Vengeance en différé

Within the limitations of television, this was a tidy little entertainment. How Awful About Allan transcended the crummy cheapness that marred Made-for-TV movies from their historical onset. This pleasantly scary story was better than average because of its workmanlike performances, its unnerving story, and the fact that its main character, Tony Perkins, is not totally sympathetic.

Even if you peg the reasons that Perkins has hysterical blindness (and it's wonderfully frustrating seeing the blurred images he's seeing) from the start, the movie accomplishes what it must do right from the start--it causes you to give a damn. You watch because you must.

Finally, there's a special place in my heart for "Olive," played by the late, great Joan Hackett. She was a lovely woman whose quirky, passionate performances always seemed to lift the quality of a film an extra notch.

Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris are just fine, too.

So, get to a dollar store or the Wal-Mart dollar DVD kiosk, grab a copy of How Awful About Allan and swing by the warm blankey department--you're gonna need it.

Generally I don't crib, but I've seen absolute gibberish being rated pretty highly if it comes out of a big studio with a big cast. Now this movie here is not that special, but it is well directed, has great acting by the cast and some decent camera work. The story seems slightly predictable but it is credible and works for this kind of movie. The reveal at the end does come across as a surprise.

Anthony Perkins live up to the role and shows his range as an actor here. This is a very good movie, albeit a short one. Full marks the the director and his crew.

Effective psychological "thriller" about a man that has subconsciously lost his sight due to a tragedy that befell him and his family when a child. Little Alan blames himself for setting a fire that kills his mean and nasty father and scars his sister whose bigger loss is her much beloved father. Anthony Perkins gives a pretty good performance of a man torn apart from his past and now lives with his sister after years of being institutionalized. Perkins obviously has experience playing psychotic individuals, and his Alan is not overdone at all. In fact I thought Perkins gave a very restrained performance. Julie Harris is equally up to task as his sister who must deal with her returning brother, her life such as it is, and economic issues. Money is so tight that she must let a room to a boarder...and then things begin to cave in for Alan and his life still only seeing things through a blur. This movie was made for television and it shows. There is not a lot of action and really no performers of any note outside the leads and Joan Hackett as an old flame for Alan. The film was directed by Curtis Harrington, veteran of some older genre films and later What's the Matter with Helen? and Whoever Slew Aunite Roo?. Harrington is always steady behind the lens and ably creates some tension and suspense even though his obvious budgetary restraints shine. All in all, How Awful About Alan delivers a taut examination of how we sometimes internalize the pain that we live with and what must happen to it to cleanse our souls.

Atmospheric psychological thriller has Perkins ideally cast as the brooding music lecturer, left psychosomatically blinded after he witnesses his father perish in a house fire, which also disfigures his elder sister (Harris). After spending eight months in a mental hospital he returns to the house and is cared for by his sister, but his recovery is hampered by the presence of a suspicious boarder who comes and goes under cloak of darkness, and who Perkins is convinced, is trying to kill him.

It's sometimes tense and gripping, though the small-scale TV treatment confines the plot to strictly minor status. Hackett co-stars as the kindly neighbour, keen to help Perkins emerge from his deteriorating psychosis, while Kent Smith has a bit part as the once-feared patriarch, favoured by Harris but with whom Perkins' relationship was strained.

Provokes an occasional shiver, but it's still a very timid tale that relies too much on the wind machines and 'dark, stormy night' routine, a consequence (but not necessarily an excuse) perhaps of the TV budget. There's a throwback moment to "Psycho" at the film's climax which might bring a smile to your face if you know what to look for, while the distinguished cast deliver their dialogue with stage-born professionalism and the overall result is a modest time-filler with potential.

This is a pretty good made for TV film. Tony Perkins is always worth watching. He so underplays his character that for a long time, I couldn't stand him. There are lots of people who care about him and he seems so ungrateful. Then weird stuff begins to happen. He is so filled with guilt, feeling he is responsible for the fiery death of his abusive father and the disfigurement of his sister, we can see the guilt, there on his sleeve. Though he is aware of his anger, he still tries to go on. At one point, he really begins the process to get himself put back in the institution which held him since the fire. People try to help him, but there is a constant undercurrent of deception. But we can't put our fingers on it. Perkins does so much with his facial expressions and, of course, Julie Harris is one of America's best actresses. There are many twists and turns and questions and they are subtly put forth. There is no heavy handedness here, which would have ruined the film. See it if you can.