Classics Review: The Night of the Hunter

In 1953, novelist, Davis Grubb published a book titled, “The Night of the Hunter.” Loosely based on a real-life serial killer, Harry Powers, it’s about a murderer named, Harry Powell who poses as a preacher. After serving a month in jail for stealing a car, he purses stolen money his cellmate stashed in a doll. The kids, John & Pearl run for their lives. Two Years Later, Charles Laughton made his first and only film with Robert Mitchum as the main antagonist.

Released in 1955, (same year Tylenol was invented) at the time, it was panned by critics and was a commercial flop. Overtime, the film earned praise calling it a masterpiece. In 1992, the Liberty of Congress chose The Night of the Hunter for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 2010, the Criterion Collection digitally restored the film on DVD/Blu-Ray as spine number 541.

Anyway, it’s Halloween Month. I’ll be watching and reviewing a few horror movies. Which ones should I review next? Please leave a comment and don’t forget to subscribe.

This review contains SPOILERS.

Good & Evil Qualities

Good: Robert Mitchum did an excellent job for his performance.

• Fun Fact 1: Powell has tattoos of the words, “LOVE” and “HATE” on his knuckles. Spike Lee referenced it with brass knuckles in “Do the Right Thing.”
• Fun Fact 2: Besides Spike, famous faces such as Roger Ebert, Chole Sevigny, William Friedkin, Nathan Lane, Michael K. Williams, Ken Jennings, Nicolas Winding Refn, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Guillermo del Toro and the Coen brothers mentioned The Night of the Hunter as one of their favorite films.
• Fun Fact 3: The film was shown on an episode of “Better Call Saul.” Episode’s titled, “Fall.”

Cinematography captures a mixture of film noir and classic horror. There’s one beautiful shot filmed underwater with a Willa’s body tied to a Model T.

Set Pieces and Costumes were manually crafted.

Peter Graves makes a small appearance as John & Pearl’s father.

Evil: Charles Laughton did a terrible job directing. This is the only film he made. OUCHIES!

I didn’t scared throughout the whole thing. Never felt a sense of dread coming down my spine. Stephen King called The Night of the Hunter as the scariest movie of all time. Not to me it isn’t.

A spiderweb looks pretty fake.

Rachel and the stray kids are forgettable. I didn’t care about ’em.

After John & Pearl flee from Powell, the Pacing became a slow burn with unnecessary padding. Felt like I was watching a different movie.

The Climax wasn’t satisfying at all. I’ll sum it up in one word, “Anti-Climatic.” Powell didn’t use a stealthy approach to disarm Rachel. She was carrying a shotgun. All he carried was a switchblade. He eventually gets arrested. A cinematic equivalent of a gutterball.

The Tone for the Ending transitioned from a moody film noir with horror elements to a lighthearted Christmas movie.

The Final Verdict: D, FOR DUNCE!

I can’t believe I’m saying this over a film noir mixed with horror elements, The Night of the Hunter isn’t a flawless masterpiece. To quote Thanos: “Reality is often disappointing.” I want my spare time back from watching this so-called “masterpiece.” Skip this in favor “Angel Heart.” That’s a really good film worth a watch.