Media has a tremendous effect on society. We all know that, and every four years elections prove it time and again. Like an infinite loop or Mobius strip. The Brits knew this well. During the Second World War (which we seem eager to repeat), it was against the law to produce horror films in the UK. Such things can demoralize, don’t you know, old chap? The first British film to claim horror’s reopening was Dead of Night, released in 1945. Germany had surrendered in May and Dead of Night, like a breath being held, was released in September. Although hardly scary by today’s standards, it was an enormously influential film. It’s an anthology with a framing story that ties all the pieces together.
Walter Craig is an architect called to visit a farmhouse that requires renovation. Upon arriving, although he’s never been before, all the people at the house are familiar to him from a recurring nightmare he has and vaguely remembers. He feels that something bad will happen since his dream seems to be a premonition. Meanwhile, each of the guests tell their own uncanny stories. Since this is horror, we know that the nightmare will exact its due. Craig ends up murdering one of the guests before waking in bed. It was his nightmare. He receives a call to come to a farmhouse that requires renovation. When he arrives it reminds him that the nightmare is about to play out in real life.
The movie influenced many others. The most famous segment—a ventriloquist that goes mad when his dummy takes over—was fuel for many haunted doll stories. One of the tales was based on a real-life murder than had taken place in Britain in 1860. As I learned from Wikipedia, however, the most stunning effect the movie had was on cosmology. You may remember from science class that a debate about the origin of the universe was fought between two models: the Big Bang theory and the Steady State theory. What they don’t teach in science class is that Fred Hoyle developed the Steady State theory based on this movie of the recurring loop of a nightmare that the dreamer is helpless to escape. I’ve been saying for years that horror is due a lot more respect than it’s given. These movies, as an integral part of the media, do have a very real effect on the world around them. Dead of Night is a good example of that. And it’s still a bloody good film, after all these years.
