The Night Visitor (1971)

Overrated

Absolutely Fantastic

The acting in this movie is really good.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This film about a man, Salem (Max Von Sydow), sent to an insane asylum after being wrongfully convicted of the ax murder of a farm hand two years ago, who escapes at night to avenge himself of those that did him wrong by having a part in his imprisonment. And then somehow he lets himself back in without anybody at the asylum noticing.I never saw a location mentioned, but one imdb reviewer said it was Jutland, in Denmark.It is obvious from the beginning what Salem is doing once he is loose - he is trying to pin the murders that he is committing on the person he thinks actually committed the murder of the farm hand - Anton. But the police inspector (Trevor Howard) is having none of it. For one thing, Anton actually saw Salem in his house - Salem let the guy see him - so Anton would sound crazy when he talked to the inspector. Why would Anton make up this particular story, casting blame on a man who is locked up? And this has the inspector visiting the asylum to see if it would be possible for Salem to escape and then get back in, and it looks pretty impossible and yet...his doubts linger because he does not arrest Anton in spite of having plenty of evidence.This little thriller was pretty unique despite some implausibilities and some linguistic problems. Why is the asylum so close to the homes of the village in which Salem lived? How is he able to run through the woods for what looks like a few miles in his underwear in sub freezing weather without freezing to death? Wouldn't all of this been easier for Salem in the summertime? Why does half the cast sound Swedish and the other half sound British? In spite of this I really enjoyed this unique little film. And the final irony of the film is delightful.

Underrated crime picture that is very deliberate and very effective. Set in rural Sweden, "The Night Visitor" is a cat-and-mouse movie which holds your interest throughout, even though it is slow to get underway. Salem (Max Von Sydow) is framed for murder and is sent to an insane asylum, where he manages to escape periodically to exact his revenge on his antagonists. The detective assigned to the case (Trevor Howard) has his work cut out for him - how can he prove that it is Salem himself, incarcerated in an escape-proof asylum, who is responsible for the grisly murders taking place?Director Benedek goes to great pains to create the appropriate mood to show us how Salem goes about his deadly business. It is fascinating to watch his painstaking escapes and returns to prison, leaving no stone unturned to cover his traces. Be aware the murders are pretty gruesome, making you feel that maybe he wasn't framed after all.You will love the surprise ending of this nearly-unknown blood-and-gore indy picture, made when nobody was looking and which quickly dropped out of sight. It's tough to find, but do yourself a favor if you like this genre.

Watching Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille and his Saturday night double features on WIIC-TV (now WPXI) channel 11 was a great treasure trove of terror titles for the city of Pittsburgh PA. Cardille and his show became such a phenomenon that he was asked to appear in a local 1967 production done by commercial filmmakers that enjoyed the movies. Originally titled "Night of Anubis," it had a title change to "Night of the Flesh Eaters," but was finally issued in 1968 as "Night of the Living Dead" (the rest is history). I was too young to view anything during the 60s, but remained loyal to CT right up to the end in 1984. It was NBC's Saturday Night Live that pushed the show back from 11:30PM to 1:00AM, reducing the double feature to a single, but one of the very last twin bills (Oct 7 1978) toplined 1970's "The Night Visitor" followed by 1968's "Brides of Blood" (retitled for television "The Island of Living Horror"). My father was particularly taken with this film, and once I found it on video in 1988, we have enjoyed it ever since. It aired twice more on CT (June 28 1980 and July 4 1981), and was a sterling example of the delightful surprises in store week to week, at that time before cable and video, when just about anything could turn up on local stations, and often did. Local horror hosts are mostly a thing of the past, but the films are still available, even the most obscure titles can be found someplace. "The Night Visitor" is quite obscure, but those of us who saw it in Pittsburgh never forgot the experience. How can a man committed to an asylum escape to wreak revenge on those who did him wrong, then actually return to his cell to provide the perfect alibi? A willing suspension of disbelief is a small price to pay for an ingeniously crafted gem, produced in Denmark by actor Mel Ferrer, with music by Henry Mancini! The 1971 review of this film in Cinefantastique posed what the movie might have been like with a different cast- Christopher Lee as Salem (he actually signed for the part before the budget was increased), Peter Cushing as the Inspector, Barbara Steele as the doctor's wife, and Klaus Kinski as the crazed Doctor, stating "why, it almost sounds like a horror classic!" It was indeed that good, and Pittsburghers were often lucky to get a head start on the reputations of cult movies that escaped notice in other parts of the country.

This film grabs you from start to finish.The clever way that Max Von Sydow,s character Salem executes his plan is engrossing.All the acting in this film is brilliant,but special credit has to go to Trevor Howard,s performance playing an ageing world weary inspector perfectly.It says a lot for the power of this film that although i have not been able to see it for over 10 years due to no dvd or video being available in the UK, it would still be in my top 20 movies ever.The plot was so good that i thought the ending would have to let it down,but instead turns out to be one of the best bits.A forgotten masterpiece that far too few people have seen if the number of people that have voted for it is anything to go by.