The Night of the Hunter (re-release)
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 51
  3. Negative: 3 out of 51

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  1. ryancarroll88
    Aug 27, 2010
    10
    One of those movies that if I had seen as a child it would have terrified me to no end, and having seen it now, it just sits eerily in the back of my mind. It is truly a perfect thriller.
  2. ekolite82
    Jul 10, 2012
    10
    One of cinema's miracles.
    This movie put in me in a trance mid-way. It just sucks you in. The plot, directing, acting, casting, character development. I could go on and on. A most classic of classic movies. Might not be for every person in the world, but, to me, this movie is just as important to cinema as The Wizard of Oz or 2001: A Space Odyssey. Right up there with them.
  3. JuddS.
    Aug 13, 2002
    10
    Quite simply the scariest movie I have ever seen. There are movies that are designed to give you nightmares, and then there are movies that are the nightmares themselves. This movie is the nighmare.
  4. TimH
    Mar 27, 2006
    10
    Awesome lone directorial effort by the great Laughton.
  5. MichaelF.
    Oct 26, 2001
    10
    Heart-pounding. Mitchum's spine-tingling performance is one of the greatest performances ever.
  6. cutnshoot
    Apr 9, 2011
    10
    It is too bad that Chas never got to direct again. This is one of America's great films.....told as a fairytale "once upon a time" style. I saw it on late night T.V. in the 60's and have seen it many time since, (big time screen and T.V.) and it never gets old. One of Mitchum's best and unusual turns. There is nothing mediocre about this film at all. Doesn't get any better than this!
  7. LordNaseby
    Sep 27, 2011
    10
    Pretty much as brilliant as movies get. Mitchum plays the serial killer preacher(his favorite role he said) with absolutely no morals(except get money). The scene on the porch at night is probably THE most brilliant movie scene in history. Good acting, good story, good movie. this is film making at it's very best. A suspenseful masterpiece. there are moments where i am actually worried that he would catch the kids. An excellent film. I particularly like how he would fool his victims and their friends. He has more or less memorized the basics of Christianity and he uses that for his own ends. He is so evil that you like him a lot. also I like how this was Laughton's first attempt at directing. It was his first time and he came up with this. the only other time that I have seen that is with Citizen Kane. A masterpiece that will never fade into the ages. It has and will continue to stand the test of time.… Expand
  8. powerjack00
    May 24, 2012
    10
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  9. cameronmorewood
    Dec 20, 2012
    9
    Robert Mitchum gives a blistering and bone-chilling performance as a psychotic preacher, but the twist of the film as a whole, is that the movie isn't even about him. It's about two children, forever plagued by the sins of the father.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
99 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 6 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    This is the only film Laughton ever directed, and he packed it with a mixture of eerie chills, ingenious suspense, and absurdist humor. It's a genuine classic.
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  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    100
    Laughton understood Agee's proximity to Grimm vaudeville, and fashioned the most intensely expressionistic movie of its day.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    60
    This start for Gregory as producer and Laughton as director is rich in promise but the completed product, bewitching at times, loses sustained drive via too many offbeat touches that have a misty effect.
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