Dead of Night

I'd read countless statements and a few reviews stating that the 3rd segment here; "Bobby" amounts to what is the most frightening 30 minutes of television horror and scared many ****less when first viewed. Of course; for jaded horror viewers today, that kinda' statement can't possibly hold up. But; I watched "Bobby" (and the rest of "Dead Of Night") a few moments ago and "Bobby" doesn't disappoint.

"Bobby" is a very atmospheric episode. The tone is immediately set when the mother calls upon dark forces to return her son, Bobby, home. A few moments later Bobby returns and pretty soon it's clear he's not the way she remembered him. What follows is a cat and mouse game, extremely well played out, tense and quite frightening with one hell of an ending.

The other episodes of "Dead of Night", quite frankly, pale in comparison. "Second Chance" is a uneventful story about time travel with a twist in the end that justifies what's gone on before but little more than that. "No Such Thing as a Vampire" is a well acted little mystery, again, with an OK twist but rather slow and lacks any suspense.

"Dead of Night" will only be remembered for "Bobby" and, at the meager age of 36 years old, the episode still packs a punch. At it's basic core it's a frightening concept and with a running time of less than half an hour there's more tension and shock value to be found here than in many feature films.

Is it good value to recommend something that's only 1/3 good? In this case; I'd have to say Yes.