User reviews

We actually saw this on original release in 1971 in the old downtown Tucson theater. We walked a few blocks home to the delightfully serene ex-mortuary we rented during our college years and were compelled to discuss it for hours. Such was the emotional pull. After seeing Max in a few more intriguing films as this, he became my favorite actor for many years. He really knew how to pick clever roles. Like Jack Nicholson! Or, Michael Caine for a British actor. Along with the compelling interplay between him and old pro Trevor Howard, it makes this movie a must see for fans of the off-beat. His character, as the dark plot evolved, begged the question: "Is he crazy-or genius?" Definitely, an underrated and under-viewed film for many years.

I guess that if Ingmar Bergman had ever made an out-and-out horror film, THE NIGHT VISITOR is what it would have looked like. This obscure USA/Sweden co-production brings together two of Bergman's favourite actors (Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullman) in a tale of madness, desperation, revenge, and sinister murder. It's quite a vicious film even though the on-screen violence is limited and the viewer never sees much of what's actually taking place.

The film's chilly, snowbound northern setting (Jutland) is as much a character as the cast themselves, and the story certainly has a unique feel to it: slow, stately, very much like an art-house film, but with dark revenge/thriller plotting. I liked it; there's style to spare, and some ingenious situations as we see Von Sydow's character putting the impossible into action.

The film is also notable for an exemplary cast. Aside from the Swedish luminaries, we get a real old timer as the detective (Trevor Howard) alongside popular Swedish actor Per Oscarsson, and supporting roles for two Hammer star Brits, Rupert Davies and Andrew Keir. THE NIGHT VISITOR certainly isn't for all tastes, but it's an odd film indeed: quiet and yet spellbinding at the same time.

A man is running away from a large brick building surrounded by a high wall. He's running across rocks and snow in his underwear and boots. He sneaks into a farmhouse and steals some odd items, and sneaks into another house where he kills a woman. It's not the last person he'll kill either; he's trying to frame someone, but why - and how is he getting away from the place that establishes his alibi?

This is a very good movie. As a horror movie, it doesn't have a very high body count, or much gore, and there's no on screen violence - it cuts away from that. Some horror movies benefit from that, some don't; this one doesn't need it. The locations: isolated locations surrounded by snowy fields are very nice to look at. Acting is very good, as is the musical score by Mancini.

Definitely deserves to be better-known. I'm surprised some critics didn't like it. Some didn't like that the movie gives some things away early on that could have been withheld. I don't agree; not every movie that has secrets needs to save them for a big reveal at the end. Others felt that the characters' motivations weren't established. I can only suppose they weren't listening to the dialog, because that was fully discussed.

Atmospherically set in freezing Jutland, this clever revenge drama starts slowly but will grab your interest as Salem's plan unfolds. The acting is good and the film is well-handled by director Laslo Benedek. Worth a viewing.

If you enjoy pacey, fast-moving horror stories, then I would suggest that 'The Night Visitor' will not entertain you in any way. I am fan of slow-burning chillers, and the crawling pace even made me wish the story would hurry up a little. There are times when watching this seems to last longer than the 105 minute running time.

But I'd advise you to stick with it.

It is a pleasure to see such legendary veteran faces as Trevor Howard, Rupert Davies, Andrew Keir, Gretchen Franklin and Max Von Sydow, and they don't so much liven things up here as lend their weight to the grim surroundings and bleak locations, all beautifully filmed by Laslo Benedek.

There's also a darkly playful twist at the end, which follows a series of other twists that will have you smiling wryly.

Per Oscarsson and Liv Ullman (as Anton and Ester Jenks respectively) also turn in wonderfully measured performances. Such fascinating characters are what carries the narrative here, and the film is as watchable as it is because of them. There is similarity to the works of Ingmar Bergman here, not least because two of his 'muses' are featured here. The attention to detail, the methodical story structure, and the stifling bleakness, are all representative of his style.

I ended up enjoying this very much. It is easy to become entranced by the frozen surroundings, the cold and unfriendly conditions, the austere buildings. If you allow yourself to fall under their spell, the leisurely pacing ceases to become a problem. My score would be a chilly 7 out of 10.

This movie has plot holes large enough to fly a 747 through. For one example, The Flash could not run as fast and as far as Max von Sydow apparently can, in freezing cold and wind, wearing only his skivvies. Exactly how far is it supposed to be from the asylum to the farm to the town?! For another, Trevor Howard, who is portrayed as a Lt. Columbo but is about as competent as Inspector Clouseau, never thinks to check for footprints in the snow. But it's fast paced and the acting is very good, although how the actors managed to keep straight faces is beyond me.

