Why you can trust 12DOVE
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, Charles Laughton's sole directorial outing is being revived in a new 35mm print. Made in 1955, The Night Of The Hunter was savaged on its original release, yet is now rightfully considered one of the richest, most haunting films to emerge from the '50s.
Structured as a fairytale clash between good and evil, it follows travelling preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) around '30s America. Marrying and then murdering Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) for the $10,000 her late husband stole, Powell discovers her two offspring have escaped with the loot. The stepdad pursues the children down-river, where they've sheltered with godly Rachel (Lillian Gish).
Mitchum produces a towering performance; his pious and charismatic veneer masking a psychopathic brutality. But in a film suffused with Biblical and Freudian allusions, the most striking aspect is the superb black-and-white cinematography of Stanley Cortez. Highly recommended.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
9 months after their not-MMO died and tanked their studio, The Day Before devs are "asking for a second chance" with a new crowdfunded game that's "free from embellishments"
New Metal Gear Solid Delta footage looks gorgeous and faithful, but the 2004 voice acting just doesn't look right coming out of 2024 character models
A 12-year arc of The Simpsons comes to a close as EA shuts down city builder The Simpsons: Tapped Out after 308 updates, 831 characters, and 1,463 questlines