User Reviews

Whilst holidaying in Europe, American tourist Abby Stevens (Pamela Franklin) decides to travel to England to meet up with her fiancé Doug, who had said he was going to call on an old friend of his Alan Smerdon (Oliver Tobias) who also happens to be Abby's cousin, whom she hasn't seen since she was a child. Abby's visit has a duel purpose as she had promised Alan's parents that she would make the visit as they haven't heard from him in a couple of years, they only know he's safe because he still collects his sizeable monthly allowance. Alan's an artist and lives in a community of artists who have taken over the small country town, much to the chagrin of the locals. Once Abby arrives, she immediately feels uneasy, there is something in the air that just isn't right, this isn't helped by the fact she is given an uneasy welcome by the sinister Frank Dean (Ian Bannen), a leather glove wearing thug, with a violent past, who always has a knife in his hands, he thrusts it into Abby's face and makes it clear she isn't welcome. Eventually Alan arrives with some friends, Abby mistakenly identifies one of his friends, for him, but thats OK as Alan didn't really recognize her either. Alan tells her Doug never arrived, but Abby who has telepathic powers can tell this isn't the case. She asks to stay just in case she is mistaken and that Doug meant to arrive in a couple of days time as a surprise for Alan's upcoming birthday. Abby who had a close telepathic relationship with Doug, begins to hear his voice and feel his presence, the voice leads her to a dark gloomily lit Victorian era cellar where Alan and his girlfriend Beryl produce their horror related sculptures, there she feels something evil present. When another friend due to arrive goes missing, Abby is sure that something amiss is going on, through her intensifying psychic abilities, Abby believes that they are all dead.

The multi talented and prolific writer, Brian Clemens, was responsible for the writing duties behind the highly acclaimed Thriller series from 1973-1976, the series itself was generally a good mix of crime thriller, Mystery and horror. Won't Write Home Mom, I'm Dead was a film from the third series and as with most films in the series they managed to gather a group of talented actors together to appeal to a wider audience. Bannen's character is a little one dimensional to start with but as the film gathers pace we find he is a much more complex character and Bannen duly earns the acting plaudits here. Pamela Franklin (And soon the darkness,1970) here in her second outing in the series, is good too as the demure investigative psychic, her scenes bringing a good supernatural element to proceedings. Oliver Tobias is suitably suave and charming, his character hides a secret, thats for sure, he might not be on the level, but is he the killer? The country setting with its misty woodland and cawing crows add to the overall atmosphere, the supernatural element too is fine if a little hokey, but on the whole the story fails to materialize quick enough for my liking. The black gloved killer with flick knife in hand obviously takes its influences from the Italian Giallo, but there the influence ends. The dark secrets of the film are undoubtedly to be found in the gloomy cellar, where terrible events along the lines of Mill of the stone women are only hinted at without ever being fully revealed. Is Alan really Alan? is another plot line that is explored and revealed only at the end. On the whole its a little disappointing but still quite watchable.

I didn't understand the significance of the trees; how did they play into the mystery? There were 6 trees in Abby's visions, and 6 trees in the painting she found, but only 5 trees in reality. Was the missing 6th tree intended to represent the genuine, done-away-with Alan Smerdon?

The sculpted heads--were they in a fashion the "death masks" of the three people "Alan" and Beryl had done away with? It was never clear to me why they were so important to Beryl or why there was such an air of intrigue around them.

The Rolls Royce--who did it belong to? "Alan"? As a plot element, was it supposed to be a tip-off that "Alan" was not the anti-materialistic bohemian he pretended to be, but instead coveted luxury, and therefore might be lying about other things as well?

I was expecting at least a little expository wrapping up at the end but no such luck. The version I watched on Amazon Prime was titled "Won't Write Home, I'm Dead" (lol); perhaps some bits were edited out of it that remain in the "Terror From Within" version. I sure felt like something was missing.

I can remember may be around this time (mid 1970s) when Oliver Tobias was going to be the next big thing. He was then in "The Stud" (I suppose it seemed like a good idea at the time), this Joan Collins debacle and his matinée idol career never recovered but in this "Thriller" episode they had him posturing, looking sullen and remote as Alan Smerdon, the leader of a group of panhandling Bohemian artists who are visited by Abby who has not seen Alan, her cousin, in over 15 years. Don't know why Pamela Franklin had to portray yet another American but anyway her piquant beauty was definitely an asset.

She plays Abby who has promised to look up Allan on her way home from a continental holiday and also arrange a surprise birthday party with a couple of his old friends who are also in that part of England. But once at the house her psychic powers take over, she feels disquieted by the laid back Allan, his sullen sculptor girlfriend, Beryl, and all the rest of the hippies who are always lecturing on the evils of money but are there at the bank each month to collect their allowances. The only person who seems different from the rest is Frank (Ian Bannen) an aging wood carver who is initially taciturn but Abby begins to realise that out of this sea of friendly false faces he is her only ally.

She and Allen have always had a psychic bond - and she begins to hear his voice calling her, first toward the paintings, then to the magnificent elms that Frank informs her are riddled with Dutch Elm disease. On the night of Allan's party none of Abby's guests show up even though she had organized for her girlfriend to catch the 5.15 train and even though they were Allan's friends from childhood he is strangely detached from Abby's obvious distress - only Frank is sympathetic.

The grisly secret is all to do with the figures and heads that obsessive Beryl insists nothing will stop her from working on. There is also the little matter of a Rolls Royce that Abby sees in her dreams and one night actually sees driving like a ghost through the fog. Not one of the better "Thrillers" but I think it definitely improves with repeated viewings.