Fright (1971)

5/10

Great cast in average British 70s thriller.

BA_Harrison23 April 2006

Susan George seemed to have spent a large part of 1971 being terrorised in rural houses by maniacs; in Straw Dogs she suffered violence at the hands of vicious country yokels and in Fright she is threatened by an escaped lunatic with murder on his mind.

Unfortunately, despite a great cast including George Cole, Honor Blackman and Dennis Waterman, and direction from Peter Collinson (who gave us the classic The Italian Job) this somewhat tedious thriller/horror rarely manages to be anything more than average.

Susan George (looking a lot like Sarah Michelle Gellar to me only much sexier) is great as Amanda, the babysitter who must protect baby Tara when his homicidal father drops by for a visit; she convincingly portrays the terror of the situation (whilst simultaneously looking great in a very short dress), but even her performance cannot save the film; the histrionics in the latter part of the film undermine all that goes before and the finale, in which Amanda exacts revenge on the killer, is quite ridiculous.

Director Collinson manages a few nice touches (I particularly liked the intercutting between Susan George and Honor Blackman to show how the maniac was unable to discern between the two women), but the tension of the housebound action is dissipated by some dreadfully dull scenes set in a nearby restaurant and the local police station.

With a little more action, a bit less talk and maybe one or two more deaths, this could have been a classic little chiller as it stands, it is just another so-so horror film which is unlikely to cause anyone sleepless nights.

22 out of 28 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Early babysitter-in-peril flick

Leofwine_draca16 December 2011

Warning: Spoilers

FRIGHT is an early example of the slasher movie, neatly predating BLACK Christmas by two years, and featuring a lone babysitter menaced by a psychopath a good while before WHEN A STRANGER CALLS and HALLOWEEN came along. In fact the film it most reminded me of is TALES FROM THE CRYPT, specifically the segment where Joan Collins is menaced by a psycho Santa.

It's a good, if not great little horror movie that takes no time in actually getting on with the storytelling. From the outset, in which sexy Susan George is left to fend for herself in a spooky old house, the chills pile up; the door handles rattle, there are distorted faces at the window and lurkers on the driveway outside. For a horror fan, the story of an escaped lunatic is very familiar, but writer Tudor Gates brings the horror back into the family circle and as the film goes on it moves away from a strict slasher flick and becomes more of a tragedy.

It's fair to say that Ian Bannen makes for a complex villain. On the one hand, he's as disturbingly frightening as you could wish for in a scare film, but on the other he's genuinely disturbed and in need of psychiatric attention. Much of the suspense comes from the complex psychological games that victim George plays with him as the story goes on. George, dressed in a torn-open mini dress for most of the running time, looks gorgeous and plays a less irritating character than the one in STRAW DOGS (although there's still a fair bit of shrieking and crying).

The supporting cast is packed with familiar faces from British TV (such as George Cole and Dennis Waterman, teaming up long before MINDER), including an amusing bit-part for an extremely young Roger Lloyd Pack as a copper. Honor Blackman appears in one of her more memorable parts - and gets to show a bit of spirit - as the put-upon wife, and Peter Collinson's direction adds an extra sheen of quality to the proceedings. I wouldn't call FRIGHT a classic, as it's too basic and familiar for that, but it's a nice example of what the slasher film can achieve when it doesn't rely on gore for effect.

6 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

"You could make a horror film in here".

