DEAD OF NIGHT (1977)

Dir: Dan Curtis

Produced by Dan Curtis as a follow-up to the wildly successful (and eternal cult classic) Trilogy of Terror (1976). Although far less effective, and marred from the gate with an opening V.O. narration recalling the cheesey opening credits of the 1980s' Tales From the Darkside, a hokey and unnecessary reminder that viewers should be frightened by the proceedings; most contemporary participants would be either bored or laughing at the opening segment. "Second Chance" is a dull, insipid grab at the 70s trend of Depression-era nostalgia (The Sting being a blockbuster example; Curtis Harrington's Whatever Happened to Helen a genre example); a dull and insipid fantasy involving Ed Begley Jr. returning to a more innocent time via the restoration of an antique automobile.

A brief interlude is the Richard Matheson-scripted "No Such Thing As a Vampire", adopted from his sleight micro story. The Victorian period-set vignette however remains a vast improvement from the former tale and cleverly subverts traditional folkloric cliches in service of a modern manifestation of very human jealousy and revenge. The Hammer studio-esque sets enhance the tricky atmospherics, deliberately skewed to throw the viewer off from a trick ending. Sad to watch is veteran B-actor Elisha Cook hamming up the dodgy script.

Like Trilogy of Terror, the real thrills are left - showmanship style - to the final curtain, an unsettling finale entitled "Bobby". Kudos galore should be offered to the campfire classic The Monkey's Paw, but again scriptwriter Matheson delivers a shocking twist to this seemingly sentimental tale of a mother drawn to the occult in an effort to restore her beloved son. Final 15 seconds = genius unsettling horror still owned only by the transgressive and liberal 1970s.