Night Gallery episode review — 3.7 — Fright Night

Original air date: December 10, 1972
Director: Jeff Corey
Writer: Robert Malcolm Young (story by Kurt van Elting)

Rating: 8/10

Season 3 really hasn’t been going so well so far, in my opinion, so we were definitely due for a solid, frightening episode. And we got it with one of the strongest Night Gallery efforts ever.

“Fright Night” may just be your average haunted house setup — a married couple moves into a house whose previous owner died with a warning not to touch or move a particular trunk — but the execution here is very unique. There are some really neat almost psychedelic sequences with interesting camerawork.

And while the horror is ultimately what we’re here for, there is some character drama, too.

It’s pretty neat to see this marriage be significantly challenged before our eyes by this house. Both Stuart Whitman and Barbara Anderson do some fine work here.