Viewers not familiar with a certain 1955 Georges Clouzot classic might be blindsided by its major plot twist —- everyone else will know how this unfolds but will enjoy it anyway.

Cushing, in what’s really little more than a cameo role, is clearly relishing the creepy ambiguity of his character and the rich dialogue, and the film reminds us how good Joan Collins could be with the right material.

…an underrated Hammer classic…a prescient sense in which Fear in the Night is asking the right questions of a Old English/ Cold Comfort Farm patriarchal set-up that leaves room for plenty of criminality…

Brainstorm! One of Hammer Films' ventures into the psychological horror realm, Fear in the Night is more fun than frightening. Plot has Judy Geeson as a young woman recovering from a nervous breakdown who moves with her husband to a boys' school. Once there she appears to be once again terrorized by a man with an artificial arm, but nobody believes her. Peter Cushing, Ralph Bates and Joan Collins also star, in what has to be a candidate for weakest of the Hammer psychological series of films. Things are not helped by it coming off as a cheap knock off of Hammer's own superlative "Taste of Fear 1961", a picture that firmly delivered on its promise. Fear in the Night starts off promisingly, with a genuinely scary set-up, and once Geeson and Bates arrive at the boys school it's ripe for chills and suggestion. Unfortunately, the premise of Geeson being menaced in what is essentially a four character piece quickly wears thin - with Cushing badly under used in the process. Atmosphere is fine, director and co-writer Jimmy Sangster always had a good eye and ear for uneasy dread. While the small cast give it a good whirl to make the modest intentions shine brighter. But ultimately it's only a diversion piece that homages better films of its type instead of making its own mark. 5/10