Arrow Video

 

Following their 2016 release of three unrelated US horror movies from the 1970s, Arrow have unleashed another set of American curiosities – Dream No Evil, Dark August and The Child.

This volume is co-curated by Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower, and it’s fair to say that these are long forgotten movies, but I can’t call them discovered treasure. I’ve no idea if any of them made it to UK cinemas, been screened on TV (they feel like they could have filled a late night horror slot) or indeed whether they were released here on VHS, but they now have crisp HD transfers from original film elements. But none of them are that great, and frankly really don’t deserve the VIP treatment that has been lavished upon them.

Yes, the range in the subject matter means that you’re not stuck in any one sub-genre, and we get psychological thriller, revenge drama and straight horror, but none is a prime example within its field and all they all feel overlong at the running times of around ninety minutes apiece. Maybe if they’d been condensed down and presented as a portmanteau movie we’d have experienced a précis ‘Best of’ experience, but as it stands we get three movies all of which take forever to get going and don’t have a lot to show by the end.

Dream No Evil (1970) sees a young woman longing to be reunited with her long-lost father and instead is drawn into a fantasy world of perceived madness, Dark August (1976) features Kim Hunter (Planet of the Apes) in a tale of a man pursued by a terrifying and deadly curse in the wake of a hit-and-run accident and The Child (1977) is a straight horror tale of a young girl who raises zombies to avenge her mother’s death.

The first, limited release includes a 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Stephen R. Bissette, Travis Crawford and Amanda Reyes, and there are new commentaries on all three discs. Among the other extras, Hollywood After Dark: The Early Films of John Hayes, 1959-1971 is a new video essay by Stephen Thrower looking at Hayes’ filmography leading up to Dream No Evil; The Hills Are Alive: Dark August and Vermont looks at genre filmmaking out of Vermont; and The Child features new interviews with its director, as well as a choice of aspect ratios (1.37:1 and 1.85:1)

Verdict: I would love to say that one of these films marks the significant debut of a certain film-maker or actor, or that we’re finally getting a previously limited or banned cut of a cult classic. But we’re not. Forgettable films that really add nothing to the genre. Again, full marks for the optimism of Arrow in putting out such z-grade content in an a-list way. 5/10

Nick Joy