
Considered the greatest horror anthology film the classic British chiller DEAD OF NIGHT features five stories of supernatural terror from four different directors yet it ultimately feels like a unified whole The framing device is simple but unsettling as a group of strangers find themselves inexplicably gathered at an isolated country estate uncertain why they have come The topic of conversation soon turns to the world of dreams & nightmares & each guest shares a frightening event from hisher own past Many of these tales have become famous including Basil Dearden's opening vignette about a ghostly driver with room for one more in the back of his hearse Equally eerie are Robert Hamer's look at a haunted antique mirror that gradually begins to possess its owner's soul & Alberto Cavalcanti's ghost story about a mysterious young girl during a Christmas party Legendary Ealing comedy director Charles Crichton lightens the mood with an amusing interlude about the spirit of a deceased golfer haunting his former partner leaving viewers vulnerable to Cavalcanti's superb & much-imitated closing segment about a ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) slowly driven mad when his dummy appears to come to life