I Watch Films: Night Of The Eagle

Night Of The Eagle

A black and white horror film based on a Fritz Lieber novel, and with a Richard Matheson screenplay. Norman Taylor is a psychology professor in a medical school, who firmly dismisses any superstition. He is a great success and is widely expected to be given a promotion. His wife is practicing obeah, or a movie version of it she learned in Jamaica, and is thrown into a panic when she discovers a poppet. Taylor discovers a huge number of protective magical devices and has her destroy them.

Almost immediately things go wrong. A female student accuses him of raping her, her boyfriend threatens him with a gun, someone breaks into their house. His wife decides the only way to save him is to sacrifice herself.

There’s a rather confused finale with fire, swooping eagles, an envious colleague and hypnosis from an audio tape. One or two good jokes too.

Watch This: For a creepy horror film with a slightly more coherent idea of magical practice and hypnotic suggestions than most
Don’t Watch This: It’s just about a man insisting his wife get rid of the things that are protecting them