Vent de folie

"The Wind" or it's much better title which I viewed it under "The Edge Of Terror" is an OK movie, although I was lured by the DVD'S interesting artwork, which made this movie look like a body count, but it's not although there are some deaths, 3 in fact but they aren't anything special very bloodless and quite limp.

The storyline is quite interesting where we get a novelist named Sian Anderson leaves her L.A. pad to travel to a remote Greek island to write her new book, unaware that her fellow neighbour and handyman is about to snap and begin a murder spree. Although this movie picks up a decent pace, it's just the so called wind wasn't as dramatic as it should have been, and despite the decent enough pace this movie still tends to drag in places like before the climax and although the chase scenes are pretty good it just wasn't tense enough for my taste and some of the moments that should have been shocking just wasn't horrific enough.

Well there is a lot to like about this movie firstly the cast are interesting namely Meg Foster who plays the lead character, a very underrated actress who should be more well known and she does a great job here and carries the movie on her shoulders effortlessly and Robert Morley was quite fun as the pompus landlord and Wings Hauser as the maniac did okay, but not quite menacing enough though but he did pretty good.

All in all "The Edge Of Terror" is pretty tame thriller with some decent moments but not enough to shine, and the pointless scenes that are just there to pad out the running time, like when the honeymoon couple show up stranded, they should have got murdered, now that would have been a great climax, so not a bad film by any means, just don't expect a full on slasher movie or you will be disappointed.

Director Nico Mastorakis (Island of Death) returns to the horror genre and the Greek Isles with the suspenseful and intense The Wind. A slight mixture of the slasher, cat & mouse and giallo genres, The Wind looks great, thanks mostly to the imposing Greek locale high on the edge of a cliff. Mastorakis wastes no time jumping right into the action with writer Anderson (Meg Foster) encountering fellow American Phil (Hauser) within minutes of her arrival. When Foster explains she is a mystery writer, Hauser creepily quips, "If you need to know anything about death, I'm right next door." As the nights events progress, the viewer is kept wondering if all that has been happening is just figments of a writer's overactive imagination.

As with most horror films, the success lies squarely on the shoulders of the villain and, thankfully, Mastorakis has Hauser to fill this role. Hauser gives a whacked out performance on the level of his killer pimp turn in the sleaze classic Vice Squad (1982). Whether it is huffing poppers or making threatening phone calls, Wings is in top form in this film. It is truly a shame that his talents aren't fully recognized by the mainstream. Foster provides a worthy adversary to Hauser's unhinged Phil, but there are a few moments that smack of falsity here (namely a few of her one liners). Railsback pops up about two-thirds of the way through as a sailor who helps the police investigate. It is almost a cameo-sized role, but he is good in it and helps spur the ideas that Foster may be making this up.

If the film does have any faults, it is an entirely useless subplot involving a honeymooning American couple. While the point (they almost provide safe haven for Foster) was not lost on this viewer, it seemed a bit contrived and seems like an attempt to pad the film. Regardless, The Wind is still an intense and stylish 90 minutes that is definitely worth a watch.

Greek director Nico Masterakis brings us this little charmer. I've just watched it on video - here in the UK it's called Edge of Terror. They're are some great performances here, most notably Meg Foster with her amazing eyes (and great acting) and also Wings Hauser who plays the unhinged element to a tee. Also look out for Robert Morley, clearly enjoying himself, and David McAllum who probably took this job for a holiday in Greece as he's hardly in it even though he gets top billing. The camerawork and lighting are interesting and even though the plot is contrived and predictable there is something different about this one. Not much gore, but plenty of style - Giallo fans should like it. Not bad at all. Before I forget, the movie is shot in beautiful greek surroundings which are stunning in themselves.

Suspenseful, atmospheric thriller finds Meg Foster as a novelist who is stalked by Wings Hauser in a small, deserted foreign village during he middle of a really bad wind storm. Takes it time getting started, but worth the wait. The last third is especially exciting. Meg Foster is solid as usual, though Hauser goes over the top. Rated R; Violence and Profanity.

Screenwriter Simon Barrett of two very popular slasher flicks [You're Next and The Guest] suggested this title in his series of obscure movies on social media. But this one wasn't quite my speed. Although it had everything going for it: a famous author of pulp fictions, a European clime in the nighttime, a killer with a scythe a la Italian gialli. But about halfway through it ran out of ideas. Nothing there to complement one of Hans Zimmer's earlier electronic music laden scores, the eerie setting or the performances of the leads.