Tödliche Ferien

Writers Brian Clemens & Terry Nation and director Robert Fuest prove that this kind of movie need not take place at night in order to be scary. This is about as good as a daytime suspense flick could be.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice play young nurses on vacation in France who are riding their bicycles through the country. Things go very bad when, after a fight, Franklin pedals off and leaves Dotrice on her own, after which Dotrice disappears from sight. A stranger (Sandor Eles) offers to help Franklin, but she'll have her doubts about him, just as she will about most other characters.

It's a bold move for the filmmakers to have no subtitles for the French dialogue, and it works in important ways: it stresses Franklin's vulnerability and frustration, and ensures that we in the audience are *not* two steps ahead of her the entire time. The desolate rural locations, while beautiful in their way, also help to create that sense of helplessness. There are long distances between towns, and the fields seem to go on forever. Laurie Johnson's music is used sparingly, and other than a bouncy main title theme that doesn't seem appropriate for a film of this type, it helps to set the mood. That said, Fuest, Clemens, and company know when the movie is in no need for music, as a key suspense sequence takes place largely in silence.

The tension here is palpable; in fact, after something of a slow start, things just get creepier and creepier and poor Franklin, who's absolutely winning in the role of the desperate young protagonist, comes to feel that she may not be able to trust anyone. One particularly great moment has Franklin conversing with a roadside café proprietress (Hana Maria Pravda), who manages to find the two correct English words for what she means to say, "bad road", and when she utters these words it sends chills up the spine; we then know that this area is fraught with danger. We find out that there'd already been a murder some years ago.

Good supporting performances by John Nettleton as the Gendarme, Clare Kelly as the schoolmistress, and Pravda greatly aid in the telling of this story, which delivers a nail biting climax and which in the end has a cyclical quality. It's good stuff, and worthy of discovery or rediscovery.

Seven out of 10.

I really liked this film. Although the twist ending was not exactly unexpected, the story kept me guessing. Beautifully shot with lots of very effective scenery adding to the overall feel. Director Robert Fuest's work is evocative of Hitchcock. The use of French actors and the absence of subtitles is a smart move, giving the viewer a sense of the young girl's confusion and mounting fear. The location filming in France pays off beautifully as the movie had an otherworldly feel to it. Pamela Franklin stars and it quit good. She is asked to tell a lot of story with only her expressions and she does so splendidly. Fuest trusted her performance and it paid off. Solid story, good acting and a firm, polished hand at the directorial helm make this an underrated thriller.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice are British nurses on a cycling holiday in France. The two women have a disagreement and Franklin splits, while Dotrice stays behind. When Franklin returns a few minutes later to the spot where she left her friend, she discovers that the woman has mysteriously vanished. As if that weren't distressing enough, she learns from the local people that the site where her friend disappeared from is the same place where a lady tourist was found murdered a few years before. Moody, suspenseful British thriller with good performances, particularly by Franklin as the worried heroine.

This minimalist thriller is a one-of-a-kind film with an excellent pedigree; not only is it directed by Robert Fuest, who gave us a minor horror classic in THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES, it is also written by two top television writers of the time, Brian Clemens (THE AVENGERS) and Terry Nation (DR WHO). However unlike the various work of the contributors this isn't an effects-driven exercise in flashiness and action; instead barely anything happens in the movie.

The pacing is deliberately slow, and the film as a whole is largely an atmosphere-building exercise with the only action appearing at the very end of the film. The visceral horror aspects are mainly non-existent and instead the film strives hard to create and maintain high levels of suspense and foreboding. The forbidding setting of a rural French landscape is a clever touch and through static camera angles and creepy music we are led to believe that the landscape we see is both alien and dangerous.

Beautifully filmed and with a strong script - with little dialogue Clemens and Nation make sure that every word counts - AND SOON THE DARKNESS is an exercise in realism. As there are no special effects involved the film hasn't dated at all and could be taken for the present day if it wasn't for the minor trappings, i.e. the old fashioned vehicles and hairstyles. Again the realism is strengthened through the matter-of-fact storyline, with large periods of inaction adding to the experience.

The main emphasis is on the murder mystery aspect of the plot, most of the film acting as a whodunit and asking the viewer to guess firstly what happened and secondly who is responsible. The task isn't easy at first, with loads of red herrings and plot twists being thrown in our way, but gradually light will begin to dawn on those who have prior knowledge of these kinds of movies.

The cast is an extremely small one, consisting of only four or five major characters. This adds to the isolated nature of the movie, especially with the language barrier deeply affecting the situation of our leads. Pamela Franklin proves she has grown up a lot since THE INNOCENTS with her mature yet fragile nurse character and her subdued turn is generally spot on. In comparison, Michele Dotrice (SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM) is flirty and attractive as her outgoing companion and also makes a favourable impression. Sandor Eles (COUNTESS Dracula) is given a chance to shine as the shifty Frenchman who gets caught up in the events and becomes a prime suspect.

Shots of unkempt farmers staring at Franklin over lonely open landscapes and cars soaring into the distance go a long way in adding to the increasing atmosphere. Despite the lack of violence, murder and bloodshed, horror fans should enjoy this movie through the sheer amount of suspense and atmosphere that it offers. Definitely a thought-provoking and at times gripping movie. A similar offering - but even rarer - followed three years later with DEADLY STRANGERS.

Very menacing atmosphere throughout. The two girls, Franklin and Dotrice look wonderfully vulnerable and add a sexual frisson to the film. The pace is leisurely and the lack of subtitles deliberately enhances the confusion and sheer terror that is building up in Jane's mind. Sadly unavailable on this side of the world but thank God for Region 1 DVDs.

7/10