Various (director)
(studio)
PG (certificate)
103 (length)
20 October 2025 (released)
17 October 2025
This a welcome release of one of the great classic horror films. It is also a opportunity to reassess it as while it is a classic does it all still hang together?
Made in 1945 Dead of Night is a portmanteau horror with directors Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer taking on a number of stories written by John Baines and Angus MacPhail who also adapted short stories by HG Wells and EF Benson.
The basic plot has Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) visiting a country house where he finds himself trapped with the other guests whom he has never met yet appears to know things about them and oncoming dread. Challenging his foresight the guests begin to tell their strange stories.
The wraparound story is as sturdy as ever as Craig is challenged by the other guests and in particular psychologist Dr Van Straaten (Frederick Valk) who tries to deconstruct his fears.
As to the stories themselves these have stood the test of time. Apart from the golfing story that was slightly incongruous then and still is now. That said it’s debatable whether even eighty years ago Dead of Night was actually that scary, and time certainly has had its toll there. However what can’t be debated is the dread and psychological elements of the film which retain their power, with direction that hasn’t dated.
In step with the direction is an excellent script, beautifully interpreted by the players. It's for this reason that the film endures and now enhanced in this new 4K UHD/Blu-ray version which is loaded with extras together with a 64-page bound booklet with new essays, plus 2 posters - original & new artwork.
Extras material:
NEW Dead of Night: Dreams and Duality with Alice Lowe
NEW Marketing Galore! The Art of Ealing with Nathalie Morris
Audio Commentary by critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson
Short Sharp Screams: Dead of Night and the British Horror Anthology
Interview with author John Llewelyn Probert
Scoring the Night: On Georges Auric and Dead of Night
Interview with author Dr. David Huckvale
Remembering Dead of Night Featurette
Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery
Dead of Night will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on 20 October 2025.
