The same year that he laid the groundwork for a horror revolution with Black Christmas, Bob Clark released Deathdream (also known as Dead of Night). The 1974 horror film is understandably overshadowed by his influential proto-slasher, but it was on Deathdream that the filmmaker honed his skills that would fuel his masterpiece of the genre: a brooding atmosphere, a calculated pace, a subtle score by Carl Zittrer that’s inseparable from the organic sound design, and even the use of a rocking chair to achieve unease.

Deathdream found Clark re-teaming with writer Alan Ormsby and several other cast and crew members from his 1972 film, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. While it suffers from minor pacing issues, Deathdream is significantly more well rounded. Jack McGowan’s cinematography is often flat (albeit an improvement over his work on Dead Things), but the budget – still limited but some five times larger than the previous effort – begets higher caliber actors and better production values.

A timely twist on W.W. Jacobs’ enduring short story “The Monkey’s Paw,” Deathdream was one of the first films to address the devastating impact of the Vietnam War. Interweaving social commentary with an inventive spin on a classic horror trope, the film brings to mind Pet Sematary, Jacob’s Ladder, and George Romero’s Martin.

After receiving the news that their beloved son, Andy (Richard Backus), has been killed while serving his country, a smalltown, nuclear family – patriarch Charlie (John Marley, The Godfather), mother Christine (Lynn Carlin, Faces), and daughter Cathy (Anya Liffey, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things) – are shocked to find him in their house one night.

Andy is ostensibly alive and well, but his demeanor is unrecognizably withdrawn, portrayed with a quiet intensity by Backus. When a trail of dead bodies follows in Andy’s wake, an alcohol-fueled Charlie attempts to confront the monster his son has become head-on while the manic Christine is in steadfast denial and Cathy struggles to keep the peace. It comes to a head with a dour yet poignant ending.

It’s fitting that Deathdream marked the first makeup job for special effects maestro Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th), who worked under Ormsby; Savini’s service as a combat photographer in Vietnam informed his macabre creations in the film industry. The effects are a bit rough around the edges – literally – but they’re largely serviceable.

Just in time for its 50th anniversary, Deathdream has received a new 4K 16-bit restoration from the 35mm negative with Dolby Vision HDR and 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio for a 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition via Blue Underground. The upgrade in quality from Blue Underground’s previous 2K restoration for their 2017 Blu-ray is largely imperceivable, as that was also an excellent presentation, but the HDR proves to be a worthwhile addition.

The discs carry three audio commentaries: individual tracks with Clark and Ormsby from the 2004 DVD and a new track by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. Clark notably touches on his influence on John Carpenter’s Halloween, his estrangement from Ormsby, Eli Roth’s planned Deathdream remake, and his own unrealized return to horror. Ormsby may be a bit disgruntled about some aspects of his career, but for the most part he has a sense of humor about his shortcomings. Howarth and Thompson summarize the previous information while interjecting their own thoughts, leading to occasional tangents.

Gary Swanson, who was originally cast as Andy and plays the character in the opening sequence, sits down for a new interview in which he’s humble about his footnote in horror history. A 2017 featurette with Ormsby and Liffey, his ex-wife, is a fun discussion covering Ormsby’s earlier career, but the highlight is his non-film output, which includes a Lon Chaney-inspired doll called Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces that was released by Kenner and the special effects makeup book Movie Monsters published by Scholastic.

Other archival interviews include: Backus, who breaks down some of the film’s most memorable set pieces; Zittrer, who concludes by performing a piece of the film’s score on piano; production manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos, a character himself; and Tom Savini: The Early Years, a 10-minute mini-documentary on the horror legend’s humble beginnings.

Special features are rounded out by Swanson’s original screen test, alternate opening titles, Ormsby’s student film, the theatrical trailer, and eight galleries (posters & ads, US pressbook, publicity stills, behind-the-scenes, make-up effects, video, selections from Ormby’s Movie Monsters, and Ormsby’s creations, showcasing his various artwork).

Deathdream was ahead of its time in its exploration of the lasting effects combat can have on the soldiers that are fortunate enough to make it home physically unharmed. Andy’s chilling characterization exhibits symptoms that today would be classified as post-traumatic stress disorder and touches on the addiction that often afflicts returning soldiers. Moreover, the film shows the repercussions such concerns can have on families. As these issues sadly persist half a century later, Deathdream remains evergreen.

Deathdream is available now on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray.