Interesting early slasher film has loads of atmosphere, and I might have rated it higher if it had a more exciting script. Honor Blackman is a young babysitter taking care of a small child in a very remote house. The parents are unusually paranoid, but Blackman doesn't catch on until the wife's psychotic ex-husband, who has just escaped from the asylum, shows up to terrorize her and the baby.
I can imagine that this was considered pretty brutal in 1971, particularly in one scene where the murderer beats somebody within an inch of his life. Now that time has dulled a lot of our sensibilities about horror movies, this will probably not seem very shocking at all to the average viewer. The best reason to watch it now is because of the interesting way the film is photographed, as well as the effective location. The house itself is very creepy, and a brilliantly conceived credit sequence shows Blackman walking all alone through a darkened rural area to get to where she's going. It's actually one of the best moments of the film. The dark interiors of the house do a lot to further the tension--as does the horrifying 70s decor.
Finally, Ian Bannen is great as the crazy ex-husband. Do yourself a favor and watch this if you're a fan of 70s horror films. It's not "Texas Chainsaw" by any means, but it's worth seeing just the same.
I can imagine that this was considered pretty brutal in 1971, particularly in one scene where the murderer beats somebody within an inch of his life. Now that time has dulled a lot of our sensibilities about horror movies, this will probably not seem very shocking at all to the average viewer. The best reason to watch it now is because of the interesting way the film is photographed, as well as the effective location. The house itself is very creepy, and a brilliantly conceived credit sequence shows Blackman walking all alone through a darkened rural area to get to where she's going. It's actually one of the best moments of the film. The dark interiors of the house do a lot to further the tension--as does the horrifying 70s decor.
Finally, Ian Bannen is great as the crazy ex-husband. Do yourself a favor and watch this if you're a fan of 70s horror films. It's not "Texas Chainsaw" by any means, but it's worth seeing just the same.