A Fuga Eterna

I saw this movie by mistake on a Saturday morning. Before I knew it, I couldn't stop watching it.

Hard to believe this is only a made-for-television movie. It was scarier than many of the horror movies I have seen in theaters.

The movie begins when an art student named Amy leaves her university and soon discovers that there is a man wearing a ski-mask on the back of her car. Soon you will find out Amy has seen this man before but no one believes she has.

The movie has a simple plot line: Amy is being stalked by a psychopath. But the simple plot has more twists than you can imagine.

Kathleen Beller made a couple of very good suspensers back in the '80s. This was one - also known as "Soon, Amy, Soon" (at least I think so) - I saw this when it first aired and just caught part of it again recently. It's great fun, about a young heiress being stalked by a man in a ski mask. However, he never seems to be around when she tells someone about it, so everyone comes to the conclusion that she's delusional. This includes her stepmother (Mariette Hartley) and her psychiatrist (Keir Dullea).

There are a couple of neat twists in this, and the viewer will remain interested throughout thanks to the good script and the fast-paced direction by John Llewellyn Moxey, an old pro.

"No Place to Hide" is a great flick to see some cold wintry evening - one often sits down to watch a suspense or mystery movie only to be disappointed - you won't be this time.

Amy leaves her art class late at night and goes to her car. However, she then finds a man dressed all in black resplendent with a black balaclava and shades waiting for her in her backseat. She gets away but isn't taken seriously by the police when she goes to report the incident. Apparently the same man has been following her on previous occasions but has always gotten away. The police think she is a crank and that this mysterious man who is threatening and stalking her is a figment of her imagination.

Soon afterwards she receives a funeral wreath from the same man. Realising that this is the first tangible piece of evidence that there is that in fact someone stalking her, she goes with her stepmother to the florists to ask who placed the order and what he looked like. The florist is amused as he says that it was her, Amy who walked in and placed the order just hours earlier.

Is Amy mad? Or is there really a man stalking and threatening to kill her?

No Place To Hide is another example of an excellent made for TV horror movie. Tense, suspenseful and very well written not to mention perfectly acted.

In fact it has so many twists and turns that it would make a great episode of either Tales of the Unexpected or Thriller.

Strong performances by both Kathleen Beller and Mariette Hartley made this such a compelling movie to watch, that you can't break away from it, even though you pretty much know how it's going to turn out.

Of all Mariette Hartley's movies, I think this was probably her best. Her portrayal of the conflicted stepmother was so completely credible, she should have received some sort of recognition for it.

Likewise, Kathleen Beller was utterly convincing as a teen coming to grips with the loss of her father while feeling that she's losing her mind. She was good in several other TV movies in the late 70s and early 80s, but this role was a shining character performance.

The fear, anguish and overall pathos of both characters makes this a must-see for any fan of good thriller fiction.

I saw this movie when it was brand new in 1981. I have not run across it since, but I still remember it. That's what a great movie this is. When I see Kathleen Beller in anything else, I think of this movie. I remember how scary and thrilling it was, with plenty of twists. It's 100% my kind of mystery, and I wish it would be shown on tv again.