NIGHT OF FEAR

Australia, 1973, 54 minutes, Colour.
Norman Yemm, Carla Hoogeven.
Directed by Terry Bourke.

The moral of this story is not to go wandering in the bush by yourself, especially if you are a girl. You never know what maniac is living there, lurking with axe, spade or rats waiting to chew you up. The 54-minute film is designed solely to give audiences a fright and, at that level, it is more than successful, with its slick editing, cross-cutting, swirling cameras and fantasies. But its unrelieved horror, ghastly details and overall pessimism (plus the only too real local setting) make this an overly morbid trek into the murderously insane. Norman Yemm is convincingly horrible and the heroine screams and looks terrified all the time.

1. Why was this film made? Entertainment? Fright? Melodrama? Some kind of catharsis for fright and terror? Was it too sensationalised? Why?

2. How did the director use his means to achieve fright? Cross-cutting? Subjective shots, angle shots, swirling movement, the creation of mood, the use of menacing character?

3. The film had a lot of attention given to style. Was it too obtrusive for the film?

4. The significance of the prologue - the lost girl chasing a horse? The meaning of the death of the horse?

5. How did the film use symbols: cages, lights, rats, eyes, skulls? Were these effective for the type of film?

6. How successfully did the film build up its plot: the ordinariness of it, the leaving of home, signposts, the highway, the truck, tennis at an exclusive club, driving?

7. How did the film dwell on audience anticipation because of the prologue? Did this involve the audience successfully?

8. What kind of character was the man? The meaning of his life and existence? Was he a caricature? Too repulsive? The horror aspects of his life and behaviour, the 'X'? His behaviour to the first bell, the horse? The emphasis on his face, legs, feet, style of walking?

9. How did his house represent him? Dinginess and squalor as seen by the girl? His sexual obsessions? The newspapers, schoolgirl? The dreariness of his squalor?

10. The impact of the girl on the audience? ordinariness. upper class? The terror after being pushed off the road by the truck? The atmosphere after the accident? Menace? The intercutting and lovemaking etc?

11. How did the film build up terror and fright? By audience identification with the girl?

12. Comment on the use of natural scenery for menace: the forest, the darkness, the house? The girl's curiosity and the audience's curiosity?

13. The place of the rats in the film? Was this too horrible? Why are rats so repulsive? Did the film use them excessively?

14. The terror of the girl, her imprisonment, her being tied? The dreams and the sex obsessions?

15. How horrible was the finale with the rats eating? With the climax of involvement with the man?

16. Was the resolution satisfactory? The police investigation? The feeding of the chooks?

17. Did the film explore values or did it exploit audience fascination with horror? Was this a worthwhile film or not? Given the horror genre, was it a successful horror film?