Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

"Night Creatures" is in many ways an interesting Hammer entry, because it's unlike most of their other movies. There is no real monster in the movie, with the title referring to a man-made thing instead. It's also interesting due to the fact that there is only one real character in the movie who is sympathetic (the pub woman, who is a secondary character), with the primary characters either being ruthless pirates and smugglers, or agents of the king who are pretty ruthless in their own right as well. Despite the fact that there really isn't any up front character to care about, the movie remains entertaining. Naturally, actor Peter Cushing gives the movie a lot of spark. And the rest of the movie certainly isn't dull, and it does get you wondering how exactly things will be wrapped up in the end, despite the Production Code still being in effect when the movie was made. If you sit down to watch the movie knowing beforehand that it's a quite different Hammer movie than usual, you should find a good deal to enjoy about it.

As a break from their better-known horror fare, Hammer made a series of rousing historical adventures in the early 1960s and this is one of their more original efforts, a story that depicts smuggling in the 18th century in a Kent coastal village. With assured direction propelling it along nicely and a pretty wonderful cast of actors, this is an enjoyable film complete with two-fisted action, adventure and even a few horror elements along the way. I found that this yarn had an effective a script as Hammer's horror outings and just as much atmosphere; plenty of chills and thrills are wrung out of the marshy backdrop in scenes not dissimilar from Hammer's own HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.One of the most engaging things about the production is that there are no 'good' or 'bad' characters: instead, people are painted in shades of grey, with viewers allowed to make up their own minds. For instance, is Peter Cushing's kindly pastor really such a good guy? Even after all of the (effective) twists have played out, there's little that makes him evil or a stock villain like his Frankenstein. On the other hand, Patrick Allen is the supposed good guy, the King's revenue man, and yet I'm sure most viewers will hope that the smugglers get one over on him rather than allow him to gain the upper hand! There are plot elements here galore, and some of the most effective involve a mysterious moving scarecrow that acts as a signalman to the smugglers. There's also some Treasure Island-type piracy thrown in with the inclusion of the hulking Milton Reid in one of his biggest roles as a mulatto who's had his tongue cut out. Female viewers get a genteel romance between two very pretty partners (the remarkably uplifting Yvonne Romain and the rugged Oliver Reed at his most dashing). The horror elements involve men on horseback dressed as skeletons, not too dissimilar from Halloween costumes, but it's a testament to the director and crew's skill that even these scenes possess their own eerie charm. Plus we get Michael Ripper in his biggest, most developed supporting role yet. I didn't get excited about this in the same way I did about something like TERROR OF THE TONGS, but I did enjoy watching the eventful story play out in Hammer's own unique and colourful style.

This is a very interesting and exciting costume drama from Hammer Films, the U.K. studio best known for its series of classic horror films. Peter Cushing, who appeared as Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing in many of the most memorable of those films, shows up here in this film as the title character "Captain Clegg", a reformed pirate who still dabbles in a bit of wine smuggling and uses the profits to pay for his charities. It features a few moments that might be scary for very small children, but on the whole it is not a horror film. The horror elements come into play because Captain Clegg uses the ruse of marsh phantoms to scare people into staying away from his smuggling zones.The ostensible "hero" of the film is Captain Collier (Patrick Allen), but he's so brutal in his interrogation methods and so unflappable in putting the pursuit of his quarry above all other considerations, even moral ones, that by the end of the film he's almost a villain. Oliver Reed plays the romantic Harry Cobtree, the local magistrate's son who is in love with "common" working girl Imogene (Yvonne Romain). When it's revealed that Imogene is actually the daughter of Captain Clegg, it introduces a very interesting subtext because Clegg himself definitely approves of Harry as a prospective son-in-law and Clegg is obviously a sort of substitute father figure for Harry, whose natural father is a bloated hypocrite who seems to share very little with Harry in the way of temperament or talent. So the film starts out with a very shady group of people, particularly Mr. Rash (Martin Benson) the inn-keeper. Michael Ripper also puts in one of the most distinguished and notable performances I've seen from him, and he and Clegg make an interesting faux-couple as well. His devotion to Clegg certainly borders on the romantic although the film is not explicit with that subtext. But after starting out with such a rough group of rogues, it ends up creating a sort of family out of these 3 major characters.There's more to this film than might meet the eye. Although the production standards are questionable in some ways, all in all it's a decent looking movie and I thought some of the photography when they're wandering through the eerie swamps was very well done. There is no better person to hold down a film than Peter Cushing, and his fans will be pleased with this film as I was. He's got this crazy bobbed hairstyle too which is very neat. His performance surprised me because I thought maybe he was going to go all-out evil like he did in "Twins of Evil", but he becomes gradually more sympathetic as the film continues. One wishes that Hammer Films had the money to perhaps show more of the high-seas adventures from Clegg's earlier career, but that's not really the focus of the story anyway.A good story is made even better by an excellent group of actors, highlighted by the veteran Cushing and the exciting young Reed.

This is a very odd film in that practically the same film was made in the States starring Patrick MaGoohan for the Disney company just a year later ("Dr. Christopher Syn"). Also, both films were remakes of a 1937 film which starred George Arliss ("Dr. Syn").The film is about a small town along the English coast that is jam-packed full of smugglers. Their leader is actually the kindly vicar (Peter Cushing)--a great cover for an ex-pirate and smuggler! Most of the film concerns the efforts of Captain Collier to figure out who is the leader of the smugglers AND put a stop to it. Little does he know that Cushing is actually Captain Clegg--a pirate hung for piracy a decade earlier.Along the way are some very capable actors--including a dashing young Oliver Reed. All the performances are competent and I have no real objections to this rousing adventure film, though I must admit it was very pleasant but not especially memorable. It's hard to say exactly why, but the scenes involving the phantoms on skeletal horses looked pretty cheesy, so that sure didn't help.An interesting film and perhaps, if your curiosity is piqued, you'll try to see the other versions as well.