The Hitchcock hour was heading into horror territory with this one, and at that level it delivers. Terror At Northfield is gripping throughout, and well acted by its gifted cast. Yet something about it fails to satisfy; worse, it left a bad taste after it was over. Its director, Harvey Hart, was quite talented and made some fine films; and its author, Leigh Brackett, a frequent collaborator of director Howard Hawks, is a near cult figure among movie buffs these days.
I recommend it for those who like films and television shows with a gruesome streak. That the murders in the show were delivered to the back of the head with a heavy hammer made me wince a few times, though there wasn't really anything shown on screen. The mounting terror of a small town beset by murders that appear to come out of nowhere was well presented. I liked Dick York as the easygoing yet dogged local lawman with a lot on his plate. The best performance was by R.G. Armstrong as an introspective, deeply religious local farmer whose son's mysterious disappearance is where all the trouble began.
As well made as this episode is it never really surprised me, and indeed hinted strongly how it would end early on. It's watchable and yet feels a little cheap, like a B exploitation picture, not something one would expect from the Hitchcock company.