DEAD OF NIGHT opens with a narrator informing us that "the Dead of Night is a state of mind." Dead on. This trilogy of terror begins with a very lovely Time travel tale adapted by Richard Matheson from a Jack Finney short story. Second up we have NO SUCH THING AS A VAMPIRE, based on Matheson's story; it ends with what I would call a "Transylvanian Twist." The last is really the least interesting in terms of Story (it's THE MONKEY'S PAW all over again), but it's done really well (everything's underscored by the always capable Robert Cobert, whose DARK SHADOWS theme has haunted many a dream). All around, an excellent telemovie from the era in which B movies were being made for television (and, more often than not, being crafted far BETTER than the theatrical releases that preceded them).Also on the disc that I rented was the 1969 pilot for another Dan Curtis series (shot on video, like DARK SHADOWS), DEAD OF NIGHT. Kerwin Mathews plays a supernatural investigator with an Indian sidekick. The pair are joined by episode's end by a third member, a young woman who has inherited a haunted house. Thayer David ("Professor Stokes" of DARK SHADOWS fame) plays a shady caretaker and Louis Edmonds (yet another DARK SHADOWS veteran) turns up as an oil painting of the dead owner of the haunted house. It's not a bad pilot by any means; too bad it didn't catch on the way DARK SHADOWS did...

Horror anthologies have been a staple since the Silent days; ironically, this particular one shares its name with perhaps the most celebrated example in movie history – the 1945 Ealing film (another fine movie so entitled is Bob Clark's 1974 cult zombie flick actually better-known as DEATHDREAM!). Anyway, director Curtis had already tried his hand at the form with the popular TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975; TV), which had intended showcasing the versatility of its star i.e. Karen Black. Though some bemoaned the fact that here only the last segment was really scary, the very opening narration states that we would be seeing a tale of Mystery, another of Imagination and, well, just one of outright Terror! Incidentally, all three were scripted by genre expert Richard Matheson, with the second episode adapted from one of his own stories, the third an original and the first inspired by the writings of Jack (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) Finney."Second Chance": this actually has the feel of a "Twilight Zone" with car fanatic Ed Begley Jr. buying a scrap of metal (the remnant of an automobile-against-train accident from 50 years before) who restores the vehicle to its original state. When he tries it out on the road, he begins to unaccountably pass by a number of similarly-vintage cars and soon realizes that he has been caught in a time warp and effectively gone back to the mid-1920s! Emerging from the car to check out his surroundings, it is stolen shortly thereafter, even if he does try to stop the thief's flight (though pedestrians he meets assure him that that reckless driver did in fact own a car like it). He goes to sleep by the porch of some house and finds himself once again in his own time, later meeting a girl from school he was sure he had never seen before; when she introduces him to her family, he is surprised to learn that not only is the girl's grandfather a car aficionado as well but he actually still owns one from his youth…and it turns out to be the very same vehicle he himself restored, so that, by way of the three-second delay that it took him to intervene, the accident that claimed the life of the man and his female companion was miraculously averted! "No Such Thing As A Vampire": this is more typical fare (down to the classical Transylvanian setting), but it still provides a sting in the tail – Patrick Macnee is a doctor whose wife (Anjanette Comer) seems to have fallen victim to a bloodsucker. The townsfolk are naturally terrorized, but the protagonist's butler actually happens to be a vampire hunter (played by Elisha Cook Jr.!). Still, the attacks persist and Macnee sends for his friend (Horst Buchholz) – the former gives him a lowdown of the recent events whilst sipping tea, but the guest begins to feel drowsy and loses consciousness after a while. It transpires that Buchholz was having an affair with the doctor's spouse, and the latter took advantage of local superstition to exact his revenge – indeed, he puts Buchholz in a coffin in the attic and smears his lips with a trickle of blood extracted from Comer…and then, to complete the illusion, rouses Cook to locate and destroy the vampire via the traditional stake-in-the-heart! "Bobby": like the famous Zuni Doll segment from TRILOGY OF TERROR, the best episode is left for last – interestingly, this draws both from it (a woman is terrorized in her remotely-located home by a strange presence) and from the afore-mentioned DEATHDREAM (a mother resorts to the occult to have her dead son restored to life). In fact, we first find Joan Hackett chalking a large symbolic circle on the floor by which to invoke the Forces of Darkness. In the meantime, she has spoken to her husband on the phone about how she is coping with their son's tragic demise in a drowning accident. Eventually, the boy does turn up knocking on the front door and complaining of the extreme cold (apparently, his body was never retrieved). His mother takes him inside and purports to treat her kid to his favorite food, but he suddenly turns hostile and knocks the plate off the table! His aggressive behavior continues to escalate and he even denounces the woman for her possessiveness – the boy demands that she play a game of hide-and-seek with him which grows more and more threatening, as he attacks her with a knife and even breaks the windshield of her car when, terrorized, she takes shelter inside it. She decides to call her husband for help but the man's voice is listless until she realizes that the wires have been cut and that the boy is on the other line himself! In the end, the kid throws his mother down the stairs and confesses to not wanting to come back because he hates her…and, in fact, he sent a demon in his place (with the child's countenance now acquiring terrifying features)! There is no doubt that the last section is the most effective here but the ones that preceded it, providing nostalgia and inventiveness in equal measures, make for more than adequate (and thankfully varied) build-up.

