This thriller bombed so hard the director quit but I think it's a masterpiece — stream it now on Prime Video

Some thrillers only need a great villain to grab you from the start, and "The Night of the Hunter" features one of the absolute best. Directed by Charles Laughton in his only turn behind the camera, this 1955 masterpiece initially bombed, crushed by brutal reviews that stopped Laughton’s directing career before it could take off. Adapted from Davis Grubb’s novel, it’s a film that was criminally ahead of its time. Now streaming on Prime Video, it’s your chance to give this forgotten classic the love it always deserved.

Set in Depression-era West Virginia, the story follows Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who robs a bank, kills two men, and hides the loot with his young son, John, making the boy swear to keep the secret from everyone, including his mother. While awaiting execution, Ben shares a cell with Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a chilling traveling preacher. Once Ben meets his fate, Powell hits the road to target the widow, hunt down the cash, and set off a series of sinister mind games.

If you’re looking for an atmospheric thriller that unsettles you without cheap gore or convoluted twists, this hidden gem is worth digging out of the massive Prime Video library.

What is 'The Night of the Hunter' about?

Ben Harper (Peter Graves) robs a bank in Depression-era West Virginia and kills two men doing it. He returns home with $10,000 and the police minutes behind him, and he hides the money where nobody will think to look. That's when he makes his son John swear to keep the secret from everyone, including his mother.

Ben is sentenced to hang afterward. In prison, he shares a cell with Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a self-styled traveling preacher. Powell has already killed several widows and considers it holy work. He listens to Ben talk in his sleep and comes away with a town name, a wife's name, and the certainty that a fortune is waiting for him.

Powell walks out of prison and into that town, where he introduces himself as a man of God who knew the children's father. The neighbors adore him. Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) marries him. The only two people who see through him are the children, and one of them knows exactly where the money is. Will they fold, and will Powell get the fortune?

Why I recommend streaming 'The Night of the Hunter'

It's a classic set-up: an adult who fools the whole town, except for the children. "The Night of the Hunter" is that experience in movie form, and is part of what makes it such a satisfying and occasionally unsettling watch.

Charles Laughton was an actor, not a director, and he made this movie and never got another chance, though really, it makes no sense why. It's a Southern Gothic tale that looks wholly unlike anything else from 1955, in many different ways, from shot to shot. It's almost like a thriller created in modern times with a filter to give it the old-timey aesthetic that makes it so memorable.

"The Night of the Hunter" is scary in a way without relying on cheapness. There's no gore in it and barely any blood. It's just a genuinely frightening movie about children who can't get an adult to believe them, so if you've been there and you know what that's like, I highly recommend jumping on Prime Video and giving it a watch while you still can. It won't be there forever.

Stream "The Night of the Hunter" on Prime Video now.