Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Foreverisacastironmess Now I didn't find this picture to be as well done as the excellent Trilogy of Terror, but thanks to one of its stories it did measure up. I thought the first two stories in Trilogy were more engaging interesting and satisfying than the ones of this movie. Couldn't it just have been "Bobby" and nothing else? Just kidding, it's rather worth slogging through the first two tales just to get to it. The whole film kind of serves as a buildup to its third story, with the first being a soft fantasy yarn with a sappy sentimental tone and a super-happy ending, the second being a somewhat harder-edged offering with a Gothic suspenseful vibe, and then there's the third which was clearly meant to be a full-blown good old-fashioned frightfest. The first two chapters did nothing for me, I found them both totally flat and boring. The time travel one had me wondering if I'd put on the right movie and if I was watching a horror anthology at all, and the vampire story which I liked even less didn't even actually have a vampire in it! So unlike a lot of Bobby's/this movie's big fans I never saw Bobby as a child, so I could never have that kind of memory of it, but as far as the chilling atmosphere, rising terror and sheer hectic creepy buildup to the great final scare as the movie drew to a close impressed me, I can sure see what you folks are talking about! Needless to say it was the story that made this movie worthwhile for me and I thought it blew the other ones clear out of the water in terms of quality and entertainment. I found it a real fun scary ride as a grieving mother turns to the dark arts to bring her beloved son back to life, which she does but as it turns out neither are quite who they appear to be... Young Lee Montgomery was a pretty cute kid but he was good at becoming a little scary when the mood starts to become tense as he asks his mother weird questions, and then a lot scary when he gets angry and demented and forces her to engage in a killer game of hide and seek. I love how well and natural the 70s aesthetics go with the shadows and the brilliant spooky atmospherics that are helped along with such classic touches like the power going out and the crashing thunder and lightning, and what a marvellous big old dark house to use as the setting. It's childish yet eerie and sinister when he's toying with her and calling out "You can't find me!" from the darkness. And before she gets scared as it dawns on her that there's something supernatural going on, she's just confused and annoyed with his game and shows a quick hint that she may in fact not have been a very nice mother to him in life, so much so that he hates her even in death... A moment that I loved and that really sent a tingle up my back was when she's on the phone and you get that it isn't her husband she's talking to a little before she does! Good movie, it's fun and worth seeing for fans of obscure retro anthologies, and for me that's all due to the spooktacular brilliance of the final story. Thank you, and please never resurrect the dead, nothing good ever comes of it! x

Michael_Elliott Dead of Night (1977) *** (out of 4) Wrongfully forgotten made-for-TV film from director Dan Curtis and writer Richard Matheson. In "Second Chance" a man (Ed Begley Jr.) buys a broken down 1926 car so that he can restore it. After doing so he takes it for a spin and ends up back in 1926. "No Such Thing As a Vampire" has a doctor (Patrick Macnee) dealing with his wife who believes she has been bitten by a vampire. Finally, in "Bobby" a mother (Joan Hackett) is coming to terms with the death of her child when her wish is granted that he returns to her. DEAD OF NIGHT isn't all that well known today, which is a real shame because I thought it was much better than the director's better know and more respected TRILOGY OF TERROR. I thought all three stories here were pretty strong, which should come as no shock considering the work Matheson has done previous. The first film would make a perfect episode of The Twilight Zone and I admit that it really caught me by surprise. I thought the direction and performances were top-notch and the little twist towards the end was quite clever. The second film is the weakest of the three but it contains some wonderful atmosphere and also comes with a great twist. As with TRILOGY OF TERROR, the final story is the one that goes for scares and it's a creepy little tale that ends with a brilliant sequence that I won't spoil here. The film also manages to have some nice supporting performances from vets like Ann Doran and Elisha Cook. The music score is also quite effective and the cinematography is much better than you'd normally see in a film like this. I'm really not sure why this film hasn't remained more popular over the years but it's certainly in need of a bigger cult following.

MARIO GAUCI 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.

Scarecrow-88 The late great Dan Curtis brings us three horror/fantasy tales from the pen of Richard Matheson, featuring a strong cast. Made for television, Curtis was one of the most successful producer-directors working in the field of horror during the 70's. A nice double feature this would make with his superior omnibus, Trilogy of Terror(..starring the incomparable Karen Black).The first tale(Second Chance) stars Ed Begley Jr as Frank, a young man with a knack for restoring older cars, with a knowledge and love for them. He restores a '26 London Playboy, understanding from it's past that a teenage couple perished as the driver attempted to pass a train. Driving the Playboy down a dirt road, Frank finds himself in the nearby town Crestwell, except in the 1920's! This is a poignant tale resembling those time-warp Twilight Zone nostalgia episodes where an otherworldly journey back in time can alter the lives of others, a chance given back due to the particular care of someone towards a machine left buried under a tarp. The second tale(No Such Thing as a Vampire) features Patrick Macnee as a professor whose wife(Christina Hart) seems to be falling prey to a vampire, under his own nose, asking a colleague(..played by Horst Buchholz)to assist him. Elijah Cook Jr. is Macnee's frightened, superstitious butler. This one has a twist regarding adultery and revenge. And, the third, final, and best tale(Bobby) stars Joan Hackett as a deeply traumatized mother who desperately longs for her deceased son, who mysteriously drowned(Lee Montgomery;BURNT OFFERINGS), going as far as using black magic, attempting to conjure him back from the dead. He does return, but it isn't the son she once knew. This one is stylishly executed and suspenseful as Hacket finds herself fighting for survival with Montgomery chasing her throughout their large house(..overlooking a cliff leading to rocks and ocean below), playing a game of hide-and-seek trying to kill her, as the thunder roars, power out, and the childlike voice proclaiming, "I'm gonna find you, MOMMY!" Montgomery has this really boyishly innocent face that makes his character's emerging menace even more palpable. The twist, regarding who this kid really is, adds a nice sock to the senses closing the anthology nicely. The first two tales aren't very potent in the terror category as the opening narration would suggest, but the third tale takes up the slack of both of them, and then some. Interesting enough, DEAD OF NIGHT is quite similar to TRILOGY OF TERROR, structurally, in how the tales impact you..the first is a mild opener, the second has an eye-opening twist, and the third packs a wallop(..quite a roller coaster thrill-ride where a heroine attempts to escape an unlikely malevolent presence bent on inflicting harm, brought to life by a magic spell). I think this will entertain fans of classic horror anthologies, but isn't quite as successful or memorable as TRILOGY OF TERROR, mainly because the novelty of starring Karen Black(..who displayed her incredible range as an actress)isn't here. The first film better belongs in a TWILIGHT ZONE anthology movie than in a Dan Curtis production. I found it pleasant, written with heart and care(..one can see Matheson's yearning for days gone by;this one felt particularly Bradbury), but not suited for what was supposed to be a "terror trilogy." The second's draw is Macnee and Cook Jr, even if the result of the tale is only mildly effective..although, Macnee's wicked grin leaves an unsettling feeling, closing the tale. I think most viewers will leave this movie, impressed with the final tale to the point that the overall product will have legs for years to come.