lost-in-limbo24 December 2007

You might call this a slasher prototype (since it resembles something of "Halloween" and "When A Stranger Calls"), as your generic staples are there and in full flight. However it's not terribly successful in making it totally effective, but anything with Honor Blackman and the lovely Susan George in a short purple skirt has got to be worth your time. Of course! Being a very minimal production, the Gothic set-pieces are tight and the story quite simple-minded (babysitter terrorised by a escaped homicidal lunatic who returns to his family home for one night), where its all about hysteria and claustrophobic tension in a forlorn staging. The main problem it was just too uneven. Good uneasy first half, let down by a weak, bloated second half. Some plastered jolts, and atmospheric touches worked (mainly those vivid sound effects), but definitely there were moments that didn't have much impact, and fell in the risible bracket. Not helping was the script completely plods along. Peter Collinson's terse direction, along with Ian Wilson's skillful cinematography and Harry Robertson's whimsically edgy musical score build upon the creaky, and moody old-school atmosphere. The dark, gloomy isolated house (you cant go wrong there!) is well-used in many of the set-ups, and they achieve many unique placements (reflections to silhouettes) with the characters. Collinson's framing is first-rate. A busty Susan George (who gets some scenes with her bra-exposed) is superb in her well-rounded performance of conveying the frightening despair that basically overwhelms her. On the other hand Ian Bannen's spaced out, muttering psychotic loony was a bit hit-and-miss. Honor Blackman scores points as the up-tight mother. George Cole, John Gregson and Dennis Waterman provide sturdy support. Passable little horror flick.

6 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Maniac stalks young girl... one of the earlier examples of the slasher movie.

barnabyrudge23 January 2003

Fright (1971) is directed by Peter Collinson, a largely under-rated film-maker who received his only positive notices for the film The Italian Job, though in reality he made a fair few good films such as Innocent Bystanders and The Earthling.

The story is simple, but fairly engrossing: a young babysitter in a lonely mansion is terrorised by an escaped homicidal lunatic. The babysitter is nicely played by Susan George and the maniac is very convincingly portrayed by Ian Bannen.

The film starts out just fine, with some careful and genuinely suspenseful build up scenes. Every now and then, we are fed another clue that someone unpleasant is hanging around outside the mansion... Dennis Waterman is assaulted whilst walking through the grounds; we see a cloudy figure sneaking past the kitchen door as George boils the kettle, etc. The film is pretty scary early on, and I'm not embarrassed to admit that the hairs on my neck were prickling a bit.

However, it all goes wrong later on. The maniac turns up about a third of the way in and the effective suspense suddenly gives way to sadism and over-the-top hysterics. Bannen, as mentioned earlier, plays the part very well, but the lines he has to speak and his actions are ludicrously and needlessly savage. I know he's meant to be a bad man, but his nastiness just seems too excessive. Collinson forgets to keep the suspense ticking over and lunges for the audiences jugular, dragging down what could have a great little thriller and turning into a mere exploitation shocker.

20 out of 23 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Susan George was Outstanding

whpratt13 February 2007

Enjoyed this British film with Susan George, (Amanda), "The Strange Affair", who plays the role of a young gal attending college and taking on a babysitting job way out in the country and walking all by herself after getting off a bus. The house where Amanda is to babysit is very old and their is a little boy she is to take care of while his mom and dad go out to dine. Amanda has a visit from her boyfriend who attempts to make love to her and starts to almost get to first base when the telephone starts to ring. Susan George gives a great performance through out the entire picture and it truly shows the great talent she had during her early years of stardom. If you like Susan George when she was young, pretty and sexy, this is the film for you. Enjoy.

7 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Amazing "70s Doom" atmosphere; mediocre thrills

GroovyDoom22 January 2007

Warning: Spoilers

Interesting early slasher film has loads of atmosphere, and I might have rated it higher if it had a more exciting script. Honor Blackman is a young babysitter taking care of a small child in a very remote house. The parents are unusually paranoid, but Blackman doesn't catch on until the wife's psychotic ex-husband, who has just escaped from the asylum, shows up to terrorize her and the baby.

I can imagine that this was considered pretty brutal in 1971, particularly in one scene where the murderer beats somebody within an inch of his life. Now that time has dulled a lot of our sensibilities about horror movies, this will probably not seem very shocking at all to the average viewer. The best reason to watch it now is because of the interesting way the film is photographed, as well as the effective location. The house itself is very creepy, and a brilliantly conceived credit sequence shows Blackman walking all alone through a darkened rural area to get to where she's going. It's actually one of the best moments of the film. The dark interiors of the house do a lot to further the tension--as does the horrifying 70s decor.

Finally, Ian Bannen is great as the crazy ex-husband. Do yourself a favor and watch this if you're a fan of 70s horror films. It's not "Texas Chainsaw" by any means, but it's worth seeing just the same.

