The Night of the Hunter

A sociopathic preacher (Robert Mitchum) seeks ten thousand dollars hidden by his former prison cellmate.

A critical and commercial flop upon its release in 1955, Night of the Hunter has since gone on to garner much critical and commercial acclaim. Perhaps a bit too much.

There’s no doubt that the film is full of striking images. From the evocative use of shadows, to the haunting image of the car at the bottom of the lake, Night of the Hunter is an exceptionally well photographed, borderline surreal, nightmare.

Also, there’s Robert Mitchum’s now classic performance as an insidious boogeyman forever stalking his prey, though he would truly master the role seven years later in Cape Fear (1962).

But despite the nightmarish imagery and Mitchum’s creepy performance, the film just isn’t that scary.

The biggest problems are the two kids in the lead. They pack zero charisma and evoke no sympathy, especially Sally Jane Bruce. Besides having a perpetually creepy Children of the Corn expression plastered to her face the entire time, her character’s an idiot, even by child terms. After Mitchum’s character repeatedly yells at her, and even assaults her, she still happily runs to him with open arms. This inane behavior and creepy look also extend to Gloria Castillo’s character as well.

Then there’s the problem early on, namely that no one seems able to see what a total loon Mitchum’s character is. Shelly Winters’ character falls for him seemingly at the flip of a coin, only to go bit-shit crazy herself, none of which is really explained by the script. Though you could justify it that Winters’ character was crazy to begin with, a scene or two early to point this out would of helped the transition.

Now, you could argue that the film is told from Billy Chapin’s character’s point of view, and while that would account for all of the above, it still doesn’t overcome the fact that his character isn’t at all compelling, and that, more than anything is the film’s undoing.