31 Days of Halloween Films #28: The Night of the Hunter
The Lowdown: Two innocent children’s lives are changed irreversibly when their father is sent to prison. Before the cops catch him, he reveals the location of $10000 he hid somewhere to his kids. Knowing the children have the information he seeks, a mysterious preacher comes to town, almost forcing himself on the family with possibly sinister motivations.
The Breakdown: One of my all time favorite horror films, and I use the term loosely here, The Night of the Hunter is an examination of childhood innocence lost and how fast we all sometimes need to learn to grow up. Directed by Charles Laughton, Hunter is a stylish, moody and atmospheric film full of religious criticism, dark violent undertones and criminality. In fact, this film serves as a great foil to To Kill A Mockingbird in that they both explore themes of youth and childhood as well as forced maturity and survival, in some respects. Hunter’s enduring legacy can be attributed mainly to the performance of its’ leading man, Robert Mitchum.
Robert Mitchum is one of old Hollywood’s ultimate talents. From turns in Cape Fear to Out of the Past, Mitchum’s talent was unwavering, and his ability is on full display here. As the sinister and tattooed Harry Powell, he walks a tightrope between being a stern father figure and a likeable preacher. Much of his performances hinges on mistrust, and he knows how to play it well. Also, the films’ ethereal cinematography adds to its’ storybook-like telling, none so more obvious than a moment late in the film where Shelley Winters’ character is murdered and left at the bottom of the lake, alongside her car. The scene, shot underwater, is gloriously eerie, evocative of the sort of still life portrait Hannibal Lecter might paint. Laughton’s filmmaking prowess here, however, is as strong an element as any in the film, employing elements of German expressionalism into many of the scenes at night by using harsh, defined shadows to menacing delight.
The Comedown: Admittedly, there is some serious cheese going on here. The beginning narration and the last 10-15 minutes didn’t need to be in the film, but at the time my thinking is that audiences may not have accepted such a dark story without a clearly defined silver lining by the end. If you can get past that, however, you’re treated to a visceral story about fear, desperation and innocence lost that just so happens to feature a career defining performance by Mitchum. An absolute treat for Halloween time viewing, highly recommended.