Deathdream aka Dead of Night

‘A boy went to war… something UNSPEAKABLE came back!’

Deathdream is a 1972 Canadian horror film produced and directed by Bob Clark (Black Christmas; Murder By Decree) from a screenplay by Alan Ormsby. The plot was inspired by the W.W. Jacobs short story The Monkey’s Paw. It stars Richard Backus, John Marley and Lynn Carlin. A young Tom Savini handled the special effects makeup, apparently aided by Ormsby.

The film was shot as The Night Walker and initially released in Tampa, Florida, as Dead of Night (its British title) on August 30, 1974. It has also been released as The Night Andy Came Home.

Blue Underground DVD released a special edition of Deathdream in 2004. Special features include an audio commentary by Bob Clark, an audio commentary by Alan Ormsby, the featurette Tom Savini: The Early Years, the featurette Deathdreaming: Interview with star Richard Backus, alternate opening titles, extended ending sequence, trailers, and a poster & still gallery.

Plot teaser:

In Vietnam, US soldier Andy Brooks is shot by a sniper. As he begins to die, he hears his mother’s voice calling out, “Andy, you’ll come back, you’ve got to, you promised.” Sometime later, his family receives notice of his death in combat.

Back home, Andy’s father, Charles, and sister, Cathy, begin to grieve, but his mother, Christine, becomes irate and refuses to believe that Andy has died. Hours later, in the middle of the night, Andy arrives at the front door in full uniform and apparently unharmed; the family accepts the notice of his death as a clerical error and welcomes him back with joy.

Over the next few days, Andy displays strange and erratic behaviour, dressing in an unusually concealing matter and spending his days sitting around the house listless and anemic. Meanwhile, local police investigate the murder of a local trucker, who was found with his throat slashed and his body drained of blood after telling diner patrons that he’d picked up a hitchhiking soldier…

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Reviews:

‘A Monkey’s Paw for the Nixon era, this haunting horror movie from Canadian director Bob Clark (yes, the same man who gave us Porky’s) makes the most of its topical premise and rage over a generation being used as cannon fodder.’ Rolling Stone

‘The reason Deathdream works is its superior dramatic staging. The actors are excellent, especially John Marley and Lynn Carlin, both honored for their roles in John Cassavetes’ Faces. Clark stages the domestic scenes with a fine simplicity and what we remember the most is the looks of bewilderment on nicely-framed faces.’ Glenn Erickson, DVD Talk

‘A modern spin on the classic “be careful what you wish for” theme, Ormsby’s screenplay balances a pointed Vietnam War allegory with pulpier aspects—a “shock” ending, distinct moments of morbid comic relief and beyond-the-grave retribution ripped from the pages of a 1950s horror comic.’ Paul Corupe, DVD Verdict

‘ …what a gem this little film is. It is highly imaginative and original, and once you’ve seen it you will never forget it. It has a strong cast of gifted actors and an even stronger array of highly believable characters, but not just the central characters – the peripheral characters are not simply written blandly as plot fodder.’ Zomblee, Eat My Brains

Buy Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things + Dead of Night from Amazon.co.uk

‘ …an unusual and wonderfully skin crawling horror experience punctuated by thought provoking social commentary akin to the best of George Romero.’ Cool Ass Cinema

‘Though not very lively and ultimately anti-climactic, the movie sustains a calculated mood of off-centered awkwardness from to finish, and is buttressed by strong acting and plausible dialogue.’ Peter Dendle, The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia