Night Creatures (DVD)

Based upon the novel Dr. Syn by Russell Thorndike, the poster tagline for 1962’s Night Creatures (aka, Captain Clegg) read, “Their oath was... TERROR! Their cry... BLOOD!”

That’s really not lying, but let’s just say it’s stretching the truth. Night Creatures is a story of 18th-century pirates, skullduggery, mutiny, and smuggling. The supposed subplot about ghostly riders who gallop across the marshes randomly killing anyone heedless enough to be out there in the middle of the night is just a backdrop that’s revealed early on as a hoax.

So once the supernatural aspect is gone, what’s left? Well, there certainly isn’t any horror despite this film being included in the new Hammer Horror Series DVD set — but it’s an entertaining enough little costume melodrama with plenty of theatrics as the unscrupulous townspeople try to stay one boot-step ahead of Royal Crown’s watchdog, Captain Collier (Patrick Allen).

Night Creatures does turn yawn-inducing at times, and there is an incredibly stupid tableau in which Collier shoots a scarecrow with his pistol, because he suspects it’s really a smuggler’s lookout in disguise. He walks across the field, finds out indeed it is a man by touching his fingers to the blood, then never removes the mask to see who it is. The scene cuts away there, but we presume he and his men just walked away, because later on in the movie they’re searching the townspeople for bullet wounds.

The presence of Peter Cushing as the enigmatic village vicar of Dymchurch makes this otherwise weak pirate flick see-worthy; he’s excellent at slyly eking out the suspense in regards to his character’s true motives, and his Victorian-era-meets-Cruella DeVille pageboy wig really rocks the boat.

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

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The Hammer Horror Series — A collectible set of eight classics featuring Frankenstein, the Werewolf, Dracula and more. On DVD September 6, 2005 (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

Official synopses of the other films in this collection:

"Brides of Dracula" 1960

Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur), a beautiful young French girl, is stranded en route to a teaching assignment in Eastern Europe. She is persuaded to spend the night at the nearly deserted castle of a mysterious Baroness (Martita Hunt), where she accidentally discovers a man chained to the wall of his room. The Baroness only explains that he is her seasick and feeble-minded son. Unable to get any further information from the maid Greta (Freda Jackson), Marianne steals a key and sets him free. Once unbound, the Baron (David Peel) fiendishly recruits the undead for his evil purposes until captured by Marianne and the indefatigable Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing).

"Phantom of the Opera" 1962

Herbert Lom stars as the Phantom in Hammer Films' celebrated production of Gaston Leroux's horror classic. Mysterious mishaps bedevil a London opera house, but when tragedy strikes during an opening night performance, it's clear that these "accidents" are the deliberate work of a deranged madman -- the Phantom. When Christine (Heather Sears), the young star of a new musical is contacted by the shadowy specter, her producer (Edward de Souza) investigates, tracking the ghostly Phantom to his secret underground lair. More than an evil apparition, the Phantom proves to be a brilliant composer. Disfigured and nearly destroyed, he now demands his hellish revenge. Christine, his new star, is the Phantom's one weakness, and he pays the ultimate price to keep his love alive.

"Paranoiac" 1963

Nothing is quite what it seems in this riveting, complex tale of greed, dementia and deceit. Rescued from a suicide attempt by a man claiming to be her long-dead brother, a young heiress (Janette Scott) finds a new reason to live. But her relatives have doubts; they think "Tony" (Alexander Davion) is an imposter who's trying to get his hands on the family fortune. Everyone has their own secret reasons to suspect Tony, as well as their own designs on his vast inheritance -- especially brother Simon (Oliver Reed), a magnetic but devastatingly cruel wretch who'll stop at nothing to thwart the supposed pretender. In this flavorful feast of a thriller, "the horror-mystery elements are brewed to a fine discriminating savor."

"The Kiss of the Vampire" 1963

Lost on the way to their honeymoon, a young couple stumbles upon a mysterious family of vampires and their evil leader. A wrong turn leaves Marianne (Jennifer Daniel) and Gerald (Edward de Souza) stranded in a remote Bavarian forest where they have no choice but to accept the hospitality of the hypnotic Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman), distinguished lord of the local castle. Ravna uses his "children" to lure the newlyweds to his lair, and soon, they are plunged into a nightmare of horror and deception from which there may be no escape. Their only hope is Professor Zimmer (Clifford Evans), who calls upon an ancient ritual in a desperate attempt to destroy the vampires and free Marianne from Ravna's power. A lush 19th-century-setting, masterful direction, and vivid special effects intensify this spooky Hammer Films chiller.

"Nightmare" 1964

This thriller walks the thin line between sanity and madness, exploring the shadowy world between dreams and reality. As a child, Janet (Jennie Linden) witnessed an unbearable horror: her insane mother stabbing her father to death. Now a young woman, Janet's recurring nightmares have her convinced she'll follow her mother to the asylum. Accompanied by her schoolteacher Miss Lewis (Brenda Bruce), Janet retreats to the home of her guardian (David Knight), who has hired lovely Grace (Moira Redmond) as a companion to help calm his troubled ward. But Janet's nightly terrors, magnified by the eerie, creaky old house, bring all of her fears chillingly to life. Are Janet's problems all in her head, or is there a sinister force at work? Startling plot twists reveal that sometimes when you wake up, the nightmare is just beginning.

"The Evil of Frankenstein" 1964

Peter Cushing stars in this inspired fantasy as Baron von Frankenstein, the creator of the infamous monster. On the run from irate villagers who disapprove of his unorthodox experiments, Dr. Frankenstein returns to a remote mountain castle with his assistant Hans. Caught in a snowstorm, they are rescued by a mute deaf girl (Katy Wild) who leads them to the safety of her cave home. There, Frankenstein finds his original creature preserved in ice. Resurrecting the monster in his laboratory, Frankenstein discovers the brain is dormant, and he calls in Zoltan, a mystical hypnotist (Peter Woodthorpe). But Zoltan uses the creature for his own selfish purposes, and unleashes a violent chain of events. This chiller offers all the excitement and suspense of the original with spectacular effects and blood-curdling action in vivid color.

"The Curse of the Werewolf" 1961

Oliver Reed portrays the bloodthirsty man-beast who loves by day and kills by night in this gripping gothic thriller. Directed by famed horror filmmaker Terence Fisher, this atmospheric tale of terror follows Reed, the orphaned baby of a maniacal beggar and a mute girl, from birth to manhood, when he discovers his horrible secret. Try as he may, the cursed youth is unable to suppress the dark forces within. When the moon is full, he becomes an uncontrollable killer incapable of distinguishing between friend and foe. Spectacular makeup effects and beautifully photographed 19th Century European locales heighten the suspense of this classic werewolf story.