Fright (1971)

“Interesting current of sexual energy” – Creature Features

“contrived, mechanical” – Maltin’s

“occasionally tense…exploitative” – Blockbuster Video

“Creepy and Disturbing but never really frightening” – DVD Delirium

“Hysterical….Never lets up” – Halliwell’s Film Guide

“One of the Best Horror Films to come out of the 70s” – 10 Years of British Terror

The Lloyd’s are terribly nervous for some reason as they prepare to go out for a “celebration” and leave their young son in the hands of Amanda, the gorgeous young babysitter. Mrs. Lloyd, in particular (Honor Blackman), is excessively nervous, and it is obvious that the couple is hiding something from the babysitter. Their home is in the suburbs, and communication with the outside world was through the land-line phone alone. It’s hard to imagine a world without surveillance cameras, cellphones and the internet but not so long ago, it was the post or the telephone, and that was pretty much it.

Mr Lloyd manages to calm his wife down enough for them to be able to set off for their date, and Amanda is left on her own in a large village house, a sleeping child upstairs and lots of unnerving sounds to put her on edge not so long after the Lloyd’s departure. Her boyfriend, played by Dennis Waterman arrives with amorous intentions. He is initially resisted, but he does manage to alarm Amanda telling her that the man she thought was Mr. Lloyd was someone else, and the real Mr. Lloyd tried to murder his wife and is locked up in some lunatic asylum. Now the cat is out of the bag and it is a matter of time before news of his escape filters through and Mrs. Lloyd’s worst fears about to be unleashed, again. Her husband, we learn, had tried to strangle her to death and murder their young son as well, and she has this overwhelming fear that he will strike again – justifiably, so it seems.

Ian Bannen arrives halfway through the movie as the friendly neighbour and is all calm and controlled, or is he? After the aborted phone call from Amanda earlier, the Lloyd’s are heading home in a hurry but are delayed along the way as frazzled nerves get the better of them. Amanda’s studying child psychology comes to her aid as she attempts somehow to grapple with a man tottering on the edge of sanity and full of rage but can it hold him off for long?

Fright is a gripping and well-performed thriller, with the director Peter Collinson displaying a more than an adequate command of the ability to create suspense and tension. There are numerous sequences during events that demonstrate the directors’ ability to compose scenes of genuine tension and visual flair. There is an imprint of visual flair that is slightly reminiscent of De Palma or even Argento with the fluidity of the camera, the tracking shots and the choppy editing for dramatic effect. Collinson uses all the tricks in the bag effectively and does so with a certain flair and style, and the result is a taut little thriller that still stands up to viewing decades later. Susan George was fighting off all sorts in 1971 with Straw Dogs released the same year, and here she does a decent job while Honor Blackman is particularly strong.

Fright is undoubtedly worth a look in for those who enjoy a little tension in their viewing diet and those looking for some solid acting, and would it be considered sexist in today’s PC world to suggest that Ms. George does make for some rather pleasing eye candy.