Dead of Night - DVD Review

Dead of Night

Released by BFI

Available 28th October 2013

Price: £19.99

Only three episodes survive the chilling 1972 series Dead of Night. Those surviving episodes are now available on DVD, along with stills from other missing episodes and scripts for all seven episodes. An illustrated booklet comes with the DVD.

“The Exorcism” is set in an old country home recently bought by a wealthy couple, Edmund and Rachel. Another couple, Dan and Margaret, is visiting and their small party is planning to enjoy a Christmas meal together. The group is an intellectual one and spends some time poking fun at Socialists and Marxists. Things begin to go awry and at first the individuals attempt to explain everything away, but eventually realize that they are trapped in a terrifying situation that has to do with the history of the cottage. This episode, possibly the most famous of the series, has a definite political theme. Ironically, the episode originally aired on Bonfire Night, an evening with a definite political origin.

In “Return Flight”, an experienced middle aged pilot is under investigation for a near miss when he sighted another plane. Although the issue is resolved, Captain Hamish Rolph is dealing with other stressful issues in his personal life. His wife of twenty years, Jenny, passed away recently. Although she was not thought well of by his friends, Hamish grieves for his dead wife quietly. Having always lived in the shadow of his first wife’s dead husband, an RAF pilot killed in war, the captain begins to suffer hallucinations that endanger both himself and his passengers and crew.

Finally, “A Woman Sobbing” is centered on a couple, Jane and Frank, who live in an isolated area. Jane is alone at home with the children most of the time and is largely ignored by her husband. The couple, married for some time both have sexual fantasies that they do not discuss. She begins to hear the sound of a woman sobbing in the attic. Her husband, certain she is imagining the sounds, tells her to take another pill and go back to sleep. Jane begins to suspect her husband of trying to drive her mad, a reference to the 1932 film “Gaslight”. The story is a study on religious faith, gender difference and mental health issues. The ending suggests another beginning.

The episodes contain an interesting mix of psychological, social and political problems. While each fifty minute program has a “haunting” of some nature, they really are meant to make one think. Each story makes people look at themselves and the world around them in a way that might be uncomfortable, which is exactly what is supposed to happen. I found each episode fascinating in its own way. The clothing worn by the actors is a bit distracting at first, as fashions were markedly different in the seventies, but the attire is secondary to the scenery. The scripts, the acting, and the stories soon overshadowed any flashbacks to years earlier.

Definitely worth the purchase.