When a virginal bride (Stephanie Beacham) heads to her new home, she has no idea of the horrors ahead of her. Husband to be Ian Ogilvy is a wealthy landowner who is tortured by his family's past. It seems that Grandpa Herbert Lom (now deceased) committed some evil on the woodsman (Geoffrey Whitehead) and his wife, and a curse has moved onto the future generations. Unfortunately, it will be the sweetly innocent Beacham who suffers at the hands of this revenge, but the evil of the past must be avenged....
This is a genuinely spooky horror film, a lot like some later mainstream horror films of the late 70's/early 80's ("The Sentinel", "The Changeling", "Ghost Story"), even if it looks like many of the horror films made by Hammer or American International from the late 50's on. Beacham, best known to American audiences for her multi-faceted role as Sable on "The Colbys" and later on "Dynasty", is ravishingly beautiful as well as a very good actress. Why she hasn't had a career in films beyond these string of horror films is as mysterious as the plot line here. (Fortunately, she's been better utilized on stage; She has a presence that takes her a step beyond the usual horror film heroine.) Lom, a veteran actor with a long career in a large variety of genres, is quite menacing as the film's villain, seen in a well-filmed flashback. Geoffrey Whitehead adds scariness and pathos to his pathetic character.
Unfortunately, Peter Cushing is wasted as the doctor who comes on half way through the film to help unravel the mystery as any Van Helsing would. But there are enough chills thanks to the crawling hand (that apparently has ears to hear) and mysteriously opening windows to keep you hooked.
This is a genuinely spooky horror film, a lot like some later mainstream horror films of the late 70's/early 80's ("The Sentinel", "The Changeling", "Ghost Story"), even if it looks like many of the horror films made by Hammer or American International from the late 50's on. Beacham, best known to American audiences for her multi-faceted role as Sable on "The Colbys" and later on "Dynasty", is ravishingly beautiful as well as a very good actress. Why she hasn't had a career in films beyond these string of horror films is as mysterious as the plot line here. (Fortunately, she's been better utilized on stage; She has a presence that takes her a step beyond the usual horror film heroine.) Lom, a veteran actor with a long career in a large variety of genres, is quite menacing as the film's villain, seen in a well-filmed flashback. Geoffrey Whitehead adds scariness and pathos to his pathetic character.
Unfortunately, Peter Cushing is wasted as the doctor who comes on half way through the film to help unravel the mystery as any Van Helsing would. But there are enough chills thanks to the crawling hand (that apparently has ears to hear) and mysteriously opening windows to keep you hooked.