4 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

4/10

Influential, but uneven, babysitter stalked by mad killer terror tale.

capkronos8 April 2008

Warning: Spoilers

FRIGHT starts out on the right note, with an attractive blonde college student named Amanda (Susan George) heading through the dark woods toward a large, remote country home, all set to an eerie ballad called "Ladybird." When she arrives she meets Jim (George Cole) and Helen (Honor Blackman), a presumably married couple who live there with their 3-year-old child Tara (Tara Collinson). The parents show Amanda around, introduce her to their child (who's already tucked in bed and about ready to go to sleep), show her how to work the TV (where she'll later watch THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES), give her their contact information and head out for the night. The mother also acts strangely apprehensive about leaving Amanda there alone, but Jim convinces her everything will be OK. It's a fair enough introductory 20-minute sequence that has echoes of such films as BLACK Christmas (1974), HALLOWEEN (1978), WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979) and several other films, except this was actually made first. So you have to give credit where credit is due, even though one might not be too thrilled with the eventual outcome.

Unfortunately after the solid set-up with the babysitter-left-alone-in-a-big-old-creepy-house, the film basically falls apart and becomes overwrought and shrill. Someone seems to be creeping around outside the estate, peeping in the windows and such. It turns out to be a maniac who has recently escaped from an insane asylum and is somehow linked to the mother and child. Instead of eliciting chills, the killer character (as played by Ian Bannen) comes off ludicrously. His nonstop, incomprehensible babbling and wide-eyed stares are unintentionally hilarious, not at all creepy. And what was up with Susan George's character? She seems every bit as unstable as the killer; freaking out, screaming and crying over the most insignificant things imaginable early on. Many movies like this try to hint that the lead female is a virgin; I guess to make her seem more vulnerable. This one has to beat you over the head with the fact by throwing in an equally annoying pushy suitor (Dennis Waterman) who basically shows up to try to date rape her and then die. Then they predictably give the killer his own would-be rape scene which tries to fuel the silly surprise 'revenge' ending. Unfortunately, George's character is so grating throughout you can't sympathize much with her. You basically just want someone to stuff a sock in her mouth and do whatever they want with her. No one in this film is even remotely likable and you could basically care less what happen to any of them. For a slasher style film like this, you really need a decent central character to revolve all the horror scenes around or else many people will find it hard to get involved. I feel this film lacks that.

And I don't blame actress Susan George for this. She did a decent job in her role. She's appealing, looks good and her crying and screaming and emoting were all pretty convincing. It's the horrible screenplay, character arcs and dialogue that make this a chore to sit through. The terror isn't gradually built. There's a hysterical tone to the entire film that shows up early on and never goes away, making the whole experience pretty monotonous. Scenes at the house are cut between scenes of Blackman and Cole's night out on the town, which reveal very little aside for a predictable twist that's already telegraphed early on. Things wrap up with a police stand-off at the home, which has some nasty scenes of the killer threatening to slit George and the child's throats with a shard of glass. This sequence is fairly solid for the most part, except it's ultimately ruined by the inclusion of an unnecessary and lame shock "twist," which left a bad taste in my mouth.

11 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Entertaining British Horror Gem

acidburn-1013 June 2010

Warning: Spoilers

The plot = A young girl Amanda (Susan George) babysits a young boy, unaware that the child's real father has escaped from a mental asylum and is coming home.

An atmospheric psycho drama from the UK, definitely delivers all the chills in all the right places. One of earilest examples of babysitter alone in the house terrorized by a maniac, and one of the better examples much better than "When A Stranger Calls" original and the god awful remake. It's really the performances that makes this movie work, Susan George really shines as the babysitter whose really put through hell by the child's father played brilliantly by Ian Bannen, really hits all the right notes, he was well and truly demented and was really scary at times as he goes from tenderness to psychotic and it certainly is shocking in places, for instance directors today would never dare film the, up close, scenes where the father threatens to cut his son's throat with a shard of glass. The violence against George and the mental torture she is put through is pretty strong also. We also get Honour Blackman (famous for James Bond Gold Finger, The Cat and the Canary and TV's the Upper hand) playing the madman's ex-wife, she was well and truly beautiful in this role and we also get George Cole and Dennis Waterman from TV's minder, so this movie is full of famous faces.

