Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not bad--and it's too bad we never got any more.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 31 October 2012]

This is a bonus feature included for the TV movie "Dead of Night". Despite the similarity of the titles, the two are unrelated projects by Dan Curtis (of "Dark Shadows" fame). The TV movie is an horror anthology (perhaps originally intended as a TV pilot) and "A Darkness at Blaisedon" was a one-hour failed pilot. Both are well worth your time.

This pilot concerns folks who investigate the supernatural and in many ways it's a bit like the later "Kolchak" series. In this particular case, a young heiress is concerned because she cannot sell the mansion she just inherited because the potential buyers all complain that the place is haunted. While she doesn't believe this, she is willing to pay a paranormal researcher to investigate and give it the all clear. However, it IS haunted and soon this pretty lady finds herself possessed! What's next? See it yourself.

Overall, this is a pretty good show--and perhaps it was good enough for a 7 (it is close). It kept my interest and the only complaint is the cheap look of the production--though the "Dark Shadows" TV show also looked really, really cheap as well and probably used the same sets. Worth a peek.

Dead Of Night: A DARKNESS AT BLAISEDON (TV) (Lela Swift, 1969) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 12 October 2011]

Modest but engaging 'haunted house' effort with all the typical trappings: sinister custodian, lookalike descendant, possession, séance, ghost, grave-digging, atonement over past crime, etc.

The film was the unsold pilot (running 52 minutes) for a proposed TV series, though the title was later adopted by a feature-length anthology (also for the small screen) by its creator, Dan Curtis; in fact, I acquired this along with that one and I intend the latter's viewing to follow presently. Despite the uncinematic look (redolent of early video quality), the result conjures up sufficient atmosphere and tension throughout (technically via lighting, production design, sound and music and thematically as much by way of conjecture as action scenes) to keep one solidly entertained.

The rest of the protagonists are a couple of men with a passion for and knowledge of the esoteric (one is played by ex-Sinbad Kerwin Mathews, gracefully aged, and the other an Indian) – whom the leading lady calls upon to 'investigate' her brand-new legacy. By the end of the picture, apart from the fact that she starts having mutual feelings for the hero, her companions ask the woman to join their 'business' since, during her tenure inside the house (which obviously goes up in flames at the climax), she had proved especially receptive to the supernatural!

Mediocre & Forgettable.

[AaronCapenBanner · 5/10 · 23 August 2013]

Failed pilot to a proposed TV series by Dan Curtis("The Night Stalker") features a little known cast in a story about a woman who contacts two paranormal researchers to investigate her reputedly haunted house she has inherited.

Oddly video-taped, rather than filmed, which makes the whole thing look cheap and amateurish, though script isn't too bad really, and there is some atmosphere to be had, it just fails to come to life adequately to engage the viewer, though it may have cult possibilities.

Was released on DVD as a special feature with the similarly titled "Dead Of Night" TV film from 1977, which was a more successful effort, though a TV series never developed from either project.

Give it a chance

[movielover1913 · 7 September 2011]

I know full well that the comments that have been provided by my fellow horror fans are quite accurate, but I think you should give this little piece a chance. As clichéd as it is -- and it is! -- it manages to evoke a certain atmosphere that makes it fun to watch, despite the technical issues and the predictable storyline.

For me, a movie is almost always more about image and atmosphere; the question I always ask is "does it stay with me?" There are good movies that I would never see again and there are bad movies that become guilty pleasures. Dan Curtis had something and it comes across in most of his material. This is a perfect example of a certain type of horror, the kind that we did grow up with and ultimately find funny rather than scary; but it remains atmospheric for all that.

A TV Show That Wasn't

[gavin6942 · 4/10 · 24 February 2009]

Angela Martin (soap actress Marj Dusay) hires Jonathan Fletcher (Kerwin Mathews, the dauntless hero in Columbia's classic "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad") and his assistant Sajid Rowe (Cal Bellini, an ethnic 1960s John Stamos) to investigate the haunted mansion that she's just inherited.

Another reviewer referred to this short film (actually a television pilot) as "not really that interesting" and "only a footnote" in the world of horror. I think that sums it up nicely. While this did not turn into a "Dead of Night" television series, it seems to be closely linked to "Dark Shadows".

