Patricia (Stephanie Powers) is going to visit her dead fiancée's mother in England for "closure". She (Tallulah Bankhead) turns out to be a religious fanatic. She sees Patricia as her dead son's wife (even though they were never married) and intends for Patricia to join her son in Heaven--pure and and unsullied. Doesn't matter that Patricia might not want that.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! Made in the wake of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"--a HUGE moneymaker. Like "Jane" this has a demented old woman tormenting another woman. This one is very unpleasant--you see Powers constantly being threatened, beaten up and starved. Now "Jane" was unpleasant too--but that had Bette Davis and Joan Crawford chewing the scenery. Bankhead and Powers are good actresses--but no Davis and Crawford. Also this film has a jokey score (at the beginning) that's totally at odds with the material. The story was far-fetched too--more than once I could see possible ways Powers could have escaped. It actually got boring too! I was surprised to see this was a Hammer film--there's very little blood in it at all.
Still, the acting was good (Bankhead in her last film is having fun and Powers is beautiful) and it's fun to see Donald Sutherland in an early role (playing a mentally handicapped servant). It's an OK horror film.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! Made in the wake of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"--a HUGE moneymaker. Like "Jane" this has a demented old woman tormenting another woman. This one is very unpleasant--you see Powers constantly being threatened, beaten up and starved. Now "Jane" was unpleasant too--but that had Bette Davis and Joan Crawford chewing the scenery. Bankhead and Powers are good actresses--but no Davis and Crawford. Also this film has a jokey score (at the beginning) that's totally at odds with the material. The story was far-fetched too--more than once I could see possible ways Powers could have escaped. It actually got boring too! I was surprised to see this was a Hammer film--there's very little blood in it at all.
Still, the acting was good (Bankhead in her last film is having fun and Powers is beautiful) and it's fun to see Donald Sutherland in an early role (playing a mentally handicapped servant). It's an OK horror film.