Why so much hype?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Being a fan of Hammer Horror and the Giallo sub-genre I started talking to a friend about Horror flicks to view in October. Whilst being aware of Hammer's late Psycho-Thriller/Giallo era,I was surprised to get told of a Hammer psycho which co-starred Peter Cushing,which led to me fearing the night.The plot:Preparing to move to a secluded boys' boarding school that her husband Robert Heller will be working at,Peggy is attacked by a stranger wearing black gloves.Waking up from the attack,Peggy finds no proof that an attacker was in the house,and starts to wonder if she is imagining things. Going to the school with Robert,Peggy meets headmaster Michael Carmichael,whose quiet behaviour puts Peggy on edge. Attacked (and knocked out) again,Peggy wakes up to find Robert asking what she thinks might be causing her to faint.Fearing her sanity,Peggy decides to relax and walk round the school.Hearing the sound of school children,Peggy walks into the school and is horrified,when she finds it to be completely empty of kids.View on the film:Reaching the screen after originally being written in 1963,co- writer/(along with Michael Syson) director Jimmy Sangster gives the horror a sly middle class shell,dressed in crisp surroundings and prim clothes which allow for the psychological terror to lurk underneath. Dissecting Hammer studios major theme of female hysteria with Giallo black gloves,the writers brilliantly mix haunted Gothic Horror memories of a past that has long gone with a rich Film Noir pessimism.Tearing Peggy Heller away from being a "Scream Queen",the writers use the disbelief in Peggy's visions to cast her as a Film Noir loner,whose hysteria over what she is experiencing is clouded by the meek middle class façade Robert covers her eyes with.For the final Hammer Horror he would direct, Sangster and cinematographer Arthur Grant set the mood tranquillity,by giving the opening morbid,stilted camera moves casting a shadow of something long forgotten. Cosying up in the Heller's house, Sangster sits in with corned shots on the household which lock Peggy in and make the sudden shots of violence smash the image of Peggy's life with a mighty Hammer.Also making his final Hammer outing, Ralph Bates gives a wonderful performance as Robert,whose mature manner Bates makes just that bit eerily off. Joining in on the Giallo Horror game, Peter Cushing walks a fine line in his performance as "The Headmaster" whose gentlemen manner is undermined by Cushing blinding him with shards of cold emotion across his black glasses.Delivering a scream with fear to match the best of Hammer's Girls,the elegant Judy Geeson wonderfully turns Peggy into a burnt-out Film Noir loner,whose chirpy middle class heart is worn down by Geeson into a hysteria which leads to Peggy being numb to the outside world,as Peggy discovers that fear is the key.

A moderately suspenseful thriller (the last of three directed by prolific writer/producer Jimmy Sangster) in what had then become Hammer's familiar house style in which all the usual ingredients were none too inventively re-worked, "Fear in the Night" profited from its effective setting, namely a sinister school with phantom pupils and an unbalanced headmaster (another compelling performance from Peter Cushing). My only regret is that Sangster's plot demanded that the horror ingredients end halfway through and the movie revert to a straight thriller. Nevertheless, the director and his players manage to keep interest high right up to the rather clever conclusion. In the movie's key role, Judy Geeson artfully manages to elicit a lot of interest and sympathy. Joan Collins and Ralph Bates are adequate, if somewhat transparent. If you've seen a few of these Hammer thrillers, you'll find the plot pretty easy to work out. Fortunately, Sangster has a firm grip on his material and knows how to milk each scene for maximum suspense. Brisk editing also helps, though a certain transition device is way overused, Music is effective, art direction often impressive, and other credits never less than highly competent.

This is a fairly low-key mystery-thriller from Hammer. It's about a troubled young woman who experiences attacks from an unknown assailant. She and her teacher husband move to an isolated off-term public school, while there she comes into contact with an odd school-master and the situation escalates…Anyone who is familiar with the 50's French thriller classic Les Diaboliques will notice a few borrowed ideas in this one, although it's only fair to say that this is a clearly inferior shadow of that film. Having said all that, this doesn't necessarily make Fear In The Night a poor film; it's actually a solid little thriller with a few well-handled suspenseful scenes. Clearly a very low-budget production – it barely has half-a-dozen characters – it nevertheless makes use of its limited resources fairly well, as did all Hammer productions in general. Also, in keeping with films from this studio, there is a good selection of actors and actresses on display – Judy Geeson is the psychologically troubled wife, Ralph Bates is her teacher husband, while Peter Cushing plays the strange school headmaster and Joan Collins is his bitchy younger wife. It's the efforts of these four, as well as the intriguing deserted private school setting, that ensures that this thriller remains interesting, as the hackneyed and predictable plot-line are serviceable but not especially inspired. Fear In The Night almost feels like a TV play at times, the sort of thing you might have seen on an episode of Armchair Thriller in the 70's. But to be fair, there's nothing wrong with that.

This Hammer film has remained in the wilderness for years, but thanks to Optimum Releasing, it now has its long awaited DVD release. The back of the box proclaims this film to be the last of Hammer Horror's suspense films, and one of the best - and both of those statements are true! Many of the suspense films that Hammer produced are among the best that the studio had to offer - Taste of Fear and Paranoiac being among the finest of them. This film isn't your usual Hammer film or your usual Hammer suspense film and plays out a lot like a Hammer version of Italy's popular Giallo sub-genre. Hammer Horror would go on to make a lot of films that took influence from the more lurid Eurohorror imports in the seventies, and while this shift in focus didn't always serve them well - it certainly does here! The plot focuses on a boy's school. Peggy Heller is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and she goes to stay at the school with her teacher husband Robert. Upon arrival, she discovers that the school is run by headmaster Michael Carmichael, and she soon becomes the victim of murderous attacks by a one-armed man. However, nobody believes her...It has to be said that the plot runs rather slowly for the first hour, with the hapless victim being attacked a couple of times and facing disbelief from both her husband and the wife of the headmaster. It's always interesting, however, and this slow burning first half soon gives way to a more furious final third, where revelations about the school and its headmaster become the forefront of the story and give way to a delicious double twist. The film features performances from three big stars of British horror - the sinister Ralph Bates is perfect as the husband, while the beautiful and deadly Joan Collins provides an extra dimension and things are topped off in style courtesy of a great performance from Hammer's main man Peter Cushing. Judy Geeson holds her own in the lead role also, and the film certainly doesn't come a cropper on the acting front. It has to be said that the final twist is somewhat predictable considering the film's genre, but it's carried off well and the way that the tale concludes is both clever and exciting. Overall, Fear in the Night might not have gained the same amount of praise as Hammer's more popular offerings - but it's a damn good film and I'm glad I saw it!