Judy Geeson is at her loveliest and most appealing as Peggy Heller, a 22 year old bride who accompanies her new husband Robert (Ralph Bates) to his new gig as teacher at a boarding school in the country. But while this is going on, she's being repeatedly attacked by a one-armed antagonist, and she can't seem to convince other people that she's in peril.
It's up to the very capable actors to carry this story, concocted by Michael Syson and director Jimmy Sangster. (The latter being a veteran Hammer screenwriter, in his third and final directing job.) There's an inherent creepiness to the campus setting since this is a time when the school is nearly deserted. Sangster doesn't milk as much tension from the scenario as this viewer would have liked, but things *do* get progressively more interesting and involving as the tale winds towards its final act. Whether or not the audience figures things out ahead of time, it's commendable that Sangster & Syson try to keep things ambiguous as to the idea of Peggy having an overactive imagination.
Keeping things off-centre are the performances of old pro Peter Cushing, in one of his finest performances as a subtly strange headmaster (named Michael Carmichael), and a perfectly snooty Joan Collins as his hot-to-trot younger wife. Geeson is vulnerable enough to earn our sympathies, while Bates does a solid job as the concerned husband.
Excellent location shooting is a plus, as well as an effectively melodramatic music score composed by John McCabe. There are not a lot of characters, so a fairly intimate feeling is created, but top character actor James Cossins (as the doctor) and Gillian Lind as Mrs. Beamish are well worth watching in supporting roles. The modern setting is a nice touch for a company whose bread and butter for years was Gothic horror.
Ironically, for a film titled "Fear in the Night", a lot of the story takes place during the day.
Six out of 10.
It's up to the very capable actors to carry this story, concocted by Michael Syson and director Jimmy Sangster. (The latter being a veteran Hammer screenwriter, in his third and final directing job.) There's an inherent creepiness to the campus setting since this is a time when the school is nearly deserted. Sangster doesn't milk as much tension from the scenario as this viewer would have liked, but things *do* get progressively more interesting and involving as the tale winds towards its final act. Whether or not the audience figures things out ahead of time, it's commendable that Sangster & Syson try to keep things ambiguous as to the idea of Peggy having an overactive imagination.
Keeping things off-centre are the performances of old pro Peter Cushing, in one of his finest performances as a subtly strange headmaster (named Michael Carmichael), and a perfectly snooty Joan Collins as his hot-to-trot younger wife. Geeson is vulnerable enough to earn our sympathies, while Bates does a solid job as the concerned husband.
Excellent location shooting is a plus, as well as an effectively melodramatic music score composed by John McCabe. There are not a lot of characters, so a fairly intimate feeling is created, but top character actor James Cossins (as the doctor) and Gillian Lind as Mrs. Beamish are well worth watching in supporting roles. The modern setting is a nice touch for a company whose bread and butter for years was Gothic horror.
Ironically, for a film titled "Fear in the Night", a lot of the story takes place during the day.
Six out of 10.