Le Spectre maudit

Robert Hartford-Davis("Corruption","The Fiend")directed this little gem of horror in 1964.Admittedly the action is pretty slow,but still the film has some eerie moments-especially the beginning is very creepy.The ghostly bits are well-done and the ending is a bit confusing.The acting is acceptable and the film has one or two unsettling moments.So if you like British horror movies "The Black Torment" is worth checking out! Recommended!

It is indicative of the problems of the writers,that in the last couple of minutes they have to include explanatory dialogue to explain the rather surprise denouement. Thoigh in fact it is not that surprisong when you think the plot through.

THE BLACK TORMENT (1964) is an early film in the career of director Robert Hartford-Davis, best known for his shocking later works like CORRUPTION and THE FIEND. This one is a much tamer effort that plays out as more of a spooky mystery than a horror film, although it has a couple of shock scenes in the latter half. The story involves a wealthy heir and his new bride returning to his ancestral home, only to discover a string of brutal murders plaguing the area - and his own household!

For a slow-moving mystery like this, it's not hard to work out the denouement, although there are a few surprises in store at the end. It looks and feels very much like a Hammer horror in terms of the 18th century setting and backdrop of aristocrats and working class servants. It also doesn't have much going for it, feeling a little tame and long-winded, and isn't one I'd watch a second time now that I know the outcome. It does also suffer from having a stiff lead in the form of John Turner, but the supporting cast, which includes Francis de Wolff, Peter Arne and Patrick Troughton, adds some colour. Certainly not a "bad" film per se, but one I struggle to get too excited about.

BLACK TORMENT was a movie I read about in books on British horror films but it was one which I had never seen until I was recently able to rent it locally. I was so impressed that I went out and bought it. It's not a classic but it is very well done. BLACK TORMENT was made in 1964 by a small production called Compton headed up by Tony Tenser who would eventually start one of Hammer's main competitors Tigon Films (makers of WITCHFINDER GENERAL, BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW) later in the decade.

Compton produced some interesting films in the mid-1960s including Roman Polanski's REPULSION, The Sherlock Holmes meets Jack the Ripper thriller A STUDY IN TERROR and George Harrison's WONDERWALL. BLACK TORMENT was obviously an attempt to cash in on the success of Hammer Films and the film turns out to be not such much a horror film as a Gothic one like those being produced in Italy with Barbara Steele (CASTLE OF BLOOD, NIGHTMARE CASTLE) although not as gruesome. In fact it was of the few true English Gothic movies that I've seen as it comes straight out of the tradition of Ann Radcliffe and Horace Walpole.

The plot is standard Gothic stuff. An 18th century nobleman returns to his family estate only to be told that he's been there before and committed murder. He begins to see the ghost of his first wife and starts to doubt his own sanity. Meanwhile more murders occur. If you're a fan of Gothic literature you'll have a pretty good idea of how this all turns out but I won't spoil it for you. The film is beautifully shot which comes as no surprise since the cameraman is Peter Newbrook who would later direct the atmospheric Victorian shocker THE ASPHYX.

The real surprise is that the director is Robert Hartford-Davis who would go on to make CORRUPTION and BLOOD SUCKERS (INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED) two very different films in terms of style and content. All were photographed by Newbrook so there is that connecting thread. Although there are no major genre stars, the costumes are appropriate, the settings atmospheric (inside and out), and the music is effective. A good, old-fashioned Gothic thriller that really entertains if you're into this sort of thing. This Redemption DVD of BLACK TORMENT looks very good but I'm sure there's a better print out there somewhere...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Robert Hartford-Davis interrupted his schedule of very contemporary exploitation pictures to make this rip-roaring hybrid of a modern Hammer psycho-drama and the sort of thing Bava and Freda were making on the continent, handsomely mounted in Eastmancolor with an interesting cast of familiar faces, old and new.