La Peur

You might call this a slasher prototype (since it resembles something of "Halloween" and "When A Stranger Calls"), as your generic staples are there and in full flight. However it's not terribly successful in making it totally effective, but anything with Honor Blackman and the lovely Susan George in a short purple skirt has got to be worth your time. Of course! Being a very minimal production, the Gothic set-pieces are tight and the story quite simple-minded (babysitter terrorised by a escaped homicidal lunatic who returns to his family home for one night), where its all about hysteria and claustrophobic tension in a forlorn staging. The main problem it was just too uneven. Good uneasy first half, let down by a weak, bloated second half. Some plastered jolts, and atmospheric touches worked (mainly those vivid sound effects), but definitely there were moments that didn't have much impact, and fell in the risible bracket. Not helping was the script completely plods along. Peter Collinson's terse direction, along with Ian Wilson's skillful cinematography and Harry Robertson's whimsically edgy musical score build upon the creaky, and moody old-school atmosphere. The dark, gloomy isolated house (you cant go wrong there!) is well-used in many of the set-ups, and they achieve many unique placements (reflections to silhouettes) with the characters. Collinson's framing is first-rate. A busty Susan George (who gets some scenes with her bra-exposed) is superb in her well-rounded performance of conveying the frightening despair that basically overwhelms her. On the other hand Ian Bannen's spaced out, muttering psychotic loony was a bit hit-and-miss. Honor Blackman scores points as the up-tight mother. George Cole, John Gregson and Dennis Waterman provide sturdy support. Passable little horror flick.

I remember seeing this cult British flick many years ago and remember how it sent genuine chills up my spine..... Susan George gives a brilliant performance as the young, tormented babysitter in this very atmospheric chiller. Ably supported by stalwart British actors (George Cole, Dennis waterman & the ever fabulous Honor Blackman. Some of the dialogue is rather "hammy" and check out the hilarious "dancing" in the nightclub - LOL. Apart from these small points this is a very well crafted little thriller. This film is now available on region 1 DVD and is well worth investing in if you love cult horror movies. Turn out the lights, lock the door and sit back and prepare for "FRIGHT" !!!!You won't be disappointed !!!

Fright (1971) is directed by Peter Collinson, a largely under-rated film-maker who received his only positive notices for the film The Italian Job, though in reality he made a fair few good films such as Innocent Bystanders and The Earthling.

The story is simple, but fairly engrossing: a young babysitter in a lonely mansion is terrorised by an escaped homicidal lunatic. The babysitter is nicely played by Susan George and the maniac is very convincingly portrayed by Ian Bannen.

The film starts out just fine, with some careful and genuinely suspenseful build up scenes. Every now and then, we are fed another clue that someone unpleasant is hanging around outside the mansion... Dennis Waterman is assaulted whilst walking through the grounds; we see a cloudy figure sneaking past the kitchen door as George boils the kettle, etc. The film is pretty scary early on, and I'm not embarrassed to admit that the hairs on my neck were prickling a bit.

However, it all goes wrong later on. The maniac turns up about a third of the way in and the effective suspense suddenly gives way to sadism and over-the-top hysterics. Bannen, as mentioned earlier, plays the part very well, but the lines he has to speak and his actions are ludicrously and needlessly savage. I know he's meant to be a bad man, but his nastiness just seems too excessive. Collinson forgets to keep the suspense ticking over and lunges for the audiences jugular, dragging down what could have a great little thriller and turning into a mere exploitation shocker.

Enjoyed this British film with Susan George, (Amanda), "The Strange Affair", who plays the role of a young gal attending college and taking on a babysitting job way out in the country and walking all by herself after getting off a bus. The house where Amanda is to babysit is very old and their is a little boy she is to take care of while his mom and dad go out to dine. Amanda has a visit from her boyfriend who attempts to make love to her and starts to almost get to first base when the telephone starts to ring. Susan George gives a great performance through out the entire picture and it truly shows the great talent she had during her early years of stardom. If you like Susan George when she was young, pretty and sexy, this is the film for you. Enjoy.

Fright (1971)

** (out of 4)

British thriller has teenager Amanda (Susan George) showing up for a babysitting job when she soon finds herself being terrorized by the kid's father shows up after escaping from a mental hospital. The father plans on murdering his ex-wife but plans change after he notices that the babysitter reminds him of her. FRIGHT has a few tense moments early on but after a pretty good start the film sadly falls apart pretty quickly. I thought the first thirty-minutes of the film were rather well-directed and features a couple tense sequences and it's really too bad the rest of the film didn't live up to the title. Director Peter Collison really does a nice job at building up the tension early on and I especially liked the way that he used sound effects to build up not only the atmosphere but also some creepy moments. One perfect example deals with some dripping water but the highlight of the film is one of the first stalking scenes we witness as the babysitter's boyfriend is outside and being followed. This scene is without question the best of the movie and is almost strong enough to make the entire film worth sitting through. The problem with the final hour is that not too much happens. The entire thing is extremely slow paced and like many British films, the dialogue is just way too much and it pretty much takes over the picture and not a single thing said is interesting. Even worse is how the film keeps flashing back and forth between what's going on inside the house and what the kid's mother and stepfather are doing in town. Yet another problem is simply how stupid the babysitter gets once more of the action takes place inside the house. Fans of George will no doubt want to see her here as she's as cute as ever and turns in a decent performance. Honor Blackman and Ian Bannen are good in their supporting roles as well. FRIGHT manages to have a couple good sequences but sadly there just aren't enough to keep the film entertaining throughout.