Villian(s)  Undead

Actor(s):  John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus, Henderson Forsythe

Brief Description  Deathdream (1974), originally released as Dead of Night, is a seminal psychological horror film directed by Bob Clark and written by Alan Ormsby. It serves as a haunting, allegorical critique of the Vietnam War's domestic aftermath. Heavily inspired by W.W. Jacobs’ 1902 classic short story "The Monkey's Paw," the film uses the supernatural to explore grief, trauma, and a family's desperate denial. Notably, it features the very first screen makeup and special effects work of horror legend Tom Savini.

Plot:
The film opens in the middle of a dense combat zone. Young American soldier Andy Brooks (Richard Backus) is shot through the chest by a sniper. As his eyes glaze over, a voice-over of his mother, Christine, echoes in despair: "You can't die, Andy... You promised." Back home in the quiet suburban town of Brooksville, his parents, Charles (John Marley) and Christine (Lynn Carlin), along with his sister, Cathy (Anya Ormsby), are sitting down for dinner. An army messenger arrives at the door with a telegram stating that Andy has been killed in action. While Charles and Cathy break down, Christine falls into manic denial, aggressively insisting the military made a mistake and that her son is alive. Later that exact same night, a pale, rigidly stiff Andy walks through the front door. The family is completely overjoyed, believing the telegram was a bureaucratic error. However, it immediately becomes clear that Andy is profoundly changed. He is completely uncommunicative, cold, and displays a vacant, dead-eyed stare. He refuses to eat or drink, shrinks away from daylight, and spends his hours aggressively sitting in a rocking chair in his pitch-black bedroom.

Unbeknownst to his family, Andy is actually a reanimated ghoul. On his way into town, he hitched a ride with a trucker and brutally murdered him to drain his blood. Andy does not crave flesh like a traditional zombie, but instead functions like a vampire; he must inject fresh human blood directly into his veins using a syringe to stave off rapid physical decomposition. Tensions in the household boil over when Andy snaps and strangles the family dog in front of neighborhood children after the animal senses his undead nature. Charles becomes deeply suspicious and alarmed by his son's erratic behavior. Christine, however, retreats further into delusion, fiercely defending Andy and masking his disturbing symptoms from the rest of the town. Charles contacts the local physician, Dr. Philip Allman (Henderson Forsythe), who agrees to examine the boy. During a deeply unsettling home checkup, Dr. Allman realizes Andy has no pulse, cold skin, and a completely static chest. Before the doctor can alert anyone, Andy corners him and brutally murders him to harvest his blood. Later that evening, Andy goes on a double date with his sister Cathy, his unsuspecting pre-war girlfriend Joanne (Jane Daly), and her friend.

By this point, Andy’s physical state is decaying heavily. His skin is sloughing off, and his human facade is entirely breaking down. During the date, his blood-deprived psychosis takes over, leading him to murder Joanne and attack her friend in a blind panic. Pursued by Charles and the local police, a crumbling Andy flees back to his house. Charles, completely heartbroken and recognizing that his son has become a monster, confronts Andy in his bedroom with a pistol. Seeing his son's fully decayed, skeletal visage, Charles loses his nerve to shoot him. Overcome by grief and guilt, Charles retreats to another room and commits suicide off-screen. Christine remains unwavering in her maternal devotion. She helps the rotting Andy escape into her car as sirens wail. Andy drives them to the local Brooksville Cemetery, where he uses his bare, decaying hands to dig a shallow grave next to a tombstone. He collapses into the dirt and finally passes away permanently. The film ends on a devastating note as police lights surround the graveyard, and Christine kneels over her son's makeshift grave, weeping, "Andy's home. Some boys never come home."