Movie Review – The Night of the Hunter(1955)

The black and white film The Night of the Hunter is directed by Charles Laughton. Ben Harper (Peter Graves) kills two men while robbing a store. His children John and Pearl save the stolen money he left. The police catch Ben and meet Powell in the jail. After Ben is executed, Powell disguises as a preacher and marries Ben’s widow to pursuit the stolen money. The children escape Powell’s hunting. In the end, the children find safety at Rachel Cooper's home. This film has a simple plot and is a nightmare for children.

This film is influenced by the particular artistic style of German Expressionism. In the early 20th century, prominent in the 1910s and 1920s, German filmmakers made films with distinctive cinematic traits after World War I. The black-and-white visual style is used in the film. The actors exaggerate their expressions and tangible and twisted emotions. Shadows, silhouettes, stark contrasts and other visual distortions are applied to create a specific atmosphere. In the film, when Powell is searching the children outside the house, the children’s guardian is holding a gun in the house and her silhouette is shown in the scene. It creates a sense that she is the secret angel protecting the children. When the children come with a light in the house, Powell disappears. Shadows and lights are used in this scene. When he kills the widow in her room and the children live in Rachel’s home, the shadows and lights of the mise-en-scene are well-designed as well. It enhances the artistic feel of a horror film. It is filmed with many filming techniques. When the predator is searching the children by riding a horse, the camera films the wide shot of the predator and the prey John in the same frame which John is close to the camera and Powell is distant to the camera. The musical scores in the film enhance the horrible feel. When Powell and Rachel sing the same song in the scene. The villain sings to lower the guardian's vigilance. The old lady sings to protect the children. Moreover, it creates a horrible feeling when the “hangman” song is sung by a group of children mocking the loss of John and Pearl’s father. The pure and innocent voices of the children can create such a violent atmosphere and cause damage. It contradicts the pre-consumption that kids are supposed to be sweet. When the dead body of the widow drowns in the water, her hair and the seagrass slowly flow in the water, it presents an awkward poetic scene. The delightful music is played at the same time which also makes the audience shudder. The contrast between the visuals and music creates a horrible effect. It is not necessary to make bloody scenes to create a horrible feeling.

Metropolis (1927), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) are the representative film of German Expressionist cinema. Metropolis (1927) is a science fiction film which is a pioneer film at that time. The iconic robot and the set of the cityscape are the distinctive elements of the film. The contrast of black and white is applied to the film. In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), the character’s facial expression is exaggerated to enlarge his pain. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) is a silent film so the body language of the actors is the main tool to deliver messages to the audience. Other forms of art such as painting are also influenced by German Expressionism.

Moreover, symbolism is applied in the film. The rabbit represents the innocence of the children. The owl is the wisdom of the adults. Powell got the letters H-A-T-E tattooed on his left hand and the other the letters L-O-V-E tattooed on his right hand which shape his villain and psychopath’s image.

As mentioned, the simple plot is used in the film. In the end, evil cannot defeat good. When the villain hunts and haunts the children, children escape by instinct. When two kids are on the boat, they are helpless and lost. They do not know where to go. Then, they meet an angel who can be the children’s guardian. Adults gain wisdom after living in a cruel society for a long time. It's a hard world for little things. When the most wonderful time of the year comes, John receives a watch as a gift which is the common celebration for children. However, that is the only happiness for him after escaping from the villain. 

The Night of the Hunter is directed by Charles Laughton who is also an actor. His filmic art is under the influence of auteurs such as Truffaut, Martin Scorsese, Jean-Luc Godard, Roman Polanski, and Robert Altman which set the tone and style of the film. Charles Laughton made a marvelous collaboration with the cinematographer Stanley Cortez.

Harry Powell is played by Robert Mitchum. In the daytime, he looks like a normal person except for his weird tattoos on his knuckles. He watches sexual content in the cinema like Travis in the film Taxi Driver. He does not have antisocial personality disorder but he disguises himself as a preacher. Suddenly, he kills people without any emotions. His eyes show a sense of hollowness. He did that for money. He was ranked the 29th scariest movie villain in the American Film Institute's 100 Years. The widow Willa Harper is played by Shelley Winters. She is just a housewife and cannot prevent the fraud of Powell. In the 1950s, there are American women working as housewives. Rachel Cooper is played by Lillian Gish. The old lady is supposed to be a powerless person. But she uncovers his lies and is brave enough to hold a gun towards a psychopath. It is said that it is difficult to film children and animals as they are hard to control. The children John and Pearl still can act like children. Nowadays, some kids are too mature to act. They do not act naturally.

To conclude, this horror film is not as horrible as another horror film Saw which shows the merciless body-cutting visuals to the audience. Therefore, there are many different ways to present horror. It does not merely stimulate the audience visually. The ending of the film brings out the good side of humanity. 

Bibliography:

https://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/2021/06/24/the-night-of-the-hunter-1955-reviewed-by-devin-meenan/