A tense, tight, little thriller which is more of a duel of wits between a psychopath and a police inspector. In the plot there is no mystery whatsoever about who did what to whom. Above all, it is about demonstrating the ability to kill, take revenge and do justice: while the psychopath plans every detail to get his way, the inspector is simply looking for small flaws in the execution.

Excellent performances by Max von Sydow and Trevor Howard as the killer and the inspector. It is a pity that an actor as good as Per Oscarsson (unforgettable in Arne Mattson's "Vaxdockan" (The Doll), Vilgot Sjöman's "Syskonbädd 1782" (My Sister, My Love) and Henning Carlsen's "Sult" (Hunger), for which he won the Best Actor award in Cannes), with a equally key role, was dubbed with an American accent, far from his excellence in acting. Liv Ullmann is effective, but wasted.

Produced by Mel Ferrer, with effective music by Henry Mancini, it was also known as Salem, Come to Supper. Among the actors who were thought for the role of the psychopath, there was talk of Steve McQueen and Christopher Lee; but I can't imagine anyone other than Sydow in the part. With McQueen it would have been an action film; with Lee, a terror movie. Some sources credited Panama as a co-producing country... it must have been one of those 'Panama Papers' enterprises, created to avoid paying taxes...

Definitely worth a look.

I remember catching 'The Night Visitor' on UK late night TV in the late 70's. At that time I'd not heard of it but was hooked from the outset. Many of the haunting images stayed with me and recently I got all nostalgic and started searching for either video or DVD releases of several lost gems from the early 70's, amongst them 'And Soon The Darkness', 'I Start Counting' and of course 'The Night Visitor'. Success!!! as all titles were available on DVD (some are deleted from obscure labels but all frequently pop up on Ebay for reasonable amounts). Strangely, having caught up with several long forgotten film or TV shows from my childhood, most have been disappointing, however 'The Night Visitor' retains it's menacing, almost surreal air and Max Von Sydow carries the film with great support from Trevor Howard (who seems to be setting the tone for his later appearance in 1973's 'The Offence') and I even recalled Arthur Hewlett as the prison guard with the gnome-like features. All in all a MUST for any Von Sydow fan and any lover of quirky psychological thrillers, low on budget but high on plot and intrigue.

With its intriguing premise, an illustrious cast of actors, and a truly creepy score from the great Henry Mancini, THE NIGHT VISITOR should have been at least a minor classic of the thriller genre. Unfortunately, an underdeveloped story takes it down a few notches. I think the supporting characters could have used a bit more development than they get, for instance. However, the wintry atmosphere creates a lovely desolate tone and it is fun to watch the cat and mouse game between Max von Sydow and Trevor Howard.

The Night Visitor is a thriller set in Sweden. Director László Benedek reimagines this a psychological movie made by Ingmar Bergman.

Salem (Max Von Sydow) has escaped from his asylum, runs across the snowy landscape in his underpants and kills his sister Emma in their farmhouse. Salem arranges it so that his other sister's husband, a doctor would be framed. Salem then returns back to his cell at the asylum.

It is revenge Both Dr Anton Jenks and his wife Esta (Liv Ullmann) framed Salem for the murder of a farmhand a few years earlier. His lawyer got Salem to plead guilty by reason of insanity.

The local inspector (Trevor Howard) keeps an open mind despite the evidence against Dr Jenks. The problem is just how does Salem manage to escape from his cell.

There is a prolonged sequence as to Salem ingeniously leaving his cell. He must have some endurance to get from the castle to his farm on foot with hardly anything on in the snow.

This is an odd movie, the ending is bird brained. There is a lack of forensics. No one catches Salem's footprints in the snow and he would be covered in blood after some of the murders. It is an early example of Scandi noir.

I wasn't expecting much when I saw this movie some years ago, but was I pleasantly surprised. This is a highly underrated suspense movie that is one of my favorites. It grabs you from the very opening ("why is that man jogging through the snowy countryside in his underwear?") and delivers a clever plot that deals with a series of murders with a Columboesque twist - you're shown who's doing them at the beginning, yet you're also shown that it's physically impossible for him to be committing them. The story then involves why he's doing them, the cat and mouse interaction between him and the police inspector investigating the cases, and the amazing way he accomplishes the seemingly impossible. Does he get away with it? You'll have to see for yourself. This one won't disappoint mystery fans.

"The Night Visitor" has to be seen to be believed...and even then. This Laszlo Benedek film was long considered to be lost and it's easy to see why it disappeared. The Night Visitor of the title is Max von Sydow who moves in and out of the local asylum (don't ask) where he has been incarcerated so he take his revenge on those responsible for putting him there. These include Liv Ullmann and Per Oscarsson while Trevor Howard, looking like he would rather be anywhere else, runs around as the sceptical police investigator investigating all the killings. Watching this, two words kept coming to mind - balderdash and cods-wallop. The sooner this gets lost again the better.

