The Appointment

It's fairly clear what's coming (the actual execution of that is done very well) but the journey there is immensely creepy and atmospheric. The fact that there are so many loose ends and merely hinted-at tensions (the relationships with the wife and daughter; the whole business in the garage; the opening sequence; the dogs) makes it all the better. Fine performance by Ed Wood Wood Wood and (on a smaller scale) the rest of the cast. I enjoyed it a lot, although it's very much the kind of thing I like! The Lake, included as an extra on my Blu-ray, was also very good, with Julie Peasgood and another big dog.

The Appointment is a genuinely foreboding supernatural thriller. Intelligently conceived, meticulously paced, it quietly and deftly unravels the disquieting course of events until the astonishing final scene. While it is set in a very ordinary, quiet English town, there is an almost palpable atmosphere of pent-up malevolence, introduced in the opening scene, and persistent throughout. Whether it emanates from a human being or it is something all together different, is left to your imagination to decide. Ian (Edward Woodward) is about to embark on an unexpected long trip to a business meeting. His daughter (Samantha Weysom), a musically gifted but peculiar girl who is overly attached to her father, takes it to heart when he has to leave instead of attending her violin recital. The girl is cloying and demanding, driving her mother Dianna (Jane Merrow) to the edge of impatience. The girl pleads with him not to go until his tight-lipped tolerance finally snaps, only to regret it and be condemned to a restless night. Troubled by his daughter's behaviour, and anxious about the long drive the following morning, sleep eludes him, until, finally dozing off, he experiences a pervasive disturbing dream. The inclusion of dreams in films is so often fascinating, and rich in symbolism, and sometimes the dreams can be portents or forewarnings that the dreamer should heed, but rarely do. There are carefully placed clues to caution him from taking the trip, from an incident in the garage repairing his car, to the moment, halfway to his to his journey's end, he calls home and is cut off just as his wife is telling him she had the same dream. She is feeling that something is amiss but doesn't have the chance to tell him to turn back. Although he observes a number of troubling motifs as he drives, he cannot make sense of them and continues on. Even an opportunity to alter the outcome, when he realises his watch has stopped and inadvertently left it in the phone booth after calling his wife. He returns to retrieve it, and proceeds on his way. Woodward is superb as an overwrought man who appears to have an unshakable feeling that things are not quite as they seem, and that his destination is also his destiny. This film might not make you jump out of your skin, but it will haunt you with an uneasy feeling of dread long after the extraordinary ending of one man's appointment with fate.

Well, this obscure, ultimately strange British chiller left me with more questions than answers. Mainly thanks to its very ambiguous storytelling. It's particularly slow, and very little happens progression wise, but I found it engagingly hypnotic. Loose or untouched story threads (which sometimes don't feel connected) come and go despite the plot feeling very slight. You could say it felt like a short story stretched out, because there was a real focus on filming techniques (lingering camera shots, piercing sound fx, intrusively uneasy music etc) to pad out scenes, but those deliberate moments really added to the disquieting atmosphere brought upon by the constant foreshadowing of ominous warnings to come. The style was giving off arthouse vibes, but those moments are extremely well executed, and eerily moody. Especially the film's opening and climax. I was bowled over by how well the latter was staged.

You know what's coming, but the tension holds strong and the imagery was striking. Hard to truly explain what it's all about, as throughout we get haunting premonitions and symbolic images with very little groundwork, but obviously it had something to do with the spoilt daughter being upset with her father (Edward Woodward), and possibly putting a curse on him. The relationship between the two is odd, even a little uncomfortable, but again it's vague with possible, small hints. It's one of those films, I think would work better on repeat viewings due to its cryptic style, and visual trappings.. somewhat a journey. I would love to see a clean print as it still remains absent from digital.

My Ratings: Story 1.00 : Direction 1.00 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 0.75 : Entertaining 1.00 Total 4.50 out of 10.00

This is one of those little films that leaves you wondering, why? Indeed I had that question in my mind at the climax of the movie, though, I realised I had enjoyed the movie too.

