Recent reviews

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  Review by MetalBlade ★★★

  This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  An unconventional British horror film from the early seventies. A middle aged couple are sectioned under the mental health act for as yet unknown abominable crimes. The film then moves forward about 15 years and focuses on a group of youths and twentysomethings in contemporary England.

  Much of the film is played out like a mystery with details of what happened and why being revealed at key points throughout.

  The look of the film is extremely dated, but there are some horrifying moments and a genuine feeling of disturbed minds at work.

  Most of the cast are nondescript TV actors of the day, however one of the main actresses Kim Butcher is breathtakingly beautiful. She is clearly much older than the 15 year old she portrays here but she appears to have vanished into thin air in the last 30 odd years. Shame that.

  One for the horror aficionado to appreciate as an unusual early footnote of it's genre.

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  Review by Penny_Rose ★★★½

  O Pete Walker έχει φτιάξει μερικές πολύ ενδιαφέρουσες low budget ταινίες σχετικά με το σύστημα δικαιοσύνης και κατά πόσο αυτό λειτουργεί σωστά, σε συνάρτηση με την κοινωνία και με το άτομο ως μονάδα, χρησιμοποιώντας συμβολισμό (π.χ. ο τυφλός δικαστής του HOUSE OF WHIPCORD) και ελάχιστο gore.
  Η σκηνοθεσία του είναι πολύ παράξενη, κάτι ανάμεσα σε John Carpenter και Dario Argento, καταφέρνει να κάνει ένα απλά ενδιαφέρον σενάριο να φαίνεται δέκα φορές καλύτερο. Οι πρωταγωνιστές βέβαια δεν βοηθάνε ιδιαίτερα, με εξαίρεση την Sheila Keith, η οποία θα μπορούσε να δείχνει απίστευτα menacing ακόμα κι αν την έβαζαν να γυαλίζει ασημικά ακούγωντας Buddy Holly.
  Δεν βρήκα κάτι που να μην μου άρεσε στο FRIGHTMARE, ακόμα και οι ελαφρά off ερμηνείες φαίνονται να ταιριάζουν απόλυτα με αυτό που θέλει να δείξει ο Walker και με τον τρόπο που έχει επιλέξει να το δείξει.

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  Review by Chelsey Burdon ★★★½

  This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  A brilliant example of classic British Horror that, quite frankly, I was amazed hadn't crept up on my radar before today. Saw it as part of a 'psycho women' double bill for women in horror month and thought it was a perfect example of villainous women in the genre.
  The cast were difficult to fault, especially Deborah Fairfax as the lead female Jackie. It will certainly encourage me to seek out more films by Pete Walker and just may have restored my faith in British horror from that era.

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  Review by Dirk Massey ★★★½

  My favourite of all Pete Walkers films - Sheila Keith was one scary mother!!!!!

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  Review by Bryson ★★★½

  Great little British chiller from exploitation veteran Pete Walker. An interesting plot involves the unlikely release of a middle aged cannibal who could have probably done with a couple more decades of rehabilitation. There's some decent gore effects and some fantastic bell bottoms. Hell,it was the 70s after all. Sheila Keiths performance is unnervingly unhinged,like a brain damaged Mrs Doubtfire. Good stuff.

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  Review by Chris Underwood ★★★★½

  Excellent thriller/horror that could only have come out of Britain. What a terrible shame the impact of these mid seventies films was such that they were seemingly shown the door by our reactionary press barons. Exploitation, yes, but also touching on real issues surrounding family and ‘insanity’ as well as reflecting upon the times. We are thrust into a murky degenerate fantasy but all the time reminded that this is ‘true’ and that we cannot trust our sisters, mothers or even fathers. Central performances are fine but there are a couple of bit parts letting the side down and losing this it’s other half star. Nevertheless, a real surprise and a genuine horror.

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  Review by Gerry Taylor ★★★½

  Having watched a lot of 70's European horror recently, its interesting to see the contrast with what was being made in the UK at the time. Certainly the UK stuff is not as sleazy or gorey and, to me, the stories make slightly more sense with the characters also acting in a more believable way than some of the off the wall behaviour in Euro flicks. This film is quite good fun and musters up memories in someone my age (40's) what with the appearance of Andrew Sachs and the main lead here also being the star of a 70's sitcom called "Rosie".