Vastly under-rated (no doubt due to it's lack of release and being regarded as just another Hammer Horror) it is yet another offering from that studio that shows just what crafted film-makers the team from Bray studios actually were.
Director Cyril Frankel extracts first-rate performances from the leading performers, with Janina Faye worthy of special mention as the key victim in the saga.
Production values are the usual high standard from the Hammer team of the late 50's - Early 60's, Bernard Robinson's production design triumphant transforming Pinewood's Black Park locations into a small Canadian town.
Freddie Francis does his sterling filter work yet again, adding menace to the lakeside finale and offering more in monochrome than could have been achieved in colour.
Considerably superior to most films that broach the subject matter and (although the copy I have seen is no better than average quality) it is hoped that the upcoming DVD release will restore the widescreen ratio thus allowing us to see it as it was intended.
Director Cyril Frankel extracts first-rate performances from the leading performers, with Janina Faye worthy of special mention as the key victim in the saga.
Production values are the usual high standard from the Hammer team of the late 50's - Early 60's, Bernard Robinson's production design triumphant transforming Pinewood's Black Park locations into a small Canadian town.
Freddie Francis does his sterling filter work yet again, adding menace to the lakeside finale and offering more in monochrome than could have been achieved in colour.
Considerably superior to most films that broach the subject matter and (although the copy I have seen is no better than average quality) it is hoped that the upcoming DVD release will restore the widescreen ratio thus allowing us to see it as it was intended.