Review: Fear in the Night 4K UHD
Fear in the Night (1972)
The worldwide 4K UHD premiere of a Hammer film!
A cast list that includes Judy Geeson, Joan Collins, Ralph Bates and Peter Cushing!
Directed by Jimmy Sangster!
A collectors edition that includes new artwork by Johnny Dombrowski, two posters, a 64 page booklet featuring new essays and is packed with extras!
Surely I don’t need to write anything else, as every Hammer fan will be chomping at the bit for it.
However, if you’d like to know a little more, I’ll carry on.
Fear in the Night proved to be the final entry in Hammer’s line of ‘mini-Hitchcocks’. Something of a departure from the Gothic horror that Hammer is famed for. Though as the original tagline says, “It starts in the dark in throat-gripping fear… and the worst is yet to come”. No longer Gothic horror, but still chilling the viewers nerves slightly.
As Peggy (Judy Geeson) recovers from a nervous breakdown, she is attacked by an unseen, one-armed assailant. Shaken by the attack, Peggy and her new husband Robert (Ralph Bates) move to the country school where Robert teaches – a school they discover is completely deserted save for the headmaster (Peter Cushing in a more menacing role than usual) and his wife (Joan Collins). Despite moving away from London to the isolated school grounds, Peggy is once again assaulted by the one-armed attacker. When Robert is sent back to London on behalf of the headmaster, Peggy is left alone to face her fears…
A slow burning first hour then opens up more as the tension and danger rises, all helped by on-location shooting which certainly adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere, and with the aforementioned cast all giving solid performances, you are drawn in to the plight of their characters and invested in what is going to happen next.
Retaining a layer of film grain, the colours are crisp and no details are lost in the darker scenes. This, added to the special features, makes it a great buy for Hammer fans and cinephiles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- NEW “The Fragile Mind”: Kim Newman Explores Fear in the Night
- Audio Commentary with Co-writer/Producer/Director Jimmy Sangster and Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearn
- Audio Commentary with Film Historian Troy Howarth
- “End of Term”: Inside Fear in the Night
- Stills Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
The release includes a 64 page perfect bound booklet and two posters and is available to buy now.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Studiocanal via Fetch Publicity.
