Oh the British have an odd sense of humour and "Girly" aka "Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly" is an excellently audacious combination of distorted black humour and macabre horror capped off in a very mannered approach. It's twisted! Deliciously warped and strangely unique, as the compelling story pulls you in and never let you get truly comfortable because of its beaming cruel streak and teasingly sexual seduction. It's like some happy-shinny family drama, but under that make-up its lunacy gone mad in what is a deeply disturbed, but very united family.
Two sibling children Girly and Sonny go out looking for new friends to play games with and they would bring them back home to meet their caretaker the Nanny and their Mumsy. However there's something dangerously eccentric about this family and their new friend learns he might just have to follow their rules and play their games while scheming some sort of plan if he has any chance of getting out of this nightmare alive.
Prolific British horror director Freddie Francis lets it slowly unwind in a large remote Victorian mansion estate, but this only makes the atmosphere even more jarring and disquieting with its playful jolts and character manipulations. The cheeky script is a treat on words, astute and sharp with plenty of innuendo. There's an outstanding array of character performances led largely by the ever-sultry Vanessa Howard as the miniskirt wearing Girly. A solid Michael Bryant brings the right temperament to balance out the insanity, as the new friend or better put a playmate for the children but also the for ladies of the house. He learns the only way to really dig himself out is to be playing the games and following the rules, but in a cunning manner. So the toy begins to toy around. This whole nature makes it quite unpredictable. Ursula Howells is superb, with a slightly unsettling air to her proudly calm Mumsy figure. Howard Trevor brings edginess to his troublesome Sonny character and Pat Heywood is good as Nanny. Also showing up in a minor role is Hammer regular Michael Ripper.
A crudely sinister, but highly amusing and imaginative black horror comedy curiosity.
Two sibling children Girly and Sonny go out looking for new friends to play games with and they would bring them back home to meet their caretaker the Nanny and their Mumsy. However there's something dangerously eccentric about this family and their new friend learns he might just have to follow their rules and play their games while scheming some sort of plan if he has any chance of getting out of this nightmare alive.
Prolific British horror director Freddie Francis lets it slowly unwind in a large remote Victorian mansion estate, but this only makes the atmosphere even more jarring and disquieting with its playful jolts and character manipulations. The cheeky script is a treat on words, astute and sharp with plenty of innuendo. There's an outstanding array of character performances led largely by the ever-sultry Vanessa Howard as the miniskirt wearing Girly. A solid Michael Bryant brings the right temperament to balance out the insanity, as the new friend or better put a playmate for the children but also the for ladies of the house. He learns the only way to really dig himself out is to be playing the games and following the rules, but in a cunning manner. So the toy begins to toy around. This whole nature makes it quite unpredictable. Ursula Howells is superb, with a slightly unsettling air to her proudly calm Mumsy figure. Howard Trevor brings edginess to his troublesome Sonny character and Pat Heywood is good as Nanny. Also showing up in a minor role is Hammer regular Michael Ripper.
A crudely sinister, but highly amusing and imaginative black horror comedy curiosity.