An unremarkable citizen is pursued by an appalling nightmare, which seems to bleed into real life. Could he really have killed a human being ? In despair, he turns to his brother-in-law, a police detective. Together, both men try to get to the heart of the mystery...
"Fear in the Night" starts with an unusual premise and moves into some pretty spooky territory. It culminates with the discovery of a diabolical machination, which, depending on the viewpoint, can be described as "creepy but far-fetched" or "far-fetched but creepy". I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide which description is the most apt... Like many a noir, "Fear in the Night" delights in artistic effects on a "darkness versus light" or "illusion versus reality" theme. The beginning is especially discombobulating, like an immersion in the world of a drunk or a sufferer from migraines.
The relationship between the persecuted protagonist and his brother-in-law is fraught with weird undercurrents. In real life, this would be the stuff of a psychiatrists' convention. ("While I do not disagree entirely with Dr. Gibman's masterly explanation, I would like to propose another interpretation. Does the police detective see his brother-in-law as a socially acceptable target upon which to release the well-hidden anger and frustration he feels towards his wife ? Because I detect some similarities with the Nepomuk Zladskli case, where a mild-mannered county sheriff invited his brother-in-law to a Thanksgiving dinner in order to pelt him with roast ostrich legs.")
There was one episode which intrigued me no end. It went like this : four people out on a picknick were surprised by bad weather. As the lightning and thunder intensified, they tried to find shelter. Upon discovering a large and isolated house, they let themselves in, using a key found near the front door, and made themselves at home. Soon they were igniting a fire in the fireplace, brewing a nice cup of tea, and so on. But none of this was a problem, since one of the four people involved was a police detective.
Now this raises a lot of questions. Was the USA once home to a nomadic or semi-nomadic tribe of policemen wandering from one deserted house to another ? Did the owners of posh vacation houses tremble at the thought of twelve complete strangers wandering in "because it looked like snow outside" ? Did swimming pool parties degenerate into chaos as hordes of hungry policemen went for the lemonade and chips ? Was there such a thing as a national exchange programme, allowing Los Angeles detectives to brew tea in unattended Chicago houses and vice versa ? And is this kind of thing still going on ?
Aaah, movies, one discovers something new about the world every day !
"Fear in the Night" starts with an unusual premise and moves into some pretty spooky territory. It culminates with the discovery of a diabolical machination, which, depending on the viewpoint, can be described as "creepy but far-fetched" or "far-fetched but creepy". I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide which description is the most apt... Like many a noir, "Fear in the Night" delights in artistic effects on a "darkness versus light" or "illusion versus reality" theme. The beginning is especially discombobulating, like an immersion in the world of a drunk or a sufferer from migraines.
The relationship between the persecuted protagonist and his brother-in-law is fraught with weird undercurrents. In real life, this would be the stuff of a psychiatrists' convention. ("While I do not disagree entirely with Dr. Gibman's masterly explanation, I would like to propose another interpretation. Does the police detective see his brother-in-law as a socially acceptable target upon which to release the well-hidden anger and frustration he feels towards his wife ? Because I detect some similarities with the Nepomuk Zladskli case, where a mild-mannered county sheriff invited his brother-in-law to a Thanksgiving dinner in order to pelt him with roast ostrich legs.")
There was one episode which intrigued me no end. It went like this : four people out on a picknick were surprised by bad weather. As the lightning and thunder intensified, they tried to find shelter. Upon discovering a large and isolated house, they let themselves in, using a key found near the front door, and made themselves at home. Soon they were igniting a fire in the fireplace, brewing a nice cup of tea, and so on. But none of this was a problem, since one of the four people involved was a police detective.
Now this raises a lot of questions. Was the USA once home to a nomadic or semi-nomadic tribe of policemen wandering from one deserted house to another ? Did the owners of posh vacation houses tremble at the thought of twelve complete strangers wandering in "because it looked like snow outside" ? Did swimming pool parties degenerate into chaos as hordes of hungry policemen went for the lemonade and chips ? Was there such a thing as a national exchange programme, allowing Los Angeles detectives to brew tea in unattended Chicago houses and vice versa ? And is this kind of thing still going on ?
Aaah, movies, one discovers something new about the world every day !