She is a queen of Tartan Noir, a best-selling writer and broadcaster, whose stories have been backdropped by some of Scotland’s grittiest streets.
But it is a masterpiece of American Southern Gothic that has proved a lifelong inspiration for Denise Mina.
The Field Of Blood author says watching The Night Of The Hunter, a 1955 thriller starring Robert Mitchum as a chilling preacher, terrified her as a youngster and remains one of her favourite films.
She is to discuss the enduring appeal of the classic and introduce a screening at the 13th annual Cromarty Film Festival in the Black Isle town next month.
“I was 14 and at my Aunt Betty’s house with my sister and cousins,” recalled Denise about the first time she saw the film. “We would watch movies there on a Saturday night.
“My aunt came in and asked if it was OK for us to be watching it and we said yes, but it absolutely terrified me – the way you’re frightened to go upstairs afterwards but are too cool to tell anyone.
“When you watch movies when you’re young, the ones that grab you are those films where you forget you’re watching a movie.
“They have compelling narratives and most people who write crime or thrillers have enjoyed that in movies when they’re younger.”
Set in Depression-era West Virginia, The Night Of The Hunter sees Mitchum as a serial killer posing as a priest, who marries the widow of his former cell-mate in order to track down $10,000.
Adapted from a novel by Davis Grubb, which in turn was based on a true story, Mitchum plays Harry Powell, a man of pure evil with “love” and “hate” tattooed on his knuckles.
“Robert Mitchum is absolutely terrifying in it,” continued Denise. “It’s his greatest role.
“I’m surprised, but glad it’s never been remade, because men don’t look like Mitchum any more.
“I love horror movies and a lot of really good horror films have been remade incredibly badly.”
The film’s unique look, all moody lighting and off-kilter camera angles, worked for and against it.
It impressed few critics on release, meaning the director, actor Charles Laughton, never stepped behind the camera again, but its style and look ensured it lived on.
Denise said: “It’s weird because it’s very Gothic and uses imagery from the silent era. It doesn’t look like films of the 1940s or ’50s.
“There’s a scene where Mitchum is praying with Shelley Winters in the bedroom and it’s filmed from this strange angle. It looks quite German expressionistic, but it’s too late for that.
“Now film-makers do retro things and it looks like something from the ’70s, but if you tried something different back then you were just out of fashion.”
There is one scene in particular that stayed with Denise – and even found its way into her latest novel, Conviction.
“He kills Shelley Winters’ character and you don’t know where she is. A beautifully-framed scene shows her hair floating in the water, and then you see her strapped into an old car underwater.
“That scene really stayed with me. Anytime I see an underwater scene, I think of Shelley Winters in the car. It made me realise how creepy a water scene can be and I used that for a scene in Conviction.”
Film critic Roger Ebert described The Night Of The Hunter as “One of the most frightening of movies with one of the most unforgettable of villains” and it was placed into the United States Library of Congress in 1992 for being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Glasgow-based Denise is looking forward to watching the film again at the Cromarty Film Festival.
“There’s nothing better than watching it with people who haven’t seen it before.
“I watched it recently with my son, who is 14, the same age I was when I first watched it.
“I had to explain the social context to him, but afterwards he was telling all his pals they had to watch this film, but I think they thought he was being an idiot because it just looks like an old daft movie.
“But the set pieces, the singing as he chases down the children, the scares, it really sustains.”
It’s just one of many special screenings at the film festival, which has attracted a number of big-name guests over the years.
“I’ve been desperate to go for a while,” Denise added. “I used to go to school across the bay in Invergordon.
“It’s a great time to have a film festival, because no one’s doing anything at this time of year and it’s an excuse to get out, cuddle up with a big jumper on, and watch a movie.”
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