The Black Torment

This eerie and suspenseful film is developed in an ancient and isolated mansion . A nobleman lord named Richard Fordyke (John Turner) goes back to his manor with his new spouse (Heather Sears) after some time in London , to hear rumors that he had already secretly gone back . He soon hears disquieting reports about the neighbours seeing him running around, chased by a female figure that bears remarkable resemblance to his late first wife . Meanwhile, at his mansion and surroundings have been committed several murders. He will have to confront the mysterious evil force and legacy of horror of his family . Richard Fordyke is caught up by an ominous ghost and becomes inextricably involved in weird killings. Things go awry until a astonishing and surprising finale. Terror Creeps From the Fringe of the Fear to the Pit of Panic. A Creature From the Grave Bears Witness to Murder. What was the deadly power that desired and devoured the women of Fordyke?

This s a good terror film in Hammer Film style with malevolent spectres, family curses and an amazing final surprise . The plot is plain and simple an aristocrrat returns to the family manor with his new sweetheart when bloody events start happening , as he could very well be responsible for some rapes & murders that have occurred . The movie is plenty of grisly killings , tension , terror , genuine screaming , horrible chills and a little bit of blood . The picture packs a creepy atmosphere and strange color by the fine cinematographer Peter Newbrook who subsequently directed the Cult terror : The Asphyx . In addition , a frightening and intriguing musical score by Robert Richards . It is an acceptable British terror film with suspense , plot twists and weird appearances, but little slow-moving , at times . The casting is frankly well , there appears various awesome British actors , such as : John Turner as the suspicious Lord Richard who must ponder the idea that there could be some sort of conspiracy to drive him craziness . Along with his good-natured and beautiful wife well played by Heather Sears . Being well accompanied buy a fine support cast , such as : Peter Arne , Ann Lynn , Francis De Wolff , Norman Bird , Edina Ronay, Raymond Huntley and Patrick Throughton.

The movie was professionally directed by Robert Hatford Davies who often used pseudonym as Michael Burrows , author of some other Horror films and other genres as ¨Corruption¨ (with Peter Cushing) , ¨The Fiend¨ (with Patrick McNee) ,¨The Sandwich Man¨, ¨Ritual¨, ¨The Smashing Bird I Used to Know¨ , ¨Nobody Ordered Love¨, ¨Gonks Go Beat¨, ¨Saturday Night Out¨, ¨Crosstrap¨ and Blaxploitation movies as ¨Black Gunn¨ (with Jim Brown) and ¨ The Take¨ (Billy Dee Williams) . The motion picture will appeal to British horror enthusiasts .

"Sir Richard" (John Turner) returns to his country estate with his new bride "Elizabeth" (Heather Sears) only to find himself immersed in rumours that he has been back for a while and that he might be responsible for some local murders (and for ordering a saddle with his late wife's name on it!). What now ensues is a brain teaser - how can he have been in two places at once? Perfectly sane and eminent people are claiming to have seen him in places where both he and his wife know he wasn't. What's occurring? His right hand man "Seymour" (Peter Arne) and his sister-in-law "Diane" (Ann Lynn) can shed little light on this - is he just going mad? Robert-Hartford Davis does redeem this to a certain extent in the last ten minutes, but otherwise it really doesn't create much menace. Like the best episodes of "Scooby-Do", you just know there is a sensible solution for the seemingly imponderable - and unfortunately, there are so few cast members here as to make the deduction fairly straightforward. The score tries far too hard to compensate for the lack of tension generated by the mediocre acting, and although the production itself looks ok - plenty of decent costumes and sets, the whole thing is just a bit flat. Just think of it as Hammer-lite!

The only film I'd seen from director Robert Hartford-Davis prior to seeing this sixties flick was the lamentable 'Incense for the Damned', so as you can imagine; I didn't go into The Black Torment with the highest of hopes. While this film is hardly a great horror masterpiece, or even one of the best British horrors of the sixties; it's certainly a good film, and a million times better than Incense for the Damned. The film focuses more on its atmosphere, and Hartford-Davis ensures that the themes of murder and insanity are always bubbling on the surface of the movie. The film gets off to a very slow start, and I wasn't too impressed with it once the first half hour had elapsed. Luckily, things improve later on, and the first half of the movie merely sets up the basics of the story. We follow Sir Richard Fordyce upon his return home to his eerie mansion along with his new wife, Lady Elizabeth. His first wife killed herself at her home, and the memory still haunts the lord of the manor. Furthermore, his servants believe that he has been present at the mansion prior to his return...