The writer is Sam Hall (who did 315 episodes of "Dark Shadows") and the director is Lela Swift (who did 585 episodes of "Dark Shadows", as well as 589 episodes of "Ryan's Hope"). We even have great music from Bob Cobert, a Dan Curtis regular, setting the tone. This idea never really went away so much as just became repackaged.

There's some questionable things about the show... like a mummy coffin with hinges? And they have very Broadwayesque stages and acting styles, not unlike soap operas or a high school musical. Personally, I was turned off my this over-the-top approach. But really, if you have a chance to see this, I'd say go for it... once. There's nothing particularly special about this film and it's easily forgettable.

merely a footnote in horror TV history....if that

[movieman_kev · 4/10 · 29 January 2009]

This un-aired pilot for a series that never was to be,can be seen on the DVD for the "Dead of Night" TV movie. In it, Angela Martin hires Jonathan Fletcher and his assistant Sajid Rowe to investigate the haunted mansion that she's just inherited. A mansion that looks suspiciously like redecorated 'Dark Shadows' sets. It's easy to see why this failed pilot was never picked up for a series, it's not really that interesting & both "Dark Shadows" and the later ""Kolchak: The Night Stalker" were much better. This is only a footnote in 'horror' television (if it even warrants that) and in my mind deservedly so.

My Grade: C-

Nifty failed pilot

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 12 January 2016]

Suave supernatural investigator Jonathan Fletcher (a sturdy performance by Kerwin Matthews) and his easygoing assistant Sajid Rowe (likable Cal Bellini) check out a mansion owned by lovely young Angela Martin (an appealing portrayal by the fetching Marj Dusay) that's rumored to be haunted.

Director Lela Swift, working from a tight script by Dan Curtis and Sam Hall, does a capable job of crafting a spooky atmosphere, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, and makes fine use of the rundown mansion set that's full of dust and cobwebs. Matthews and Bellini make for engaging leads while character actor Thayer David lends sound support as gruff caretaker Seth Blakely. The competent cinematography boasts lots of neat zoom-ins and overhead camera shots. Bob Cobert's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. Worth a watch.

TV pilot

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 26 March 2020]

Between producer Dan Curtis, director Lela Swift, writer Sam Hall, Robert Cobert's music and Thayer David and Louis Edmonds in lead roles, this pilot for a TV series seems like you're watching an episode of Dark Shadows. Trust me, that's not a bad thing.

Angela Martin (Marj Dusay, who was on All My Children and Guiding Light) is a young woman with a haunted house named Blaisedon on her hands. Luckily, two ghost hunters named Jonathan Fletcher (Kerwin Mathews, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and Sajid Rowe (Cal Bellini, born in Singapore as Khalid Ibrahim, who enjoyed a quarter century of playing any minority that Hollywood needed; he was that ethnically ambiguous) are on the case.

It has many of the hallmarks of Dark Shadows - long forgotten relatives, ghosts, possession and the idea that nearly every housekeeper has some dark, sinister secret. The fashions are also pretty great

While the series wasn't bought by ABC, they did air it on August 26, 1969.

Strange pilot for a proposed soap has in common with Dark Shadows

[bmulkey-34260 · 8/10 · 18 July 2022]

Same creator ( Dan Curtis). One of the same directors. One of the same writers. Same stock music ( at least some of the same music). Thayer David ( who very slightly yells and overacts here a little much). A similar seance scene as some such events on DS. Similar plot. Another cast member from DS. Differences are the extremely beutiful Marj Dusay. Two other actors. Better house sets here than on DS. None of the same characters.

A little too much is crammed into this hardly hour show.

Could Have Been A Great Series

[ladymidath · 8/10 · 26 October 2023]

It is such a shame that this did not get off the ground. It would have been a great series. This pilot was actually very good. It is your typical Dan Curtis fare but that is not a criticism. He have us Dark Shadows and some of the music from that seemed to be reused here.

The acting is good and the special effects are a little dated but it is still immensely enjoyable. The story takes place in an old house that is reputed to be haunted. The young woman who has inherited the house just wants to sell it, but has to rid the place of its ghostly inhabitants, This was meant to be a polit for a series but it was never picked up which is a shame as it would have become a classic like Dark Shadows. It is worth giving it a watch.