Rating: 
Summary: In A Class By Itself
Review: The word masterpiece only begins to describe the experience of watching this film. At turns comic, horrifying, and beautiful, this is one of the great achievements in film. Phantasmagorical would be the right term to use, and I'm sure it's been used many times before to describe it. A fairy tale with one of the greatest realizations of a serial killer on film. Please, try and see it.
Rating:
Summary: Nod to Stanley Cortez
Review: I have read many reviews on Amazon in which people have praised this film's black and white cinematography, but I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned the name of cinematographer: Stanley Cortez, who also shot Orson Wells' The Magnificent Ambersons. The two films certainly resemble one another, with their use of deep-focus photography, the luscious shadows, and even the use, in both films, of an "old-fashioned" iris shot. We of course tend to praise the director's vision in films as idiosyncratic as The Magnificent Ambersons and Night of the Hunter, but the common link of Stanley Cortez shows just how much is owed to the cameraman.
Rating: 
Summary: OOHH... chills
Review: Well, first off... I don't know any of the actors, don't know anything about directors, and I am not a classic film buff. But I did become unusually intrigued by this movie. While the first half was somewhat annoying because of the intended theatrical acting, the movie becomes oddly intense when the mother is murdered. I don't know why I was so into this movie... except that I enjoyed it. It was like a wooden rollercoaster (you know... old.. but it still has great kicks). The preacher was so scary... I practically screamed when he was inches away from the children... oh.. the children... they are so cute that I can't help but worry for them so much... i don't want the evil man to get them... and... well.. anyway. I thought it was pretty cool... and I figured out that the acting was intentionally over-dramatic, and the scenery was intentionally unrealistic... and I totally enjoyed it. I was completely disturbed. GREAT.
Rating:
Summary: it created the cliches, so show some respect.
Review: yeah, it is a little dated. we've seen the tattooed knuckle thing in'do the right thing' (sorta) and on the cover of 'blizzard of ozz'. and mitchum, gleefully chewing up the scenery as a really creepy southern minister, can often sound kind of hokey when he talks like paul robeson.i can see why someone might hate this film,'night of the hunter' is loaded with fodder for thought and the eye, even when it straddles the fine line between expressiveness and cheesy gimmickry. the seemingly over-the-top elements (like the bombastic, die brueke by way of 'caligari'-inspired sets), viewed fairly in their historical context, are really quite daring and powerful. who can forget the image of willa's hair below the water, so listlessly drifting amongst the weeds in the refracted muddy sunlight? i think it's fair to mention that 'hunter' was laughton's first (and only) directorial effort. flamboyant and daring, 'hunter' is a first film like any other in its excesses and pretenses at experimentation. yet, we would be remiss to chalk one of the most visually and thematically daring films of the fifties up to nineties-era cheesiness. harry powell has a lot more depth than the faulkner characters that nick cave had appropriated for his early albums. sexual repression, greed and faith continually distort and feed back on one another in the reverend, making him a fascinating (conjectural) character study; his explosions seem inevitable, but the flash of his switchblade is nonetheless unsettling. it is, at least, if you're willing to suspend your disbelief and get past its 'datedness'. if you don't that's okay, too. there are some admittedly weak moments here, especially the odd animals-in-their-elements scenes. i can relate - really, what's with the frog and the turtle and the fox shots? and let's not forget the wooden performances turned in by the kids. and that dodgy 'they flew away' song.... but there are definitely better choices if you're going to blockbuster for some 'so bad, it's hysterical' ammunition. then again, if that's why you watch films, i wonder if you've bothered reading this far.
Rating:
Summary: ...enchanting...
Review: Put realism aside- this film captures the imagination, and thereby earns a place in your heart. Its emotional appeal is overwhelming. That's why it successfully suspends the viewer's disbelief. Watching Night of the Hunter, I didn't care if it lacked finesse in it's special effects. It's a period piece, guys! It's a directorial masterpiece: all of the pieces fit, so to speak. As an atmospheric effort it ranks up there with Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast. It must be cherished for what it is, not criticized for what it was never intended to be. I first saw this when I was five years old. Seeing it now, at age 42, I see flaws, but the voice and eye expressions of Robert Mitchum still terrorize me. What a great flick!
Rating:
Summary: Seductive malevolence
Review: Robert Mitchum does an outstanding acting job - his sexually repressed, pychopathic villian is somehow seductive at the same time. He's never been better. Don't expect realism, though - the film is heavily allegorical. Charles Laughton does so much with images -- note the jacknife blade ripping through Mitchum's coat pocket when he's watching the stripper in the film's opening, also the children playing hide and seek and stumbling upon a dead woman on the cellar steps. This film is totally chilling and totally effective.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Wonderful
Review: If you buy no other movie from this period, BUY THIS ONE! It is black and white, but feels full color! Fabulous, simply fabulous! Wonderful "scarey story".....
Rating:
Summary: MESMERIZING
Review: In 1955, actor Charles Laughton stepped behind the camera as director for the only time in his career, and forged this dark, polished jewel that uncannily tapped into the American collective gestalt. With its visual style rooted in the imagery of childhood dreams, and astonishing set-pieces of lighting, sound and editing, the film takes on the quality of a living nightmare. 'Night of the Hunter' contains a handful of iconic cinematic images that once viewed, will never be forgotten. If you've seen it, you know what they are. Just close your eyes right now and there they are. If you haven't seen it, prepare to be astounded, awed, and just plain creeped out. Leaning...... leaning....
Rating: 
Summary: Night of the Hunter - Disapointing
Review: After reading the good reviews on this page I thought I'd check out this movie only to be disappointed by what I watched. I found the acting to be poor, with barely believable characters. The plot was thin with sickeningly moralistic overtones. This is by far the worst film I have seen in a long time. A waste of time and money (just my opinion folks!)
Rating:
Summary: NIGHTMARE AND DREAM
Review: If you love -- really love -- movies, you will find The Night of The Hunter bewitching. It transmutes from a devilish terror/suspense character study (Robert Mitchum is bone-chilling as the Preacher) into a pseudo-fantasmagoric religious fable. The explicit nature of the sexual tension and secrets of these characters, from Shelley Winters' terrifying transformation, to the images of abuse, is really mind-blowing, given the date of this film's initial release. And too, the dreamy, intoxicating river ride, shared by the two luminous and spell-binding children, evokes both German fairy tales and Greek tragedy. Lillian Gish arrives not a moment too soon, and again transforms this movie into a redemptive tale of hope and resilience. Her haven for the misbegotten children of the world transforms them, and then us, into believers. Listen for the creepy hymn -- which becomes a battle of will between Mitchum and Gish. Haunting and classic.
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