Le souffle de la peur

Underrated horror-thriller with an interesting cast, led capably by a young Sondra Locke as a reclusive girl, who yearns for the affections of her absent father (Shaw), as she struggles mentally with inner demons and a strained relationship with her mother (Ure) who she blames for her father's estrangement. When Shaw visits with new girlfriend in tow (Kellerman), Locke sets out to impress him with her superior intellect and creativity, but love her as he does, he's unwilling to 'rescue' her from her unhappy existence with her mother. As he prepares to leave again, he's confronted with a series of unexplained events including fatal accidents, murder and twisted sanity.

It's the stuff of nightmares; the haunting score, lighting, and especially Locke's performance contribute to a chilling, suspenseful tale that is at times, graphically violent and gruesome. Shaw delivers another watchable performance as the increasingly concerned father, while Kellerman (aside from being breathtakingly attractive) is equally effective as an innocent bystander and unwilling witness to the unfolding madness.

A first rate cast, professional production values and intelligent dialogue all deliver, but somehow, this minor thriller seems to go perpetually unnoticed. The plot might not be rock solid, and there's undoubtedly some narrative weaknesses, but invest a little time and latitude, and you should be repaid handsomely. Great fright night fare.

Haunting Gothic psychodrama (adapted by Lewis John Carlino whose THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA covers similarly torrid terrain) which, whilst undeniably owing a shade too much of a debt to PSYCHO (as previously noted by another IMDb commentator), whips up an unsettling and uneasy atmosphere of dread, not all of which is dissipated by apparently heavy censorship cuts made to secure a 'PG' for its original U.S. theatrical release in the early 70s. In fact, these often noticeable edits (scenes cut away before they've barely begun) lends the whole enterprise a greater sense of ambiguity by suggesting, rather than showing, the barely suppressed corruption and perversion. Possibly too low-key for popular tastes (which makes it all the more surprising that this was distributed by a major studio and roped in the likes of Robert Shaw) and, although I don't really go a bundle on films which seem to be bending over backwards to conceal their surprise ending (and, yes, I did see this one coming a mile off), this is still a one-off melodramatic curio worth seeking out and which certainly lingers in the mind. Now, how about a nice DVD transfer (my UK video copy is a nasty full-frame RCA Columbia release from the early 80s which doesn't do justice to what looks like impressive cinematography)?...

A Reflection In Fear tells the story of a wealthy man (Robert Shaw), returning home for the first time in 15 years to see his daughter and to divorce his ex wife so he can marry his fiancé He's devastated to learn his daughter is treated like a prisoner on the estate, locked away from society by a vindictive wife (Mary Ure) and mother-in-law (Signe Hasso). Marguerite lives in a fantasy world, with imaginary friends named Aaron who seems to come real and gets very jealous of Marguerite.

I must say I watched this a while back and I was pleasantly surprised, it was a really interesting watch and I can see that this being from the early 70's has influenced many later slashers such as "Sleepaway Camp" and "Unhinged" I'd like to go into greater detail about this "debt" but doing so would ruin the surprise ending.

Sondra Locke who plays the daughter Marguerite gave a mesmerising performance She looks so fragile and vulnerable in her Alice in Wonderland dresses, she really steals the scenes from the other cast members. Robert Shaw's performance is restrained but it's because his character is supposed to be oblivious to his daughter's sexual advances. He's still the best male actor in the cast and his larger than life qualities shine through. Mary Ure, Shaw's real wife at the time, has little dialogue but is able to convey evil and hatred with just a glance. Sally Kellerman also gives a strong performance as Anne, a woman who realises her future is crumbling before her eyes.

All in all Reflection may be a forgotten gem, but I really liked it and has the presence of a strong cast and a strong story line, I would definitely recommend tracking this down.

Sondra Locke stars in this obscure gem as Marguerite, an odd, but very intellectual teenage girl who is kept isolated by her vindictive mother and grandmother. When her father comes to visit with his new fiancée, a perverted love triangle develops with Marguerite as the other woman.

Directed by famed cinematographer William A. Fraker, this is a solid psychological horror film with an ending that took me by surprise and adds a whole new layer to everything seen prior. The relationship between Marguerite and her dad, played by Robert Shaw, is quite uncomfortable, especially when he does nothing to discourage her attempts to court him right in front of his fiancée. Marguerite, clearly unhinged from being raised by her man-hating mother, also has hateful conversations with one of her dolls, believing it to be a real person. This, along with Marguerite's fears of being left in her hell, of her father abandoning her again, eventually leads to a murder mystery.

There's strong acting across the board, especially from Locke, who I just saw recently in a similarly off-kilter role in "The Shadow of Chikara". She definitely had a knack for playing creepy. As for the aforementioned ending, it's definitely a stunner. I can think of at least two later slashers that may have been inspired by it.

The film was apparently edited by the studio for no apparent reason, and this shows in the latter half, as scenes seem to end before they've really even begun. It can be a little confusing, and one hopes that the cut bits will be restored some day.

Weird! This is one of the most bizarre horror flicks I've ever seen. But weird can be good, and in this case, it's definitely good! The beautiful and sexy Sondra Locke is at her very best as the tormented teen. Mary Ure and Signe Hasso are appropriately sinister as Locke's overprotective mother and grandmother. Robert Shaw is the disturbed young girl's estranged father who returns home to announce he's going to marry lovely Sally Kellerman. Naturally, several strange and dastardly deeds occur before this event can take place. The film is by all means an effective suspense story(all right, so it borrowed here and there from PSYCHO), but does have its shortcomings. The movie was very severely cut to avoid an R rating and slide by with a PG. Bad editing makes it all too obvious where the missing footage should be. But, it's still a worthwhile thriller with genuine scares and great acting.