Artist Paul Farrell(Kerwin Mathews) escaping a bad relationship, gets in over his head when he falls in love with the seductive step-mother Eve(Nadia Gray) of a young beauty, Annette(Liliane Brousse)who operates a sea-side café for which he's renting a room. Annette's father, Georges, is locked away in an asylum due to his brutal murder of a rapist who assaulted her. Paul, so completely blinded by his love for the married woman, agrees to help Eve in the escape of Georges, with dire consequences yielding problems he could never imagine. Georges, through a supposed conversation with Eve, wishes to escape hoping to rendezvous with his daughter Annette in another place far away from those out to get him. But, another missing prisoner, who might've possibly escaped with Georges, will come back to haunt Paul and Eve. With Inspector Etienne(George Pastell)often poking around, asking questions, it's only a matter of time before a sure-proof plan unravels with betrayal and deception on the horizon..
Super-slick and slippery as only Hammer scribe Sangster can deliver offers several twists, with certain characters not as they appear. One particular character twist some might see coming because of the endless parade of thrillers and courtroom dramas which have come after "Maniac." But, there's one twist regarding the escaped madman which might raise eyebrows..it's certainly inspired, I'll say that. Moody photography helps enhance the mystery as it slowly develops and the setting is alluring. The attractive cast also adds to the already beautiful landscape the characters inhabit, and the seedy elements give the film a nice naughty quality. You know, Hammer is known for their gorgeous Gothic color films, but I really think the studios produced some excellent B&W psychological thrillers as well.
The opening sequence is quite startling in how it sets up the tone of the rest of the film, with a salivating old man looking on at an innocent teenager from behind the bushes, offering her a ride home, moving her out of the visibility of the viewer behind waves of green, as one of Annette's school chums gets her father, with the result of an off-screen altercation and blow-torch murder giving way to the credits of the film.
Super-slick and slippery as only Hammer scribe Sangster can deliver offers several twists, with certain characters not as they appear. One particular character twist some might see coming because of the endless parade of thrillers and courtroom dramas which have come after "Maniac." But, there's one twist regarding the escaped madman which might raise eyebrows..it's certainly inspired, I'll say that. Moody photography helps enhance the mystery as it slowly develops and the setting is alluring. The attractive cast also adds to the already beautiful landscape the characters inhabit, and the seedy elements give the film a nice naughty quality. You know, Hammer is known for their gorgeous Gothic color films, but I really think the studios produced some excellent B&W psychological thrillers as well.
The opening sequence is quite startling in how it sets up the tone of the rest of the film, with a salivating old man looking on at an innocent teenager from behind the bushes, offering her a ride home, moving her out of the visibility of the viewer behind waves of green, as one of Annette's school chums gets her father, with the result of an off-screen altercation and blow-torch murder giving way to the credits of the film.