1971's "Fright" from Britain's Fantale Films and screenwriter Tudor Gates was one of the last theatrical releases for Allied Artists, formerly Poverty Row outfit Monogram. A fine cast is gathered together for what essentially is a prototype for the next decade's slasher subgenre, Susan George well cast as babysitter Amanda, apparently virginal but dressed quite provocatively in go go boots, whose latest charge is a 3 year old boy with a highly agitated mother, Helen Lloyd (Honor Blackman), living in a creaky country cottage far off the main road with new husband Jim (George Cole). One would believe that Helen has never left her child alone with a babysitter before, quite reluctant to give in and have a good time at the local pub for a celebration of some kind. The first thing that Amanda does by herself is head for the kitchen to rattle those pipes for a pot of tea, director Peter Collinson using sound to ratchet up suspense as we have reason to fear that a prowler lurks outside. Amanda immediately does what any ordinary frightened girl would do, unlock the back door and venture out into the night to confront whoever is there, only to be greeted by a revolving clothesline repeatedly hitting a tree branch (she screams at the top of her lungs). No sooner are we beyond that false scare than another arrives, a slowly opening door that reveals...the baby Tara (Tara Collinson, the director's son), in need of a bedtime story just as Amanda's lustful boyfriend Chris makes his presence known at the front door. Some careful maneuvering is necessary to maintain her virginity, sending the would be lothario back out into the cold as she winds down with a television broadcast of Hammer's 1966 classic "The Plague of the Zombies" Little does she know that in refusing to leave Chris finds himself beaten to a pulp by an unknown assailant, easily telegraphed by the conversation between the Lloyds, fearing the homicidal return of Helen's former husband, Brian Halston (Ian Bannen), locked away since his previous attempt to murder her. When creeping noises upstairs sound the alarm bells Amanda seeks to escape by the front door, encounters a bloodied Chris, and allows the intrusion of the escaped lunatic himself, quickly proclaiming the boyfriend dead (he isn't) and finding himself so far gone that he often mistakes Amanda for Helen. With the Lloyds racing home and the police too late to accomplish anything but wait it out, a lengthy hostage situation presents itself, poor Amanda holding baby Tara close while her captor endlessly rants and raves about killing both if he doesn't see his wife. Fright may be the operative word for Susan George, an exceptional actress in conveying quivering terror, but a picture that starts off in hysteria unfortunately fails miserably to maintain suspense, Ian Bannen almost single handedly sinking the ship with an unintentionally comic turn where even Honor Blackman follows suit in overwrought fashion. A sadistic twist in having a young child in constant peril from a blade against his throat just doesn't resonate due to the unlikely behavior on exhibit, left without any likable characters well before its half baked climax. Collinson's career featured similar failed titles like Hammer's "Straight on Till Morning" and remakes "Ten Little Indians" and "The Spiral Staircase," Tudor Gates best remembered for his Hammer trilogy "The Vampire Lovers," "Lust for a Vampire," and "Twins of Evil."
Review of Fright
