Dead of Night (1977)

I have to admit; I nearly put this DVD back in the sleeve and returned it to Blockbuster without even considering watching it. The reason: I really dislike anthology films. They just don’t work for me. I can’t start watching one story, have it reach a point of climax, and then come to an end, only to start watching another one right away. I don’t know why, but it’s exhausting. I need a break between tales. Better yet, I need a full movie that will take up an hour and a half of my time, something I can really get absorbed in while sitting on the couch with my cats. In the end I did watch Dead of Night because I had nothing else on the shelf that seemed all that appealing. I also reminded myself that some of my most terrifying moments with horror have come from anthology film stories, the most memorable being from when I was in grade school and watched the two Trilogy of Terror anthology films back to back on TV one night. Those scared the crap out of me. Last year I also really enjoyed the semi-anthology film Trick 'r Treat, which taught me I couldn’t just blindly ignore all of them. The biggest factor in me sitting down to watch Dead of Night, however, was the name Richard Matheson. I have always loved his work and once I saw the statement ‘trilogy of Richard Matheson thrillers’ on the Blockbuster sleeve I knew I had to give this a chance. Even more appealing -- though this was unknown until the three tales played out -- Richard Matheson was the writer behind two of the stories being presented, and was the one who adapted all three of them for the screen. With this knowledge in my head there just was no way I could say no.

The first tale in this anthology film was titled “Second Chance,” and was based on the short story by Jack Finney, an author who I think I have heard of before but not yet read -- that will change soon. It was a simple story about a young man who learns of an old car in a barn, one that he eventually buys and restores to its 1926 condition. He even goes so far as to put on the old original license plate for its first ride out on the country roads, one that was last seen on the car as its two drivers drove out of town, their death just moments away when they made the unfortunate mistake of trying to race a train at a crossing. With the car restored and the plate in place the young man takes his new car out for a drive and soon finds himself back in 1926. From that point on the story takes a pretty predictable, but enjoyable path.

The second tale was titled “No Such Thing as a Vampire,” and was based on a short story published by Richard Matheson, one that I haven’t actually read yet despite owning much of his work. Taking place in what appears to be a European town in the late ninetieth century, though I could be wrong, the story focuses on a well to do professor whose wife appears to be suffering the nightly feedings of a vampire. Thinking there has to be a scientific explanation, but also wanting to comfort his wife’s fear, the professor goes about examining her blood with his scientific tools while also decorating the house with garlic and other anti-vampire objects. Nothing seems to work though and eventually he calls in a young friend to help him defeat the vampire. The question is, is a vampire really to blame for the unfolding horror or is there a more sinister plot in play.

The third and final tale was titled “Bobby.” An original story for the screen by Richard Matheson, this would have been the most frightening tale of the bunch if I hadn’t already seen a version of this in the Trilogy of Terror films (the second I believe). The story focuses on a grieving mother whose son drowned in the ocean outside her home. Unable to cope with his lose she eventually performs some type of black magic ritual to bring him back. That night Bobby returns, but pretty quickly it becomes apparent that something isn’t right, first by the questions he asks, and then by the violent outburst he displays toward the meal his mother provides him. After that Bobby darts into the dark house to play hide and seek, a game which may prove to be deadly for the mother once the tables are turned and Bobby becomes the seeker. As many people have learned throughout the history of the horror genre it is often better to let the dead stay dead.

Of the three tales told within this anthology film I think my favorite was “No Such Thing as a Vampire,” though this isn’t really saying much because none of the stories really stood out as being that great. They all just seemed really boring. Adding to this boredom was their predictably, my mind knowing what was going to happen within ten minutes of each. Now this isn’t to say that it was an unwatchable film, its just one I won’t be adding to my collection anytime soon because I have no desire to watch any of the tales in this format again. I also won’t say the writing was at fault because I know that the story “Bobby” worked really well in the Trilogy of Terror anthology film, and since it felt like both stories mirrored each other in layout and dialogue, the flaw was most likely in the filming rather than the tale itself. As always, however, this is just my opinion. I’m sure others may feel differently about this trilogy of tales. If so, please feel free to speak up. I always love hearing from people even if their thoughts on something differ from mine.