Summary taken from IMDb.Com: This anthology tells three stories: a man (Ed Begley, Jr.) buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.This film comes to us from director Dan Curtis and writer Richard Matheson. If you're not familiar with Matheson's name, you are missing out. His work with Roger Corman adapting Poe stories is legendary, he's the genius behind the various "I Am Legend" adaptations (and the original story) as well as other work (notably "Stir of Echoes"). Curtis is also a veteran horror director and his work ("Trilogy of Terror") is now classic in its own right.This collection starts off slow, with a time-traveling car. The story itself has no horror elements to speak of, but is interesting just the same. Those who like science fiction or time travel tales will be in love, though I don't suggest thinking too hard or you might find some serious plot holes.The second tale is weak, and offers little more than a buffer. While it certainly fits into the horror genre (it is about vampires, after all), there's not much of a story to tell. Perhaps if it had been expanded to feature length, but as is the story just doesn't seem to go anywhere and we don't get to know any of the characters well enough to care about them. If you're short on time, skip this middle section.The third and final section also happens to be the best without a doubt. Called "Bobby", it is a variation on the old "Monkey's Paw" story where a mother wishes her son back from the dead (not unlike Bob Clark's "Dead of Night", coincidentally), with not so amazing results. The difference here is that instead of wishes or prayers, the mother turns to black magic. I can't say I was scared by this story, though I rarely am. I can say, however, that this might terrify other people. The mother's performance was respectable, and the boy's was downright chilling. If you watch only one section, watch this one. It will burn into your memory.Dark Sky Films is fast becoming my favorite film distributor, bringing back old classics or films that time forgot. They're bringing back some impressive editions, and "Dead of Night" is no exception. The DVD includes another almost feature-length story on it worth seeing, and plenty of bonus features that have never been seen before by audiences. With horror being somewhat disappointing lately, it's great to see a company devoted to make the best years even better upon their return.

From the team who brought us "Trilogy of Terror" comes a follow-up TV produced three part anthology by writer Richard Matheson and director / producer Dan Curtis. Not to be confused with the 1945 version with the same title (which is also an anthology), this TV feature was going to be a pilot for an up and coming TV series that didn't eventuate. The three stories that have been picked are all rather different in tone. Honestly the first two tales really do pale in comparison with the last one and if this one weren't tact on it would be quite a mediocre film. Curtis' sturdy direction is fine, without over-doing anything, but maybe could have used bit more spruce. Although saying that he comes into his own in the final story. Each story (adapted from Henry James' story) written by Matheson has its nice little touch and imaginative edge, but again it's the final one that only clicks and stands-out. There's no real wrap-around story holding these tales together, but it opens with quite an atmospheric beginning to kick off proceedings.1/ "Second Chance" - (20 minutes) A young man buys an old vintage 1926 Jordan car, which he restores, every single feature, including the original number plates. He takes it out for a drive on an old back road and then finds himself transported back to 1926.There's nothing horrifying about this one, but there's a "Twilight Zone" spin on the material and how things play out. Rather slow-moving and sappy with Ed Begley Jr.'s musty narration adding to the ponderous pace in this stop and go affair. The robust music score was kinda off, but it was exceptionally well shot. Curtis seems to be directing from the script. It's not bad and has an endearing stroke to it, but its quite uneventful and far from intriguing. This one feels rather misplaced compared with the other two. I can't knock that this isn't a smart little fantasy, but it doesn't grip you either.2/ "No Such Thing as a Vampire" - (20 minutes) A professor living in a mansion in the eastern Europe with his wife, finds out that his wife has bite marks on her neck. He doesn't believe in vampires, but his superstitious servants and the surrounding village think otherwise. A doctor is called in to see her and he notices that the husband also has marks on his neck. This broodingly unusual mystery is a tightly drawn up one idea concept and is shaped by its Victorian settings. It's more suggestive in its set-up and has things going on behind the scenes to throw you off course. Instead it gets rather clunky with a payoff that comes as quite a let down. Not that it wasn't good, just that I was expecting something more from this enliven mystery. Patrick Macnee is good in his sly performance, Elisha Cook Jr. equally so as superstitiously uptight servant. Horst Buchoiz and Anjanette Cormer are reasonably sound. The atmosphere is very bleak and is rallied up by the foreboding music score and flowing photography. 3/ "Bobby" - (30 minutes) A lady is staying alone in a beach house, while her husband is on a business trip. So during one stormy night she decides to perform a magic ritual to hopefully bring back her dead son who accidentally drowned. Nothing happens for a while, but then she hears a knock on the door and there sits a shivering and soaking-wet Bobby. Now this is more like it! Haunting, creepy and truly disquieting is the key to this one. This dark little item was indeed captivating by consistently tightening the screws with controlled suspense and lingering on some spine-tingling images. Curtis paces it briskly and milks it out nicely with sweeping camera movements and a selectively alienating music score. The distinct performances are very impressive by Joan Hackett and Lee H. Montgomery. Montgomery is downright eerie and Hackett is truly fitting as the unhinged mother. It made great use of clichéd devices, like the thunderstorm to generate atmosphere. The close quarters made it thrillingly taut with its encroaching shadows and quiet air. The mind-snapping premise has that ambiguous build up too it and plays around with that feeling where things aren't what they seem, like the second one. This one does leave a lasting impression with its genuinely macabre conclusion.I guess one out of three ain't bad, but again if it wasn't for the splendour packed final segment it wouldn't be worth your time in tracking it down. Still it's worth it if do happen to come by it.