
Dead of Night
1945, Horror, 1h 44m
43 Reviews 2,500+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
With four accomplished directors contributing, Dead of Night is a classic horror anthology that remains highly influential. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Walter Craig
Maxwell Frere
Eliot Foley
Mrs Foley
Dr. Van Straaten

Mrs. Craig
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Critic Reviews for Dead of Night
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (3)
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It offers the same sort of spine-cooling thrill you get from listening to a group of accomplished liars swapping ghost stories.
October 13, 2020 | Full Review… -
The audience is worked up to thrilling point with one story when it breaks to pick up another... It ls like eating a dinner in which, while you are enjoying toe fish, the plate is snatched away and poultry or dessert is substituted.
October 13, 2020 | Full Review… -
There is much sound acting and directing in Dead of Night, but the handicaps inherent in the form this film chooses prove too much for its ingenuity.
October 13, 2020 | Full Review… -
For the lover of good entertainment, the whole picture is worth seeing, once its somewhat disconnected style is understood and taken for granted.
October 13, 2020 | Full Review… -
Producer Michael Balcon turned each individual episode over to a different director and, told via flashback, they're equally good.
October 7, 2008 | Full Review… -
A dead scary horror movie that skimps on the blood but not the goose bumps,
October 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Dead of Night
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Sep 25, 2018It is a beautiful thing to see how this British anthology of horror stories is so eclectic and relies mostly on an intelligent dialogue, having completely influenced the genre ever since and offering us five tales ranging from spooky to funny to chilling to creepy as hell.Carlos M Super Reviewer
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Mar 07, 2012A super-psycho-natural flick. For a 1945 flick, the scripting seems quite advanced. Not the best, but definitely worth a watch (and maybe even more entertaining if you can resist looking for plot-holes).familiar s Super Reviewer
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Feb 10, 2011Many of the reviews I've read over the years of "Dead of Night" seem to sideline the "Christmas Party" episode as being less successful and effective than the other stories involved. At first, I tended to agree with them; however, after a while it dawned on me that there was something rather unusual about the sequence that I couldn't quite place my finger on. Normally, in a ghost story, any part of the story containing the appearance of the ghost looks rather unreal in comparison with the everyday part to underline the supernatural aspect of the spectre's apparition. However, in this particular story, it's the (real) children's party that looks unreal, and the (supernatural) ghost that looks real. The party shows a massive house, with a roaring log fire, loads of toys, food, etc, and the children enjoying themselves enormously, without any adults present. It has the look of a fantasy of the perfect party any child would want. However, the meeting with the young boy seems more rooted in reality, and this is the irony of the story - that Constance Kent, the sister he mentions, actually did exist and did admit to killing her younger brother. In real life, the boy was actually a baby when he was murdered, but his age has obviously been changed so that Sally could talk to him. This gives an extra poignancy to the story, in that he likes Sally and presumably would have wanted her for his real sister, but instead had Constance, who killed him - the worst crime she could have committed against a helpless child. I think it would be wrong to overlook this sequence as unworthy of comment, and reassess its value in "Dead of Night". It may not be as frightening as the famed ventriloquist story, but it does carry an emotional power which is perhaps its strongest point.Cassandra M Super Reviewer
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Jan 13, 2011The horror potmanteau that spwaned them all which, today, is still the best. Five short stories and a linking narrative, varying from dark to light to very dark. Many later British horror portmanteaus, particularly by Amicus, trace their roots back to this excellent picture. Ground breaking.The S Super Reviewer
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