All in all a tense psychological thriller that doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

3/10

A good cast wasted in a creaky thriller

Boris_G11 August 2007

This is a clumpy prototype of the slasher films which were to become so ubiquitous by the late 1970s and '80s. It starts off promisingly, setting up the story with Susan George arriving as the babysitter for a slightly odd couple the mother clearly on edge to the point of neurosis and, after they leave, becoming spooked by the thuds and shudders of an old, time-worn house. However the script is clumsily constructed, so moments of tension are dissipated by switching back and forth between the house and the couple's evening out. The repressed virgin routine that Susan George goes through, also, has dated pretty badly and probably seemed fairly risible even in the early '70s when the film was made. Ian Bannen as the ex-husband gone homicidal does not ring true the moments when he growls like an over-excited terrier are as frightening as he gets; a shame because he's so good in such films as 'Tales from Beyond the Grave' (Amicus) and, much later, in 'Gorky Park' and 'Hope and Glory'. As for Susan George, her character simply turns into a sopping wet, quivering pulp of nerves as if she were in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' instead of this very plodding drama. The DVD was only available as a Region 1, so unable to view it as a rental - I bought it on the strength of its cast. Don't make the same mistake. Alas, I found myself in the end so uninvolved that I passed the time noticing how many times the music score (by Harry Robertson) ripped off Prokofiev's atmospheric Third Symphony.

9 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's HOT!

Coventry9 November 2006

I might have missed out on the first fifteen minutes of "Fright" because the only thing that repeatedly went on in my head was: "Why the bloody hell didn't I ever had a babysitter as stunningly gorgeous as Susan George???" The unearthly beautiful star of "Straw Dogs" and "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" walks through the opening credits wearing a minuscule yet incredibly sexy purple dress as she goes to the Lloyd's mansion to baby sit their little sonThat lucky kid! The house lies isolated in the country and young Amanda is in for a night of morbid surprises, as an uncanny figure pops up at the window and even beats the hell out of her boyfriend (though he was a bastard, anyway). "Fright" can actually be considered as an influential and progressive horror movie, since it got released many years before "Halloween" that once and for all portrayed babysitters as prototype target for demented serial killers and sleazy perverts. Obviously the number of casualties isn't very high and the evoked scares are very basic, yet "Fright" is an effective little chiller that honestly deserves to be more known and appreciated among the horror-loving crowd. The direction is solid and there are hardly any words to describe the essence of Susan George. You already know my opinion on her looks, but she's also a very decent actress and perfectly suitable to play a vulnerable and hard-screaming victim of a raving madman. The pacing slows down a bit as soon as the perpetrator has been identified, but the film most likely has made a positive impression on you already by then.

4 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

3/10

Pointless screamer...

moonspinner5515 July 2012

British thriller has comely college student Susan George (studying child welfare and psychology!) babysitting for Honor Blackman's little boy, unaware that Blackman's estranged husband--a homicidal maniac--has just escaped from the institution and is lurking about in the darkness. Early precursor to the killer-in-the-house/terrorizing-the-babysitter genre is well-enough made and acted, despite an extremely thin script. There are no twists to the plot (it's all routine), though the overwrought finale makes an attempt to surprise us. George, who always looks on the verge of crying, suffers and screams with her blouse open and her brassiere showing. It's that kind of picture... *1/2 from ****

5 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

Bumps in the night.

Nightman8525 October 2004

Looking for a dark, moody, even solemn movie? Give this one a turn. Fright is a thriller that relies more on sheer spookiness than out-and-out action.

Young Amanda is left alone to baby sit at a house in rural England. In the dead of night everything seems to put her on edge; noises outside the windows, a light bulb goes out, the creaking of the old house. Amanda tries to tell herself she is only being a chicken about it all, but what if there really is someone outside? What would she do-- if there was a knock at the door or a pale face peering through the window? That's just what she'll find out.

