Out of the Fog

An interesting companion piece to Ken Loach's new film 'Sorry You Were Out' in which ex-con David Sumner gets a job as a delivery driver in the fictional London suburb of Eastgate, where his surly demeanour and lack of interest in delivering on time would ensure he didn't last five minutes in today's gig economy.

Although his previous form doesn't include violent sex offences, his abrasive personality results in him immediately coming under suspicion for a series of murders being committed every full moon in a lonely local area known as 'The Flats'. On paper that plot sounds like Gothic Horror, but it's mainly played (and photographed) as a police procedural; with platinum blonde policewoman Susan Travers letting her hair down to go undercover. As a trained police sergeant she should have been better able to defend herself when it's eventually her turn to get attacked in the fog; but there's a final satisfying revelation literally in the last minute which answers at least one question that had been looming ever larger on my mind as the film had been progressing.

This is a solid, British mystery made on a shoestring budget, that is just as good as the Hollywood classic of the same name with John Garfield and Ida Lupino. The story is completely different; only the title tis the same. This story about an ex-con who is a prime suspect in a string of murders is neatly done. A must see.

The heavy overacting by the leading actor was a bit tiresome and got worse as time passed as he played " the angry young man" for all it was worth, this would have been a much better film if he had toned it down a bit. I like James Hayter's deep voice and his films are usually very enjoyable. The ex-cons in the house were a nice mixture of characters and it was unusual to see Michel Ripper in a film without vampires or similar creatures in it him being "Mr Hammer Horror Film Man". A nice period piece but the ending could have been a lot better done. It was probably very cheap to make but it's still worth watching.

Ex-con George Mallon (David Sumner) secures a room at a half-way house and a job at a furniture company, but the police won't leave him alone, suspecting him of the murders of several women. Is Mallon innocent or does he really have an uncontrollable urge to throttle pretty, young blondes under the light of a full moon?

Out of the Fog is an entertaining little thriller, although the incessant surliness of its central character does detract slightly from the fun: Mallon's antisocial attitude is necessary in order to cast doubt about his character, but Sumner over-eggs the pudding, his performance proving irritating in the extreme.

Fortunately, the mystery is engaging enough to make the movie worth persevering with, especially when sexy sergeant June Lock (Susan Travers) is ordered to go undercover and act as bait for the killer: posing as a saleswoman at the furniture company, she befriends Mallon, going on several dates with the young man, the police keeping them under surveillance. Mallon isn't fooled, however, and manages to get Ms. Lock alone on the foggy Eastgate 'flats' where the killer always strikes.

To his credit, director Montgomery Tully successfully keeps the audience guessing about Mallon to the very end, making the final reel effectively suspenseful. 6/10.

Under-rated, unpretentious B-movie that keeps you guessing till the end. David Sumner's 'surly' and unlikeable lead grows on you once you realise that he never lets up; and the ending doesn't let you down. An uncompromising gem. Made on the cheap, for sure - they even stint on the fog - and Montgomery Tully was a hit-and-miss director at best, but this film is about ten years ahead of its time and still has a kind of individualism that weathers the fifty-or-so years that have elapsed since then rather well. From prison to a halfway house to eventual employment to a tentative relationship with a woman who ditches our 'hero' as soon as she finds out about his criminal past ...and then a trap is set, for he is under constant suspicion. This is one of those stories where much of the 'important' stuff -the killings, the planning of a heist- happens off-screen. And it's all the better for it.