Huge mansion houses are a tried and tested location for horror, and the one in this film works well considering the story. The film is all about atmosphere, and the director does a good job of racking up the tension in an effort to ensure that the endings works as it should. The characters are nothing to write home about, and the script doesn't do a very good job of balancing them with the plot. The mystery comes about through several small threads, and although the climax is easy to guess; it's fun getting there. The film benefits from several well worked set pieces, many of which involve the ghost of Sir Richard's first wife. The Gothic themes provide the film with a dark horror atmosphere and are sure to appeal to fans of gloomy horror. The acting is, like the characters, rather drab; and the unknown British cast don't do much to grab your attention. It's clear that Hartford-Davis wanted the film to be more like Roger Corman's The Fall of the House of Usher, as it features ideas such as a long line of family members, and also sees a scene set in a portrait gallery, much like the Vincent Price classic. Overall, it has to be said that The Black Torment is slightly disappointing; but fans of sixties Gothic are likely to find something to like here.

Please note that I'm deliberately exaggerating a bit in this user comment. "The Black Torment" might not be a genuine horror masterpiece – it does has its flaws and shortcomings – but this film is so drastically overlooked and underrated that I wish to praise it a little extra, hoping that fans of classic Gothic horror will go through more efforts to track it down! This film really deserves a wider audience and it's not because Hammer or Amicus studios didn't produce a certain horror film that it's automatically inferior. "The Black Torment" is a hugely atmospheric and beautifully photographed horror/costume drama directed by Robert Hartford-Davis. Noticing the director's name alone is a surprise already, since Harford-Davis' other horror films ("Incense of the Damned" and "The Fiend") were both irredeemably bad and quite ugly to look at. This film is a world of difference; stylish, compelling and featuring several sequences that qualify as genuinely unsettling. Sir Richard Fordycke returns to his wealthy father's estate with a new bride because his first wife sadly committed suicide for not being able to bear children. He doesn't receive a warm welcome, though, since several superstitious villagers spotted him during his absence and he supposedly even killed a local girl. Shortly after his return, Richard himself starts to have visions of his deceased wife walking through the garden. The whole explanation to the "mystery" is rather rational and unsurprising, but it's the sinister atmosphere that sticks to you. The scene in which the veiled 'ghost' rides through the woods screaming out the word "MURDERER" truly sent cold shivers down my spine! That definitely is the most wonderful effect a horror movie can give you! Highly recommended!

BLACK TORMENT was a movie I read about in books on British horror films but it was one which I had never seen until I was recently able to rent it locally. I was so impressed that I went out and bought it. It's not a classic but it is very well done. BLACK TORMENT was made in 1964 by a small production called Compton headed up by Tony Tenser who would eventually start one of Hammer's main competitors Tigon Films (makers of WITCHFINDER GENERAL, BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW) later in the decade.

Compton produced some interesting films in the mid-1960s including Roman Polanski's REPULSION, The Sherlock Holmes meets Jack the Ripper thriller A STUDY IN TERROR and George Harrison's WONDERWALL. BLACK TORMENT was obviously an attempt to cash in on the success of Hammer Films and the film turns out to be not such much a horror film as a Gothic one like those being produced in Italy with Barbara Steele (CASTLE OF BLOOD, NIGHTMARE CASTLE) although not as gruesome. In fact it was of the few true English Gothic movies that I've seen as it comes straight out of the tradition of Ann Radcliffe and Horace Walpole.

The plot is standard Gothic stuff. An 18th century nobleman returns to his family estate only to be told that he's been there before and committed murder. He begins to see the ghost of his first wife and starts to doubt his own sanity. Meanwhile more murders occur. If you're a fan of Gothic literature you'll have a pretty good idea of how this all turns out but I won't spoil it for you. The film is beautifully shot which comes as no surprise since the cameraman is Peter Newbrook who would later direct the atmospheric Victorian shocker THE ASPHYX.

The real surprise is that the director is Robert Hartford-Davis who would go on to make CORRUPTION and BLOOD SUCKERS (INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED) two very different films in terms of style and content. All were photographed by Newbrook so there is that connecting thread. Although there are no major genre stars, the costumes are appropriate, the settings atmospheric (inside and out), and the music is effective. A good, old-fashioned Gothic thriller that really entertains if you're into this sort of thing. This Redemption DVD of BLACK TORMENT looks very good but I'm sure there's a better print out there somewhere...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.