Night Slaves (1970)

James Franciscus (Clay) gets a metal plate in his head after a car crash and takes a road trip vacation with his wife Lee Grant (Marjorie). They come across a sleepy town – literally. There are strange night-time goings-on that Franciscus observes and everyone seems to be affected except him. The whole town seems to go off somewhere every night and it is unstoppable. He tries. At the same time, a mystery woman Tisha Sterling (Nailil/Annie) appears to him and they fall in love. Who is she and can their love transcend whatever is going on? This is an enjoyable short film that zips along and has you questioning what will happen. You may well guess various elements of the story but it doesn't matter as it is an interesting story and everyone ends up with who they should. Leslie Nielsen also stars as the Sheriff of the town. Somehow, it stays with you after it has finished.

Night Slaves (1970)** (out of 4)Clay Howard (James Franciscus) survives a tragic car wreck that sadly killed the people in the other car. Him and his wife (Lee Grant) decide to get out of town for a while and they end up in a small town out West where he soon begins to think something isn't quite right. At night the townspeople get loaded onto a large truck but in the morning only Clay can remember what happened.NIGHT SLAVES is a pretty bland made-for-television horror film that simply doesn't have too much going for it. Often times these movies were extremely well-made by people who wanted to do something fresh and original. Other times these movies just seemed to be rushed so that they could have something on air by a certain date. Everyone here just seems to be going by the numbers and the cast appear to just be picking up a paycheck.The biggest problem is that there's really not enough done with the central story. I won't ruin why the people are being loaded into the trucks but it's not the greatest storyline out there and I'd argue that there's no suspense gained from it. Both Franciscus and Grant are pretty much going through the motions and even Leslie Nielson is wasted as the Sheriff. NIGHT SLAVES remains partially watchable if you enjoy these types of movies but there's certainly nothing special about it.

A businessman Clay Howard is involved in a car accident. As part of his recuperation process he and his wife go on a vacation to a remote village. Later, in the night, Howard observes everyone, including his wife, leave the town in trucks like somnambulists. He then tries to find out why.Night Slaves is another of a subset of American 70's TV movies whose objective was partially to chill its audience. Obviously its television restrictions mean that it can only go so far but it does have a nicely mysterious undercurrent that keeps things interesting. This one certainly goes into fairly unexpected territory when the source of the mystery is discovered to be aliens who have become stranded on Earth. They invade the bodies of the townspeople in order to make them repair their damaged spaceship. It's not ultimately the most interesting solution to the puzzle to be perfectly honest but the film does have an interesting ambiance in the lead up, while it does end on an ending that could almost be described as poetic. Of additional note is the fact that it features Leslie Neilson as the sheriff in a pre-comedy role, which always feels a bit unintentionally surreal nowadays.

I recently purchased this movie NIGHT SLAVES, but I received a copy, so my guess is that this was never released on video, which is a shame, because it is a fun film. Now, I didn't think the film was great, but it was entertaining and short. I could see some stupid producer making a boring mini-series out of this story, but luckily this film is short and never loses your attention. The plot is not perfect, and the acting is subtle. I would only recommend watching this movie if you are bored and want some entertainment, not if you're looking for a great movie to watch with some great actors and a "sounds-interesting" plot. SUMMARY: Clay Howard (Jim Franciscus) is in a horrible car crash, which kills another couple involved. Clay is put in the hospital, while his wife Marjorie (Lee Grant) and friend Matt (Scott Marlowe) plan to leave him and become lovers. A metal plate is inserted into Clay's head, he leaves the hospital and takes a road trip with his wife. They stop in a small town for the rest of one day and evening. That night Clay wakes up from his slumber to discover the entire town loading into one truck and vacating the town, his wife included. He meets Naillil/Annie (Tisha Sterling) who tells him she's to make sure he doesn't escape. The next morning Clay wakes up to find his wife in bed, sleeping and everything back to normal. Was it a dream, or is he really going crazy? Clay decides to stay in town a few more days and figure out what really is going on.This is a great made for TV film. I suggest you check it out if the chance arises. The setting is creepy in the old town. The ending is no big surprise. A recommendation for this film would definitely be: THE STEPFORD WIVES. ** 1/2 STARS and 7/10.