A Reflection of Fear

Underrated horror-thriller with an interesting cast, led capably by a young Sondra Locke as a reclusive girl, who yearns for the affections of her absent father (Shaw), as she struggles mentally with inner demons and a strained relationship with her mother (Ure) who she blames for her father's estrangement. When Shaw visits with new girlfriend in tow (Kellerman), Locke sets out to impress him with her superior intellect and creativity, but love her as he does, he's unwilling to 'rescue' her from her unhappy existence with her mother. As he prepares to leave again, he's confronted with a series of unexplained events including fatal accidents, murder and twisted sanity.

It's the stuff of nightmares; the haunting score, lighting, and especially Locke's performance contribute to a chilling, suspenseful tale that is at times, graphically violent and gruesome. Shaw delivers another watchable performance as the increasingly concerned father, while Kellerman (aside from being breathtakingly attractive) is equally effective as an innocent bystander and unwilling witness to the unfolding madness.

A first rate cast, professional production values and intelligent dialogue all deliver, but somehow, this minor thriller seems to go perpetually unnoticed. The plot might not be rock solid, and there's undoubtedly some narrative weaknesses, but invest a little time and latitude, and you should be repaid handsomely. Great fright night fare.

For a really minor film from the 70's, for some reason this one sticks with me - even this long after I saw it at a horror festival in the late 80's. Why? Maybe it's the idea that we all have secret urges and thoughts that could manifest themselves in the world, if we give them a vehicle.

Sondra Locke does a great job of being a too-mousy-for-reality girl who has a BIG secret, of which I'm not sure even SHE'S aware.

Cool ending, as well, with enough still remaining from the cuts for the viewer to get the idea.

Catch this one, if you can. You won't be sorry.

Despite getting top billing, for much of the time you're hardly aware that Robert Shaw is even in this murky psychodrama, the story so dominated by the female contingent (including Sondra Locke's imaginary friend who who looks and sounds like a grotesque parody of Hugo in 'Dead of Night').

The film is actually shown through the large hungry eyes of Sondra Locke who plays his daughter dressed as Shaw observes "like some precocious doll".

The casting of Shaw's wife Mary Ure as Shaw's estranged wife seeking a divorce is sadly ironic since her untimely death was one of the defining tragedies of his life.

Sondra Locke stars in this obscure gem as Marguerite, an odd, but very intellectual teenage girl who is kept isolated by her vindictive mother and grandmother. When her father comes to visit with his new fiancée, a perverted love triangle develops with Marguerite as the other woman.

Directed by famed cinematographer William A. Fraker, this is a solid psychological horror film with an ending that took me by surprise and adds a whole new layer to everything seen prior. The relationship between Marguerite and her dad, played by Robert Shaw, is quite uncomfortable, especially when he does nothing to discourage her attempts to court him right in front of his fiancée. Marguerite, clearly unhinged from being raised by her man-hating mother, also has hateful conversations with one of her dolls, believing it to be a real person. This, along with Marguerite's fears of being left in her hell, of her father abandoning her again, eventually leads to a murder mystery.

There's strong acting across the board, especially from Locke, who I just saw recently in a similarly off-kilter role in "The Shadow of Chikara". She definitely had a knack for playing creepy. As for the aforementioned ending, it's definitely a stunner. I can think of at least two later slashers that may have been inspired by it.

The film was apparently edited by the studio for no apparent reason, and this shows in the latter half, as scenes seem to end before they've really even begun. It can be a little confusing, and one hopes that the cut bits will be restored some day.

Haunting Gothic psychodrama (adapted by Lewis John Carlino whose THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA covers similarly torrid terrain) which, whilst undeniably owing a shade too much of a debt to PSYCHO (as previously noted by another IMDb commentator), whips up an unsettling and uneasy atmosphere of dread, not all of which is dissipated by apparently heavy censorship cuts made to secure a 'PG' for its original U.S. theatrical release in the early 70s. In fact, these often noticeable edits (scenes cut away before they've barely begun) lends the whole enterprise a greater sense of ambiguity by suggesting, rather than showing, the barely suppressed corruption and perversion. Possibly too low-key for popular tastes (which makes it all the more surprising that this was distributed by a major studio and roped in the likes of Robert Shaw) and, although I don't really go a bundle on films which seem to be bending over backwards to conceal their surprise ending (and, yes, I did see this one coming a mile off), this is still a one-off melodramatic curio worth seeking out and which certainly lingers in the mind. Now, how about a nice DVD transfer (my UK video copy is a nasty full-frame RCA Columbia release from the early 80s which doesn't do justice to what looks like impressive cinematography)?...