Pete Walker set his films in pleasant English settings but in those settings something horrible is always going on, His masterpiece 'Frightmare' superbly mixes the domestic with the cannibalistic. Here it is the local priest who takes services and hears confessions in a dowdy looking suburban Catholic church but he is also obsessive about sexual behaviour and commits a few murders too. This mixture of the ordinary with the transgressive is the director's forte and he makes Hammer films look a bit tame. The murder of Mrs Davey at the altar rail is a fine example of this.
The priest is played by veteran actor Anthony Sharp who has a unique voice and he is excellent. Yes he may be mad and homicidal but he is also pitiful. As his mother another veteran Hilda Barry has no lines of dialogue but conveys her fear adeptly with her eyes and hands. The great Sheila Keith with one eye (the character that is not the actress) as Miss Brabazon is not in it enough but she commands the screen as usual when she is on. Towards the end she gives a smile that gave me goosebumps. The other cast members are adequate.
It is perhaps a little longer than the material can bear but it keeps one's attention and Stanley Myers provides another excellent score.
The priest is played by veteran actor Anthony Sharp who has a unique voice and he is excellent. Yes he may be mad and homicidal but he is also pitiful. As his mother another veteran Hilda Barry has no lines of dialogue but conveys her fear adeptly with her eyes and hands. The great Sheila Keith with one eye (the character that is not the actress) as Miss Brabazon is not in it enough but she commands the screen as usual when she is on. Towards the end she gives a smile that gave me goosebumps. The other cast members are adequate.
It is perhaps a little longer than the material can bear but it keeps one's attention and Stanley Myers provides another excellent score.