With 1962’s Night Creatures, we find another entry from the “glory years” of Hammer Studios. This one takes us to the English coast circa the late 18th century.

When authorities suspect smuggling in a seaside location, they decide to take action. Royal Navy Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) leads his crew to investigate.

As Collier and company check out the situation, they hear stories of terrifying “marsh phantoms” that allegedly haunt the area. This sends them down a mix of unusual paths as well as confrontations with local vicar Reverend Dr. Blyss (Peter Cushing).

Perhaps I should alter that synopsis to refer to supposedly unusual paths, as Creatures never becomes all that creative or compelling. A lot of this happens because it fails to muster mystery,

Although the movie posits potential supernatural elements, it becomes abundantly clear that the “phantoms” come from human sources. Spoiler? Not really, as the movie fails to paint the titular beings in a manner that will lead anyone to believe they act as actual ghosts or spirits.

This feels like a mistake. A version of Creatures that leaves open the possibility of a non-mortal threat sounds pretty interesting.

Without that as an option, Creatures turns into more of a character drama than a thriller or horror flick. Though it sells us on the notion of the phantoms, the movie’s inability to present them as a compelling story domain acts as a notable problem.

If the movie can’t sustain the spirits as a real threat and/or mystery, it loses a lot of purpose. In its stead, we wind up with a fairly dull story of smugglers who try to stave off the long arm of the law.

In theory, that could turn into a decent narrative, but the manner in which Creatures teases us with the “phantoms” becomes a consistent issue. Had the movie simply stuck with the smugglers vs. authorities plot, it could’ve worked, but because it shoehorns in the “supernatural” side, it becomes something of a mess.

At least Creatures doesn’t wear out its welcome. A tidy 82 minutes, it flies by quickly enough to ensure we never become bored.

The actors bolster matters as well. Cushing offers a typically solid performance, and Oliver Reed displays his usual roguish charms, even while saddled with an awkward wig.

None of this overcomes the movie’s natural lack of real tension or suspense. Creatures offers an awkward attempt to spice up a basic pirate tale with supernatural elements that doesn’t connect.

Night Creatures appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Billed as a “new 2022 scan from the interpositive”, perhaps the Blu-ray represented Creatures as well as possible, but it became an erratic image.

Sharpness became one of the up and down aspects of the presentation, as more than a few soft shots materialized. Though most of the film brought pretty good delineation, it could go oddly fuzzy at times.

I saw no jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also created no concerns, and with a lot of grain, I didn’t suspect overuse of noise reduction.

Creatures opted for a subdued palette, with an emphasis on blues. A few more dynamic hues occasionally emerged, but these dominated. The transfer replicated these hues in an acceptable manner, though I thought the tones could feel a little drab at times.

Blacks were pretty dark and deep, while shadows seemed acceptable, though day for night shots displayed less than strong imagery. As mentioned, this might present the source accurately, but it resulted in ups and downs.

Oddly, the Blu-ray claims that Creatures boasts a 2.00:1 ratio. That made no sense for a film from 1962 and proves incorrect, as we get the more logical 1.85:1 – or perhaps nearer to 1.78:1 as framed here, but close enough.

Creatures came with a wholly mediocre DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack. Speech tended to seem somewhat distant and bland, without great naturalism, though the lines remained fully intelligible.

Music showed more oomph, but this also meant a shrill quality at times. Effects followed suit, as they tended to be lackluster and occasionally a little distorted. For its age, the track was acceptable but it never became better than meh.

As we shift to extras, we open with an audio commentary from film historian Bruce Hallenbeck. He brings a running, screen-specific look at the project’s roots and development, competition from Disney, cast and crew, sets and locations, various production notes and the movie’s reception/legacy.

Expect a solid historical commentary here, as Hallenbeck touches on the expected topics. He digs into the material well and makes this an informative piece.

Some featurettes follow, and Pulp Friction goes for 22 minutes, seven seconds. It brings notes from author/historian Kim Newman.

“Friction” discusses the Captain Clegg character in text and his move to the movie screen. Newman gives us a succinct history of this subject.

The Hammer Must Fall runs 28 minutes, nine seconds and delivers remarks from author/historian Jonathan Rigby. He covers actor Peter Cushing’s involvement in the project and aspects of his career. Like Newman, Rigby provides a quality examination of his chosen topic.

Next comes Brian With Bowie, a seven-minute, 56-second chat with special effects assistant Brian Johnson. He discusses his work on the film in this short but useful clip.

The Making of Captain Clegg spans 32 minutes, two seconds. Written by Wayne Kinsey and narrated by John Carson, this show discusses the movie’s roots and production.

Inevitably, the program repeats material from the commentary and other pieces. Nonetheless, we get a tight little history here, and “Making” offers enough new insights to merit a look.

With The Mossman Legacy, we get a six-minute, 55-second piece that looks at carriages owned by George Mossman that appeared in Hammer movies. Kinsey takes us on a quick tour in this moderately interesting piece that probably works best for Hammer diehards.

In addition to the film’s US trailer, we end with an Image Gallery. A running compilation, it features 48 elements that mix publicity stills and advertising. It becomes a good collection, although I’d prefer a traditional stillframe package.

Despite hints of supernatural terror, Night Creatures instead becomes a pretty simple tale of smugglers. A good cast gives it some juice but the movie fails to bring much real suspense or intrigue. The Blu-ray offers mediocre visuals and audio as well as an appealing roster of bonus materials. Creatures never quite bores, but it also doesn’t connect in an particularly compelling way.