The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
The Night of the Hunter is like a storybook. It's like Where the Wild Things Are mixed with The Big Bad Wolf. It's a misfit film enough that you don't know if it's going to end terribly or not. It seems plausible that any horrible thing might happen.
The river song was sublime.
The outsider-ness of the production is off putting though. It's so out of synch with films of its time. But it's so glossy. Every shot is so immaculate and amazing. It vergers on a kind of stylized horror that excites you but leaves you wondering what's really going on. Leavesyou wondering what's all this for? What is Charles Laughton saying with this film? M is an obvious comparison: child predator, eerie society, dark shadows. But M spoke to the social reality it came out of. It sneakily singled out fascism, commented on mass media, and creeped you out. The Night of the Hunter just...creeps you out.
But the river song was really something.
The river song was sublime.
The outsider-ness of the production is off putting though. It's so out of synch with films of its time. But it's so glossy. Every shot is so immaculate and amazing. It vergers on a kind of stylized horror that excites you but leaves you wondering what's really going on. Leavesyou wondering what's all this for? What is Charles Laughton saying with this film? M is an obvious comparison: child predator, eerie society, dark shadows. But M spoke to the social reality it came out of. It sneakily singled out fascism, commented on mass media, and creeped you out. The Night of the Hunter just...creeps you out.
But the river song was really something.