The story is quite basic and leaves you to draw your own conclusions as to the climax and how we arrived there. The main body of the story centres around Ian, who is a loving family man. On the eve of his daughter Joanne's violin recital, his company calls into an important business meeting the following day. That night dreams of his death plague his sleep. Though, like most dreams, they fade in the light of day. We, the audience, though, quickly see the resemblances of his journey to his appointment and the previous nights' nightmare. We know that events on this road may not bode well for our family guy.

Woven into this is the awkward and slightly unnatural relationship between Ian and Joanne. The scene where she tries to use her sexuality and sweetness to get her way, while her mother watches on, left me uneasy and cold. You have the feeling there is something not quite right with Joanne... but you can't put your finger on it.

Though you never get to see any connection of the supernatural to her it is subtly, yet strongly, insinuated.

One of the strongest elements of the story and the film is how little conversation there is. For the better part of the film, nobody speaks. Even in the nightmare sequence and the continuing night scene, everything is controlled by sounds and visions. Lindsey C Vickers who both wrote and directed had a concept for this story. The nightmare sequence didn't captivate me. For me, it lacked imagination and tensity. Which is strange as the following night scene is a milieu of tension and ingenuity. Vickers uses not only lighting to set the scene and create ambience but slows the pace a tad to add an eerie and nervous feel. To that, he throws in a smidge of imagery, in the form of three large shadow dogs. Are these the hounds from the dream?

The next morning's journey is handled better than Ian's night terror trip. Though they could have provided us with more imaginative outside shots. Mostly the audience has to make do with looking up at Ian driving and watching the beautiful scenery flow speedily by the window. This is a great shame, as some long shots and downward views and sweeping camera pans would have made this such a better film. It could only have added more character and a sense of feeling to the film.

I would love to see this story reshot today. Imagine the beautiful drone camera work you could get. Flying across the desolate moors and swooping down a cliff face to come to rest on the only car on the road. I think this is the isolation Vickers was aiming for... but only somewhat captures.

I have to doff my cap to Vickers for the opening sequence. Showing the disappearance of Susan was genius. Not because it starts the story off in a creepy manner, but rather, because it has one of the best abduction scenes, ever. Now we know how the effect was implemented, though we can't help but feel creeped out by it. I even found myself saying, "Ouch!" as she's violently yanked into the undergrowth. I then doff my cap for the audacity he has to then give us the worst car crash, ever. If you decide not to hunt down this film, then you can pop over to YouTube and check out these two scenes. You'll quickly understand why they made it there. Awesomely Good - Awesomely Bad.

The acting is okay. There's not too much to say about it as there's little interaction between the characters. However, what is there, works. I will say, the actress who plays Joanne, Samantha Weysom, is much better when she doesn't speak. Her deliverance of lines is dire and unconvincing. Though, the scene between Woodward and herself is perfect in body language.

Though people have classed this as a gem, I will say it's not that good. It's passable, and it has some good ideas. A few of which work well, while others fall flat. This isn't a must-watch or a rush-out-to-buy film. It's a watch after you've caught up on everything else film. I'm glad I watched it and I'll be talking about the abduction and crash scenes with friends, but I'm not in any rush to watch it again soon. It could and should have been better.

Make an appointment to check out my Absolute Horror list and see where this car crash-landed in the rankings.

Take Care and Stay Well.

Unlike some other reviews, I didn't find this particularly strange or ambiguous - especially if you have watched a few classic horrors/thrillers from around that time. It is dated in the build-up, and could have done with some editing to keep the tension tighter. But without giving the plot away, I think it is fairly explicit about what is going on and why - and with a little thought, what had happened 3 years earlier. The acting is terrific, and the film is inventive in how it tells the story, making exceptional use of what must have been a limited budget with some lingering set pieces that I will never forget to boot. I would class this as a slow burner thriller with horror elements, based primarily around 24 hours in a family's life. A slow, sometimes very slow journey, but a rewarding detour nonetheless.