Dark of the Night

Frumpy redhead Meg (Heather Bolton) is a single Plain Jane who purchases a used Jaguar while visiting her mother and, on her way back home, encounters both a strange hitchhiker (David Letch) and the ghost of the car's former owner, a young woman who was brutally murdered inside that very vehicle. Initially frightened of the ghostly car, it eventually helps her fend off the hitchhiker when he shows up looking for her. Director, co-scripter and co-producer Gaylene Preston keeps her film entertaining from start to finish and there's a unique feminist stamp on this atypical ghost story that gives it an edge over other similar films. Though slow moving, this adaptation of a story by Elizabeth Jane Howard (originally titled MR. WRONG) has some eerie moments, suspense and thoughtful dialogue, and it's all anchored by a winning performance from Bolton, who's a refreshingly non-Hollywood type of leading lady.