Fear in the Night 4K 1972 Ultra HD 2160p

In London, twenty-two year-old Peggy Heller (Judy Geeson) meets and marries school teacher Robert Heller (Ralph Bates) after recovering from a nervous breakdown. Robert works in the countryside in a private school owned by headmaster Michael Carmichael (Peter Cushing), who is married to Molly Carmichael (Dame Joan Collins). On the eve of moving to the country with her husband, Peggy spends the night at the boarding house of Mrs. Beamish (Gillian Lind) and is attacked by a man with a mechanical arm in her room. Mrs. Beamish calls the doctor, but they do not believe Peggy. The next morning, she heads with Robert to the country and moves into the cottage in the school. Soon, Peggy is attacked by the same man, but Robert does not believe her. Then she meets the Headmaster and realizes that he has a mechanical arm. What will happen next?

User Review
"Fear in the Night" is a somewhat contrived and lesser Hammer picture from 1972 that somehow still manages to work up a fair amount of suspense and one or two chilling moments. The film concerns young Peggy Heller (excellently portrayed by Judy Geeson), who, after suffering a nervous breakdown, moves with her new teacher husband to a large, private boys' school on 1,200 acres of English countryside. Poor Peggy is soon made the victim of a string of attacks by a stalker with a prosthetic hand, and her lot is hardly made more comfortable by the presence of the very strange headmaster (Peter Cushing) or his haughty young wife (Joan Collins). The film builds to a surprise ending of sorts that probably won't surprise many, especially those viewers who have already seen a certain classic Vincent Price horror movie from 1958. Still, the film does offer some compensations, including very fine performances by the actors just mentioned, as well as by Ralph Bates, playing Peggy's husband. Viewers will appreciate just how fine the acting is, perhaps, after a second viewing, with a greater knowledge of all the characters' secret motivations. The film also offers some beautiful scenery, both in terms of the autumnal Hertfordshire countryside AND Ms. Collins herself. Thirty-nine years old here, and nine years prior to incarnating TV's ultimate bitch on wheels, Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter, etc. on "Dynasty," she really is quite gorgeous to look at. (Sadly, she and Cushing, though playing man and wife, share no screen time whatsoever in this picture.) But the film belongs to Geeson, who appears in every single scene (with one major exception). Just five years after her "To Sir, With Love" debut, she turns in a very credible and ingratiating performance. Indeed, it is the sterling acting by all four principals that elevates this rather pedestrian thriller into something quite admirable indeed.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (89.6 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: DTS 2.0 (Commentary by director Jimmy Sangster & film historian Marcus Hearn)
#English: DTS 2.0 (Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth)

Info Subtitles