Fright is directed by Peter Collinson and written by Tudor gates. It stars Susan George, Ian Bannen, Honor Blackman, George Cole, Dennis Waterman and John Gregson. Music is by Harry Robinson and cinematography by Ian Wilson.
A young babysitter is terrorised by an escaped mental patient.
It plays as stock fair now, but Fright is undoubtedly influential in the line of "maniac stalks girl alone" movies. But! That is no gauge of quality because in spite of some good initial ground work in the first half, the pic fails to deliver on its promise. Susan George as Amanda, in fetching mini-dress, falls prey to an unhinged Ian Bannen as Brian who literally has come home.
The build up consists of Amanda turning up for her babysitting assignment and finding the lady of the house (Blackman over acting big time) on tender hooks. Once Amanda is alone in the house noises are used as scare tactics, Waterman turns up as a horny boyfriend and soon gets sent packing with a flea in his ear, and then the lights go out and Brian turns up thinking that Amanda is his wife (Blackman who is out doing some awful dancing with Cole).
General hysterics ensue as Amanda becomes a simpering wreck whilst trying to hold it together long enough to keep the baby safe from harm. Bannen goes into over drive convincing us he's mad, which leads to some very unsettling scenes as Amanda is put through a nightmare (1971 really saw George at the mercy of film makers!) until the conclusion which comes with the inevitable outcome.
Horror really wasn't Collinson's forte, and his choices in the genre tended to revolve around a woman in peril, and that's kind of the problem with Fright, it just comes off as unsavoury (do I smell misogyny?). Collinson shows some nice touches, such as a pendulum sequence, while the sense of dread in that first half is well marshalled, but most of the time he's using the picture as an excuse to leer at George's skirt, legs and ripped blouse! Don't get me wrong, as a red blooded male I find George sexy in the extreme, but I don't need it as an excuse to cover up a scripts failings.
It proves to be a most interesting viewing experience now, where armed with the knowledge of the sub-genre offerings that followed, you can't help but acknowledge that it's a film only of its time; yet still important on its basic formula terms. However, and casting aside that we are in a world where George Cole can net Honor Blackman, it really is distinctly average at best. 5/10
A young babysitter is terrorised by an escaped mental patient.
It plays as stock fair now, but Fright is undoubtedly influential in the line of "maniac stalks girl alone" movies. But! That is no gauge of quality because in spite of some good initial ground work in the first half, the pic fails to deliver on its promise. Susan George as Amanda, in fetching mini-dress, falls prey to an unhinged Ian Bannen as Brian who literally has come home.
The build up consists of Amanda turning up for her babysitting assignment and finding the lady of the house (Blackman over acting big time) on tender hooks. Once Amanda is alone in the house noises are used as scare tactics, Waterman turns up as a horny boyfriend and soon gets sent packing with a flea in his ear, and then the lights go out and Brian turns up thinking that Amanda is his wife (Blackman who is out doing some awful dancing with Cole).
General hysterics ensue as Amanda becomes a simpering wreck whilst trying to hold it together long enough to keep the baby safe from harm. Bannen goes into over drive convincing us he's mad, which leads to some very unsettling scenes as Amanda is put through a nightmare (1971 really saw George at the mercy of film makers!) until the conclusion which comes with the inevitable outcome.
Horror really wasn't Collinson's forte, and his choices in the genre tended to revolve around a woman in peril, and that's kind of the problem with Fright, it just comes off as unsavoury (do I smell misogyny?). Collinson shows some nice touches, such as a pendulum sequence, while the sense of dread in that first half is well marshalled, but most of the time he's using the picture as an excuse to leer at George's skirt, legs and ripped blouse! Don't get me wrong, as a red blooded male I find George sexy in the extreme, but I don't need it as an excuse to cover up a scripts failings.
It proves to be a most interesting viewing experience now, where armed with the knowledge of the sub-genre offerings that followed, you can't help but acknowledge that it's a film only of its time; yet still important on its basic formula terms. However, and casting aside that we are in a world where George Cole can net Honor Blackman, it really is distinctly average at best. 5/10