The Night of the Hunter Screening

About

Before it was considered one of the great American films, The Night of the Hunter was a dark little story born in West Virginia. Based on the 1953 novel by West Virginia author Davis Grubb, Charles Laughton’s haunting 1955 film takes place along the Ohio River in and around Moundsville, West Virginia, the town where Grubb was born. The story draws inspiration from the real-life crimes of West Virginia serial killer Harry Powers, giving the film an especially eerie connection to the place we call home. Robert Mitchum stars as Harry Powell, a murderous preacher whose knuckles bear the words LOVE and HATE as he terrorizes a widow and hunts for the money hidden by her children. With its stark black-and-white photography, strange dreamlike imagery, shadowy river landscapes, and genuinely unsettling atmosphere, The Night of the Hunter feels less like a conventional thriller and more like a nightmare disguised as a Southern Gothic fairy tale. After being poorly received when it was released, The Night of the Hunter was gradually rediscovered and is now widely regarded as a masterpiece. The American Film Institute also includes it among its greatest thrillers, while the film’s Reverend Harry Powell ranks among AFI’s greatest screen villains. It’s also one of those movies that makes you wonder how something this strange ever got made in Hollywood in the first place. Come see one of the most beautiful, unsettling, and downright spooky films ever made, and one with a distinctly West Virginia story at its heart. Sunday, November 15 Doors: 3:30 PM Film: 4:00 PM

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