Dead of Night (AKA Deathdream) (1974)

Director: Bob Clark

Writer: Alan Ormsby

Stars: Richard Backus, John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Henderson Forsyth, Anya Ormsby, Jane Daly, Michael Mazes, Arthur Anderson

A mother's prayers bring her son (Richard Backus) home from the war in Vietnam, but this homecoming is more akin to The Monkey’s Paw than a heartwarming reunion.

 

Like so many war veterans, Andy comes home different and has trouble fitting back in and feeling like he belongs…only, in Andy’s case, it’s because he no longer belongs among the living. 

Released in the waning years of the war, this film must have touched a nerve in many of its viewers. 

It depicts a family’s struggle to understand how to relate to their son even as they deny to themselves that he has changed.

 

Its interesting take on vampirism functions as an allegory for drug abuse.

 

It also comments on the ingratitude and disparagement that many vets of that time faced from people at home who neither understood the sacrifices made nor were interested in learning. 

In one scene, during an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Andy exclaims, “I died for you!” 

Most importantly for a horror movie, however, it is creepy as hell, particularly the finale.

 

Director Bob Clark really showed a genius for quality low-budget horror before he made the unfortunate pivot to projects like Porky’s and A Christmas Story (a project for which I do not share the universal regard).