Dream No Evil
Directed by John Hayes
Orphaned at a young age, Grace has grown up under the sway of her adopted brother Jesse for whose travelling evangelist act she performs by leaping from a high diving board. But when she learns that she may have a lead on the whereabouts of her long-lost father, Grace's desperation to be reunited with him leads to a disastrous - and deadly - mental unravelling. Originally filmed under the title of 'The Faith Healer, Dream No Evil' - which also features famed character actor Marc Lawrence in a memorable turn as an undertaker-cum-pimp - is perhaps the most overlooked entry in a trio of horror films made by the late John Hayes, which also includes genre favourites 'Grave of the Vampire' and 'Garden of the Dead'.
Orphaned at a young age, Grace has grown up under the sway of her adopted brother Jesse for whose travelling evangelist act she performs by leaping from a high diving board.
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Brooke Mills
Member Reviews
A sun-drenched, hazy / (with intrusive narrator) / Psycho-esque thriller.
I liked this movie even if it wasn't exactly a horror film I saw some good qualities in it. Definitely comes off more like a mystery, drama and slight thriller although even thats a stretch. Story is easy to follow and the ending really tied everything together for me and I understood everything. All that being said I was hoping for something more scary the kills aren't gorey but this is not a bad movie by any means.
Worth watching for the line, "Shirley, your duck is bleeding very badly." Other than that, this is a rather obvious tale-with-a-twist with a squandered background of itinerant faith healing in bleak desert towns. The Shudder synopsis has far more promise than the film delivers.
Another 70s gem that tries to follow in the Psycho trend. This is a bit slow to start and the narrator outright tells the audience how the movie is going to ending. Not much blood and gore in this one, but it is an enjoyable movie. If you like 70s B-movies, this is one you should see. I am going to have to check out John Hayes other two horror movies 'Grave of the Vampire' and 'Garden of the Dead' though I am pretty sure I have seen them at one point.
2.5/5. This film was more like a feature length Twilight Zone episode than a horror film and an average one too. The opening half hour was boring and rather needless but it did pick up a bit from there. The plot twist was a little too obvious but the film did manage to hold my attention. There are some strange scenes peppered throughout the film, in particular the Irish dancing scene and the 'cutting the duck' scene. The duck scene did give us the best line in the film "Uh Shirley, your duck is bleeding very badly". I do enjoy that Shudder has these odd films to view as I would never have watched this otherwise.