Cries in the Night

Cries in the Night

Year: 1980

Runtime: 93 mins

Language: English

Director: William Fruet

HorrorThrillerHorror

A warning echoes—“Don’t go down to the cellar!”—as a young woman arrives at her grandmother’s former funeral home to help convert it into a bed‑and‑breakfast. Once the inn opens, the mysterious cellar seems to claim guests, who start disappearing or turning up dead, plunging the pair into a terrifying fight for survival.

Cries in the Night (1980) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In the quiet outskirts of a nameless town, a crumbling funeral home has been reborn as a modest bed‑and‑breakfast. The new owner, a stern and deeply religious matriarch, presides over the conversion with a blend of devotion and quiet determination. When Heather arrives for the summer, she is drawn into the house’s lingering history—the weight of past rituals, the echo of whispered warnings, and the lingering scent of formaldehyde that seems to seep from the very walls.

Maude Chalmers runs the inn with an unshakable faith that borders on the mystic, treating the sprawling property as both sanctuary and shrine. Her presence is both comforting and unsettling, especially as she guards the secrets of a shadowed cellar that locals have long avoided. The basement, once a place of somber farewells, now hums with an uneasy silence that beckons and repels in equal measure, hinting at mysteries best left unspoken.

Helping to keep the place functional is Billy, a gentle handyman whose simple routines mask an undercurrent of unease. His steady hands maintain the inn’s outward charm while the house itself seems to hold its breath, waiting for something to surface from the depths below. As the summer unfolds, a handful of guests arrive, each eager for respite yet subtly aware of the house’s lingering aura. The atmosphere tightens around them, the old warning—“Don’t go down to the cellar!”—reverberating like a half‑remembered prayer.

Amid the creaking floors and the soft murmur of old hymns, Heather finds herself caught between reverence for her grandmother’s piety and the inexplicable pull of the house’s darker corners. The inn becomes a stage where faith, familial duty, and the unknown intersect, setting the tone for a suspenseful summer where every creak and whisper may hold a clue to what lies hidden beneath.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 17:42

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Movies with sinister settings like Cries in the Night

Stories where a single, ominous location becomes a terrifying character itself.If you liked the suffocating atmosphere of the funeral home in Cries in the Night, explore these movies where the location is a key source of horror. These films feature isolated mansions, haunted hotels, and other ominous places where the walls seem to hold terrible secrets.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative often revolves around characters who are newcomers or caretakers of a location with a grim past. As they uncover the truth, the setting itself turns against them, using its labyrinthine layout or hidden dangers to trap and terrorize them. The climax typically involves a desperate fight for survival within the very walls they sought to inhabit.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together by their mastery of atmospheric horror. They share a focus on a single, menacing location that generates a constant feeling of claustrophobia and paranoia, making the environment as much an antagonist as any human or supernatural force.

Bleak Gothic thrillers with dark secrets like Cries in the Night

Tales where pious facades crumble to reveal generations of horrifying violence.For viewers who appreciated the bleak revelation of religious hypocrisy and generational trauma in Cries in the Night, this section features similar movies. Discover chilling stories about families and communities harboring violent secrets, leading to heavy emotional weight and hopeless endings.

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Narrative Summary

The plot typically follows an investigation into a series of mysterious events, slowly peeling back layers of deception to expose a core of deep-seated evil. The conflict is often internal as well as external, pitting protagonists against figures they once revered. The endings are usually bleak, offering no redemption, only the grim acceptance of a horrifying truth.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their exploration of psychological horror rooted in betrayal and the corruption of trust. They deliver a heavy emotional experience through themes of grief, loss, and the shattering of faith, all culminating in a deeply unsettling and bleak conclusion.

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Cries in the Night Summary

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Cries in the Night Timeline

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Cries in the Night

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