Fright [DVD] [1971]

A decent British thriller from 1971; Susan George is Amanda, a babysitter for Honor Blackman's (Helen's) young son. Unfortunately for Amanda this is the night that Helen's estranged psychotic maniac husband has chosen to break out of the 'mental asylum' where he has been placed after attempting to murder his wife.
Whilst it is a good little thriller it offers no suprises and few if any shocks. It is inconsistently filmed as there are many unusual and interesting shots, camera angles etc but equally some ineffective ones which telegraph the impending jumpy bit seconds in advance. Susan George puts in a nice performance but screams a little too much for my liking. Her character pretty much starts screaming from the moment Blackman and new beau George Cole drive off to the local pub and continues intermittently until the end credits role. It must have been a draining role as she is required to act both distressed and terrified for nearly the whole film and to her credit she pulls it off very well indeed.
Ian Bannen plays the psychopathic husband Brian and gives a masterclass in acting. Brian's delusionary state is excellently complimented by the directors juxtapostion of swapping Amanda for Helen as seen through the eyes of the disturbed Brian who increasingly begins to believe young Amanda is in fact his wife Helen.
Honor Blackman is a bit on the periphery here as is George Cole; Dennis Waterman turns up as a prospective sexual partner to the delightful Ms George and as with the others helps to flesh things out a bit. The scene has already been set before Brian turns up and it is therefore obvious from the off who he is and why he is there despite his initial attempt to pose as a concerned neighbour. The local police were inept as is the case in these films, unduly beaureaucratic and altogether unconvincing. A special mention must go to the directors son who played the young boy who had to tolerate a considerable amount of screaming, shouting, crying etc often whilst being held by one or other of the distressed characters. It was also quite sweet the scene where he is talking to his father 'Brian' seeking reassurance that his intention was not to kill him.
It is a shame Bannen didn't do more horror type roles. I remember him well in 'From Beyond the Grave' playing the disaffected husband of Diana Dors who plots her death in order to marry Donald Pleasance's daughter. He plays 'edginess' really well and is a superb character actor.
I would probably give this 3 and a half stars if allowable but will opt for 4 due to the performances especially by the greatly missed Bannen and because I've got a soft spot anyway for George (Susan not Cole!)

By modern standards the pace of this movie would appear to be slow. Along the way clues appear to give some indication regarding waht is about to happen. The acting is generally good and although the viewer has a fair idea about what might happen, the timing isn't always what you might expect. I suppose the biggest surprise comes at the climax so I won't spoil that with details.
Susan George does a competent girl next door in a crisis performance, though the pace of the film must have made it difficult for her.
Sometimes it is just nice to watch a movie that hasn't been stuffed with often pointless special effects.
It isn't quite good enough for four stars, but 3 might be just a bit stingy. Because I like looking at Susan in the era of the miniskirt, my personal score would be 3.5 stars, but it isn't the sort of film you could watch over and over again.

At one point, this film was very difficult to find on DVD in many parts of the world. Fortunately, that has been remedied and anyone who is keen to build up a quality thriller/horror/suspense film collection should obtain this. Early 70's horror about a babysitter who is terrorised by an escaped asylum patient who just happens to be the ex-husband of the woman she is babysitting for. What I really love about this film is the eeeriness and tension. For example, there is an early scene of the babysitter in the kitchen and somebody is outside watching her. You just want her to lock all the doors. Susan George is fantastic in her role as the victim. The film may not appeal to today's young folk, but if you were a fan of 70s or 80s suspense/thriller films, you owe it to yourself to see it. I was really lucky to pick this up on DVD in Australia in 2004 as a budget priced double feature DVD. It then went out of print very quickly.