'Fear in the Night' is a British psychological horror film from the 1970's released by Hammer films with a decent plot, some interesting twists, and turns and a creepy yet effective secluded location that gives this movie plenty of dread and atmosphere. The movie is quite underrated as its one of the later Hammer films and the central 4 characters are interesting enough to sustain momentum, but the pacing could have perhaps been a little tighter as it does slow down during the middle section, but the dramatic climax more than makes up for it.
The plot = A young woman named Peggy Hiller (Judy Geeson) is recovering from a nervous breakdown and finds herself being terrorized by a mysterious one-armed man, but nobody believes her. Peggy moves with her husband Robert (Ralph Bates) to a boy's boarding school where they are greeted by Molly (Joan Collins) & her husband who's the headmaster (Peter Cushing), but soon Peggy finds herself being attacked again by the same man.
This movie is a good effort with quality production design and great direction by Jimmy Sangster who demonstrates slick camera work and even manages to throw in some effective shocks into the mix. This is certainly not one of Hammer's better horror offerings, but there is enough here to enjoy especially the excellent performances from the small cast.
Judy Geeson gives a strong performance as the female lead; Joan Collins gives a delightful and twisted performance and is always a joy to watch. Ralph Bates gives a stand performance as the husband and the legendary Peter Cushing gives a stellar performance as the creepy headmaster.
Overall 'Fear in the Night' is a pleasantly twisted and overly dramatic horror film from the 1970's that may be a little slow moving, but has a decent payoff.
The plot = A young woman named Peggy Hiller (Judy Geeson) is recovering from a nervous breakdown and finds herself being terrorized by a mysterious one-armed man, but nobody believes her. Peggy moves with her husband Robert (Ralph Bates) to a boy's boarding school where they are greeted by Molly (Joan Collins) & her husband who's the headmaster (Peter Cushing), but soon Peggy finds herself being attacked again by the same man.
This movie is a good effort with quality production design and great direction by Jimmy Sangster who demonstrates slick camera work and even manages to throw in some effective shocks into the mix. This is certainly not one of Hammer's better horror offerings, but there is enough here to enjoy especially the excellent performances from the small cast.
Judy Geeson gives a strong performance as the female lead; Joan Collins gives a delightful and twisted performance and is always a joy to watch. Ralph Bates gives a stand performance as the husband and the legendary Peter Cushing gives a stellar performance as the creepy headmaster.
Overall 'Fear in the Night' is a pleasantly twisted and overly dramatic horror film from the 1970's that may be a little slow moving, but has a decent payoff.