From the Dead of Night (1989)

After having a near death experience Joanna finds her life in constant danger. She begins to believe that certain forces are trying to bring her back into the world of the dead. Her ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Gary Brandner (novel), William Bleich (teleplay)

Stars:

Lindsay Wagner, Bruce Boxleitner, Robin Thomas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lindsay Wagner	...	Joanna
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Peter Langford
Robin Thomas	...	Glen Eastman
Robert Prosky	...	Doctor Walter Hovde
Merritt Butrick	...	Rick
Peter Jason	...	Hank Jackson
Joanne Linville	...	Dr. Ann Morgan
Dani Minnick
Rita Zohar	...	Elena
Diahann Carroll	...	Maggie
Jeanne Bates	...	Nurse
John H. Evans	...	Patrolman (as John Henry Evans)
Timothy Fall	...	Kevin
Richard Fancy	...	Dr. Stanley Breedlove
Sheldon Feldner	...	Gus

Storyline

After having a near death experience Joanna finds her life in constant danger. She begins to believe that certain forces are trying to bring her back into the world of the dead. Her boyfriend Glen thinks she's crazy so Joanna turns to her ex-boyfriend, Peter. It just so happens that Peter is a strong believer in the supernatural and even teaches a course on it at a local college. Together they must confront the "walkers" so that Joanna can live to see another day.

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Plot Keywords:

supernatural power | psychotronic film | supernatural | near death experience | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Merritt Butrick's final television acting role before his death on March 17, 1989 at the age of 29. The film aired only 19 days before he died.

User Reviews

Good, but senseless changes from the novel...

I haven't seen this movie in quite some time, but I seem to recall that when I watched it, I couldn't find any mention of the fact that it was based on the book Walkers by Gary Brandner, author of The Howling novels.

The movie itself wasn't bad, but it bothered me that they felt the need to make the character of Joanna a fashion designer living in (if I remember correctly) a loft, instead of an employee of a magazine living in a small house as she was in the book. I guest the makers of this film felt that an average person wasn't glamorous enough to be the main character. Where-as the Joanna in the book comes across as the kind of person you might actually know, the Joanna of the film seems more like she stepped out of a typical prime time soap opera like the recently cancelled Titans.

Of course the changes don't end there. For some reason the filmmakers also decided to change the names of all the major characters. Peter Landau becomes Peter Langford, Glen Early becomes Glen Eastman, Dr. Warren Hovde becomes Dr. Walter Hovde. I forget what Joanna's last name was in the movie, but they probably changed that too.

If I hadn't read the book first, none of these things would matter to me, but since I did, I couldn't help wondering why they felt they needed to make so many changes to what was already a fine story.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

From the Dead of Night

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shadowplay Films, Phoenix Entertainment Group (PEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

192 min 125 min (video) 102 min (video) 144 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1