Dead of Night

Dan Curtis is awesome for the few of you who don't already know that. This wonderful made-for-TV anthology horror film is further proof of his awesomeness. The movie opens with a piece that is actually not a horror story. It's a lovely fantasy about a man (Ed Begley Jr.) with a love for classic cars who rebuilds a Jordan Playboy roadster and somehow drives it back in time to 1926. I love this opening story so much. I have a special place in my heart for nostalgic stories like Somewhere in Time and Walking Distance and this reminds me of those. Gentle, leisurely paced, romantic time travel tales get me every time. Plus any movie that shows proper respect and love for the Playboy and its iconic advertisements is aces in my book.

The second story is a fun one. I won't spoil it for you but it stars Patrick Macnee and Elisha Cook, Jr. and centers around a woman being targeted by a vampire. This segment is the shortest but thankfully so since the plot is pretty thin. The third and final story is a nerve-wracking one about a grieving mother turning to black magic to bring back her dead son. It's basically one of those "be careful what you wish for" stories. Joan Hackett gives a gripping performance as the mom and young Lee Montgomery is pretty creepy as the son. It's intense stuff. This is likely going to be the favorite segment for most viewers as it's the only one that's truly horror. But as I said the first one is my personal favorite.

Overall Dead of Night is another feather in the cap of the great Dan Curtis. Despite being mostly limited to television he did more for onscreen American horror in the 1970s than pretty much any other filmmaker. Some may have had more important single films but he had the most consistent output. This is one of his more underrated efforts and I would recommend anyone who enjoys his other work check it out. In my opinion it's even better than his more famous anthology, Trilogy of Terror.