It has been thirty years since I first saw this title, at a drive-in movie theater, with my girlfriend. She and I both had eyes glued to the screen. The "feeling" of the setting still lingers and we could almost experience the cold. But what I remember the most is that The Night Visitor gave new meaning to the old line,

"a little birdy told me...".

Superb direction and wonderfully twisting ending!

Salem (Max von Sydow) escapes from an insane asylum. He feels that he was framed for a murder by his sister Ester (Liv Ullmann) and her husband Anton (Per Oscarsson). There could be a parrot witness. He breaks into their home and frames Anton for a murder. Police inspector (Trevor Howard) investigates but Salem is still in the asylum.

As a story, it has some interesting aspects. As a horror, it has no scares. It could have worked great as a mystery but it reveals everything right off the bat. The escape is interesting without being compelling. He's already done it so it's not that intense that we get to see it. It would be better to not show the reveals right away. It should be a mystery until the reveal of his escape. The acting is great. Max von Sydow is nothing but terrific. This is fine but it could have been great.

I tell you it's to no avail, if you're looking out for a trail! No, no, no, there are no tracks in the snow!

Well, this is Max von Sydow playing Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump. With an axe. As it always was supposed to be.

It's a childish film, with childish cunning on Max von Sydow's part and lack thereof on the police's, much to the feeling of superiority (no, no, no, there are no tracks in the snow) on the childish viewer's.

Somekind of dark fairy tale about what happens to people who would betray childhood memories by selling the farm.

Max Von Sydow brilliantly portrays Salem, a patient at an insane asylum. The chilling cinematography of some guy in his underwear running around in the chilling snow fields makes this thriller even more chilling. But wait till you hear the chilling score by Henry Mancini. He wisely uses de-tuned piano notes that set a perfect mood.

I do not really understand peoples high praise of this movie. Of course I can see why some people can like it but that they see it as a masterpiece is out of my understanding.

First of all I did not really find the story itself interesting. I have seen much better both revenge and murder movies from both before and after. max Von Sydow that I normally like I found dull in this role. Only bright light for me was when Trevor Howard was on the screen. The rest of the time was mostly dull.

This guy Max Von Sydow plays is apparently some kind superman that can get from a closed institution back and forth without leaving footprints in the snow or freezing even though he run far in underwear.

The ending was maybe supposed to be funny or something. I just sat and stared and thought that is stupid.

Well it seems like fans of Ingmar Bergman loves this movie. But if not Ingmar Bergman fan then I would recommend skipping it. it is not the worst movie you can find but I found it rather dull and far fetched.

I saw this for the first time recently after reading Coventry's review. If not for Coventry's review, i wudnt have stumbled upon this atmospheric n fascinating film.

Salem (Max von Sydow), a mental asylum inmate escapes from the asylum in the dead of winter n reaches his family farm, now run by his younger sisters n the husband of the elder sis. Salem kills all the people he believes responsible for his unfair conviction and subsequent confinement. The film has oodles of atmosphere, the frozen locations, the sparsely populated area n the freezing n gushing wind. Salem's escape plan is meticulously shown and viewers will root for his character.

I think Law Abiding Citizen (one of my fav revenge thriller) borrowed from this film.





Some may wonder why Salem killed Brit Torrens. Salem's alibi in the case was Brit Torens, a young lover he was with when the farmhand was killed. Unfortunately, Brit did not speak up in court to clear Salem, instead protecting her own virginal reputation at the cost of his freedom.

Max Von Sydow plays Salem (cool name), a man convicted of murder and who sneaks out of his asylum cell at night to take revenge on those who got him wrongly put away. Trevor Howard is the detective on the case. This is a Swedish English language movie, despite a good cast the dialogue from some of the Scandinavian actors sounded a bit wooden, I think it would have been better either dubbed into English or have subtitles. Most of the film is set at night but it was plainly filmed during the day. Set during winter there is snow on the ground, this does make the film look very bleak, as does the howling wind and the looming asylum walls. Talking of which Salem's ability to escape and negotiate a 100 ft drop do stretch the imagination, and his stunt double sticks out like a sore thumb. Nice to see Gretchen Franklin amongst the cast, she played Ethel in the long running BBC soap "Eastenders". I recorded a screening of this movie on British TV, the print quality was poor, However it did add to the bleakness. I found the film to be long and slow in places, it does build to a nail biting end but the conclusion is almost comical. I liked the story line, it is a dark and suspenseful thriller, a bit of a curiosity but ultimately it has flaws which let it down somewhat.