrifying movie moments back in the 1960s.

Others were blood running under the door of a crashed subway car in Curse of the Cat People, the dead Dame Edith Evans opening her eyes in The Ace of Spades (not a horror film otherwise), and Peter Lorre lurching up the stairs with his fake steel neck and hands in Mad Love. Well that's four of them, anyway. The first glimpse of the Monster in Frankenstein must have been one also.

Re: They overdid the arc of suspense

The Queen of Spades. And I disagree; it is most definitely a horror film of the psychological.

Re: They overdid the arc of suspense

Before seeing it, didn't you know it was an anthology movie?

Re: They overdid the arc of suspense


I just couldn't wait for everything to be over, so we could return to the main plot.
I agree with your contention. The movie had wildly uneven pacing and I think there should have been more substance to the main thread. The best of the rest was IMO, the Hearse Driver sequence and that was the shortest in length. The Golfing Story sequence just upset the tone and pitch of the whole film.

An interesting film historically, but somewhat overrated.🐭
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