--- title: "The Night of the Hunter: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter" critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Night of the Hunter (1955): what the critics said Critics' score 86 from 18 reviews: 17 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics agree, and the agreement runs deep. Nearly every review treats Charles Laughton’s only film as a director as a singular piece of American cinema, and the praise clusters in two places: Robert Mitchum’s preacher, described again and again as charming and chilling in the same breath, and Stanley Cortez’s black-and-white photography, with its hard shadows, silhouettes and, above all, the river sequence, which several reviews pick out as the passage that makes the film dreamlike rather than merely grim. Lillian Gish’s counterweight to Mitchum gets a quieter round of approval. The reservations are few and mostly old. The one negative review, The New Yorker in 1955, finds the film uneven and heavy with allegory, while admiring the performances. The New York Times, the same week, thinks the story softens at the end. Sight and Sound is the only recent voice with a caveat, noting moments of broad comedy that hold it just short of the front rank. Otherwise the spread is narrow. ## Little White Lies — Mark Asch Rating 5/5/4. 16 January 2014. The critic calls it a welcome revival and one of classic cinema’s great uncategorisable outliers that returns triumphantly to the big screen. They single out its unique mix of Christian parable, folk tale and social concerns, along with the striking Carpenter Gothic visuals by Stanley Cortez and Lillian Gish’s performance. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-night-of-the-hunter-1955/) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 5/5. 14 January 2014. The review hails the film as cutting a clear line between innocence and depravity in Charles Laughton’s sole directorial effort. It singles out Robert Mitchum’s performance as the heart of absolute darkness and the masterful black-and-white contrasts that make it the most haunted and dreamlike of American films. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-night-of-the-hunter) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 1 December 2010. The critic deems it the greatest directorial one-off in cinema history, praising its elemental power rooted in American conflicts of sin, violence, and good versus evil. Mitchum's dark charisma and Cortez's shadows create terror, while the river sequence offers poetic allure. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-night-of-the-hunter-1798166638) ## Empire — Adam Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2011. The critic deems it one of the finest movies ever made, lauding Mitchum's magnetic performance as the preacher villain and the film's innovative direction and lyrical river sequence. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/night-hunter-2-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Dennis Lim Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2010. The review presents the film as a timeless masterpiece blending Expressionism, folk tale, and parable, noting its initial mixed reception and later acclaim. It singles out the child's-eye view and the contrast between Mitchum's villain and Gish's benevolence for praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-14-la-ca-second-look-20101114-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 1996. The critic calls it one of the greatest American films, praising its expressionistic style, timeless quality, and unforgettable villain. He highlights the visual fantasy and Mitchum's iconic performance as elements that make it enduring despite its initial failure. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-night-of-the-hunter-1955) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2001. The critic calls the film one of the most twisted evocations of godliness gone awry. Laughton's delirious compositions evoke a Grimm landscape where love wars with hate, making it perhaps the best film about spiritual perseverance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-night-of-the-hunter/) ## The Guardian — Mark Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2014. A restored version of Charles Laughton's sole directorial outing shows the movie has lost none of its haunting visual power. Unforgettably haunting images make this a perennially unsettling masterpiece. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/19/night-of-the-hunter-review-mark-kermode) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 April 1999. The critic calls the film one of the greatest American films, praising its lyrical strangeness, technical brilliance in photography, and status as a masterpiece despite its initial failure. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-also-showing-1084401.html) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 January 2014. The rereleased 1955 thriller still has the power to shock despite its flaws. It has grown in stature over the decades and is now regarded as a masterpiece of American cinema. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10579291/Night-of-the-Hunter-a-masterpiece-of-American-cinema.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 January 2014. The piece celebrates Laughton’s beautiful and terrifying masterpiece as one of the strangest and finest films of 1950s Hollywood, with its expressionist style and nightmare atmosphere. It singles out Mitchum’s performance for praise while noting occasional broad-comedy moments that keep the film just short of the very greatest achievements. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/close-perfection-night-hunter) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The review highlights the re-release of Laughton's only film as a genuine film noir and intriguing cautionary melodrama, noting Mitchum's casting as the homicidal preacher. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/night-of-the-hunter-7434018.html) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 1955. The review describes the film as a weird and intriguing horror story with stark visuals and strong performances, especially Mitchum's chilling preacher. It notes that the story's toughness softens toward the end with a message about children enduring. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/30/archives/bogeyman-plus.html) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 1955. The critic finds the film uneven, alternately artistic and arty, with too much allegory and heavy-handed contrasts. He praises the performances, especially Mitchum's, and notes it avoids usual movie banalities even if it ultimately fails. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1955/10/08/back-in-west-virginia) ## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape Rating 5/5. 15 January 2014. The critic praises the film's timeless themes of greed, faith, and manipulation, highlighting Robert Mitchum's chilling yet charismatic performance as the villainous preacher. They single out the effective use of shadows, silhouettes, and music for enhancing the horror elements. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-night-of-the-hunter-review/) ## Polygon — Oli Welsh Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 2026. The critic hails the film as an extraordinary, visionary one-and-done masterpiece that blends horror, Southern Gothic, suspense, and dreamlike fable in a unique way. He singles out its unforgettable high-contrast black-and-white imagery, especially the river sequences and expressionistic shadows, as the element that makes it unrepeatable. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/the-night-of-the-hunter-horror-movie-classic-charles-laughton-one-and-done/) ## Eye for Film — Robert Munro Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2013. The critic describes the film as a brilliant oddity and unsettling vision combining religious allegory, horror, fairytale, and noir, praising the haunting black and white photography and Mitchum's repulsive yet alluring villain performance. They note Lillian Gish's strong supporting role and lament that Laughton directed only this one film. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-night-of-the-hunter-1955-film-review-by-robert-munro) ## Paste — Jim Vorel Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 2019. The critic praises the film as a grim American fairy tale with ethereal cinematography that was misunderstood upon release but has since become an American classic. He singles out Robert Mitchum's icily seductive performance as the magnetic antagonist Rev. Harry Powell and the distinctive, dreamy visuals for particular acclaim. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/best-horror-movie-of-1955-night-of-the-hunter-robe) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter.md