The Fiend

The main character of Robert Hartford-Davis "The Fiend" is an emotionally disturbed religious nut.He loses grip on his sanity and sets off on a killing spree murdering prostitutes and other sexually active women."The Fiend" is a mildly interesting British serial killer flick with sleazy atmosphere and the background of religious fanaticism.The script is quite warped with religious rituals and misogynistic murders.The gospel songs are fantastic and the killings are nasty.One victim is found skewered on a meathook.I haven't seen Robert Hartford-Davis "Corruption",but I'd like too.If you are a fan of sleazy British horror give "The Fiend" a look.6 gospels out of 10.

British horror/sex shocker about an overbearing mother (played by Ann Todd), her psycho son Kenny (Tony Beckley) and a very strict religious cult, led by Patrick Magee (great actor but this is far from being his best performance). Pre-opening credits we see a young boy being baptised by being immersed in water at the cult's chapel, at the same time a young woman is chased, stripped and thrown dead into water. Early on we see that Kenny is the killer, so there is no mystery in that respect. His mother relationship reminded me of Norman Bates in "Psycho" (1960), they both live in a large Gothic house, only Norman's mother was dead, Kenny's isn't (though she is very ill). There is plenty of female eye candy amongst the cast, and also female nudity, including one scene with full frontal. The murders are fairly vicious but nothing to write home about. I watched the uncut version which is rated BBFC 15, I dread to think how tame the heavily cut X version would have been. I did find it laughable how two young women were happy to accept lifts of a stranger (Kenny in his van). One corpse can be seen breathing and the inclusion of three pop songs throughout the movie proved detrimental to my viewing pleasure, I will add that the film is also a bit boring at times and relies on the kills and nudity to liven it up. Pete Walker made far more enjoyable British shockers than this, The Fiend is watchable but unremarkable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A great sleazy atmosphere pervades throughout, not surprised the censors got their hands on it back in the day, and the UK only saw an edited version. Thankfully the version on the blu ray is the international version, and there is a handy extra feature comparing the UK version th the international.

Acting is excellent throughout, Ann Todd, Patrick Magee and Tony Beckley all do sterling jobs with their major roles, and the supporting cast are no slouches either.

It's a hard film to categorise, not horror really, not a crime drama, I'd call it a thriller more than anything.

Approach it with an open mind, and you'll be rewarded with a bit of a gem.,and a very early appearance fro Maxine Barrie of Stars in Their Eyes fame!

Hats off to 88 films for making this look as good as it does.

This is one of the more notable British horror films from the early 1970s, a stylish and generally accomplished mix of religion, psycho-drama, music and exploitation. The opening cross-cutting between a prayer meeting – accentuated by a powerful gospel song – and a vicious murder is so stunning that the rest of the film actually struggles to live up to it, though the ending – appropriately over-the-top – is worth waiting for. Thematically, the film anticipates Pete Walker's equally good HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN aka THE CONFESSIONAL (1975) – but here we get the added bonus of a typically intense performance from Patrick Magee as the religious group's fanatical leader. Ann Todd (the former Mrs. David Lean) is one of his closest collaborators – in fact, her house is a converted church! – but who has to keep her diabetic condition a secret because the intake of insulin is prohibited by her faith! Her son (Tony Beckley), a security guard and part-time swimming instructor and pamphlet distributor, is repressed and unbalanced – and soon revealed to be the serial killer of nubile girls terrorizing the neighborhood (he even records on tape the victims in the throes of death a' la PEEPING TOM [1960]!). Todd's new nurse happens to have a reporter sister (genre regular Suzanna Leigh) who, alerted to the inhabitants' conspicuous Puritanism, concludes that all is not well with the house and decides to investigate. Given the permissive era in which this was made, violence and gratuitous nudity (along with the standard prerequisites associated with such fare) contend for the running-time – and the audience's attention – with a moderately serious treatment of the subject at hand. The end result may not be surprising or even particularly insightful but nonetheless proves wholly absorbing, thanks also to its undeniable surface polish.

Having recently bought a copy of the 2010 release of this lost gem, finally available fully uncut and beautifully presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 - Odeon Entertainmant ODNF162 - I can't recommend it enough. Taking into consideration the very strict censorship laws and general climate the time of it's production, it's easy to see why it was butchered and suppressed at the time of it's initial release in 1972, the Mary Whitehouse brigade would have soiled themselves collectively at the subject matter alone. And the murder scenes, whilst fairly tame compared to some in todays more enlightened times, were way out there for early 70's Britain.

It's not the most polished of films, but the directing is pretty good and the acting pretty solid throughout - with a convincing enough ratio of ham, menace and believability - with the script and storyline excellent. Overall the results, particularly when taking the fairly small budget into consideration, really are very, very good indeed. Which is why I honestly think this film was years ahead of it's time.

An essential addition to any Brit Horror collection - it's a proto-slasher of sorts, imo - and also to anyone with an interest in looking at the darker and less positive sides of religion and it's very strong tendencies towards brainwashing, mind control and even abuse. I'd also recommend it to anyone who just loves a good well made and sincere film, however if you're just a cannibals & zombies or shoot 'em ups only freak, don't bother, it's definitely not for you.