As I watched The
Night of the Hunter, I thought that this sort of plot would’ve never been
filmed in this day and age, as the country’s principles are arguably no longer rooted
in Christian principles. The plot
presents a villain who’s much different than what we see in Frankenstein,
Freaks, and any other typical monster.
Similar to Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, Harry holds
remarkably high levels of power, likely because of his high standing in the
community (and notably because he is a white male). Because of this, both Charlie and Harry are thought
of as saviors amongst the families involved, similar to Hitler in Nazi Germany.
Along with Shadow of A Doubt, The Night of the Hunter introduces a
new sort of horror story: it depicts a good-looking
male demon who charms his victims until he kills them in order to get what he
wants. Furthermore, as Hollywood
progressed into the “modern monster” film, it achieved more horrific stories
that likely frighten an adult audience even more than the unsightly monsters in
earlier film. A monster can now be found
within ordinary man; turning horror film, into reality.
In the beginning
of The Night of the Hunter, with Ben’s arrest fresh in her mind, Willa
has no interest in marrying again, until she is easily convinced by Harry,
Icey, and Walt, that she needs a husband.
Her naivety about Harry’s character quickly results in a disastrous
marriage; however, Willa believes that Harry’s intentions remain pure and
holy. On their wedding night, Harry refuses
to partake in sexual intercourse. Willa is
disappointed and confused at first, but she is easily convinced that Harry’s
ideology is correct: it’s better to be
“clean” than to give into human desire. Harry’s
ability to persuade her that man shouldn’t delve into sexual pleasure, denying
her sexuality and her innate desires, is purely villainous. God gifted people with sex to enjoy as a
married couple, (1 Corinthians 7:3-5) while Harry deems sex as a sinful act
that can easily entangle men. Although
this is true to an extent, (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5), Harry distorts the meaning
of sexual pleasure in a marriage. This
scene horrifies and disgusts the audience!
As a woman, I would be shocked and frightened if on my wedding night, my
husband wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
Willa’s excitement quickly turns into sadness, but then she seems to
quickly understand and accept that she hasn’t been totally focused on God,
encouraging even more revulsion amongst the audience. Although Harry preaches about not delving
into manly pleasure, clearly he partakes in a different sort of pleasure; that
is, murder. Yikes! This scene clearly defines Harry as more
monstrous than the nightmare-like monsters shown in earlier Hollywood films.
At the end of the
film, the audience is further horrified with Harry’s appeal to the family. The parallel between Harry and Ben (as father
figures) causes John to throw away every hope of the money being
concealed. Although John is completely
aware of Harry’s intentions throughout the entire film, John’s flashback of Ben’s
arrest by the police overtakes his passion toward remaining faithful to Ben’s
request. Unfortunately, John finally
gives into the villain, leaving Mrs. Cooper the only character with the ability
to refuse Harry’s power.
There’s no wonder
that Hitler rose to power. The town
fancied Harry in The Night of the Hunter, just as Germany fell at its
feet for Hitler. Willa, Pearl, Icey, and
Walt, fresh from the tragedy of Ben Harper, were looking for a savior to fill
Ben’s place. Who better to take that
place than a (supposedly) God fearing man?
In The Night of the Hunter, Hollywood successfully achieved
horror outside of the fantastical monster realm. The story of The Night of
the Hunter is more realistic than the fantastical tales of Frankenstein
and Freaks. With Hollywood moving
from fantasy into reality, it successfully frightens the audience even more by achieving
horror outside of a whimsical monster realm.
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