The title of this film turns out to be quite fitting as Fright grows from spooky atmosphere to intense suspense and finally a dramatic conclusion that's almost saddening. Collinson's direction is splendidly tight and builds to tremendous tension. Kudos go to a great cast, a haunting theme song, and to writer Tudor Gates for being the first to come up with the babysitter vs. madman thriller.

A dark film if there ever was one, Fright is a powerful and atmospheric thriller that should please anyone seeking some good chills without gory violence.

*** out of ****

15 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Unfair

leavymusic-211 March 2021

Unfairly rated quite low, this has a choice cast, Susan George playing up to her fine standard as usual, ok, it's not a classic but it has its moments of terror. Convincing acting all round, what out for a very young 'Trigger' from Only fools and horses. It's best watched late night, one from the early 70's.

2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

Average Scares, Great Cast, Good Atmosphere but really weak at the same time.

tequila10128 April 2011

OK, I know a lot of people like this and that's fine. I don't find this earlier slasher to be a misunderstood or beyond bad flick but I still think it is punctured in many weak spots. I'm not sure why but I think it was because of these things.

1. They revealed the killer way too soon and I found that to be heavily weak. I liked this killer but at the same time he's not as memorable as Billy from Black Christmas or even the popular culture icon, Michael Myers from Halloween.

Yeah that was my only really major issue but there were also little bits and pieces which didn't work. More kills could have been better and the kills here sucked. The atmosphere of the house was scary but the death scenes, the killer or not even the music scared me. This film's called Fright and it didn't frighten me.

The good was that even if the music wasn't creepy, I liked it, the acting was excellent, the house was scary to my satisfaction and the angle shots of things was done well.

Overall it is an average flick. I was hoping I would have given it more than a 7 and I was really excited for this film since it was way way before Halloween and other slashers but it wasn't what it turned out to be. Oh well. I just wish it has the sheer power like Halloween, Black Christmas and even others like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Spit on your Grave and the early comers of Psycho.

It's a 5.4/10 on this one.

4 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Starts Off Strong but Falls Apart

Michael_Elliott18 July 2012

Fright (1971)

** (out of 4)

British thriller has teenager Amanda (Susan George) showing up for a babysitting job when she soon finds herself being terrorized by the kid's father shows up after escaping from a mental hospital. The father plans on murdering his ex-wife but plans change after he notices that the babysitter reminds him of her. FRIGHT has a few tense moments early on but after a pretty good start the film sadly falls apart pretty quickly. I thought the first thirty-minutes of the film were rather well-directed and features a couple tense sequences and it's really too bad the rest of the film didn't live up to the title. Director Peter Collison really does a nice job at building up the tension early on and I especially liked the way that he used sound effects to build up not only the atmosphere but also some creepy moments. One perfect example deals with some dripping water but the highlight of the film is one of the first stalking scenes we witness as the babysitter's boyfriend is outside and being followed. This scene is without question the best of the movie and is almost strong enough to make the entire film worth sitting through. The problem with the final hour is that not too much happens. The entire thing is extremely slow paced and like many British films, the dialogue is just way too much and it pretty much takes over the picture and not a single thing said is interesting. Even worse is how the film keeps flashing back and forth between what's going on inside the house and what the kid's mother and stepfather are doing in town. Yet another problem is simply how stupid the babysitter gets once more of the action takes place inside the house. Fans of George will no doubt want to see her here as she's as cute as ever and turns in a decent performance. Honor Blackman and Ian Bannen are good in their supporting roles as well. FRIGHT manages to have a couple good sequences but sadly there just aren't enough to keep the film entertaining throughout.

13 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

A stranger called in Britain first!

The_Void26 January 2007

The origins of the slasher flick can be traced all the way back to Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho, but the modern slasher is a different animal entirely. Some still believe that John Carpenter's overrated Halloween began the craze, but that was predated by Black Christmas, and that in turn was predated by this British flick from 1971. Fair enough, this isn't exactly a template for the modern slasher film, but many of the staples of the genre - a young woman in peril, a killer fresh out of the loony bin, the babysitter theme etc - feature, and to the best of my knowledge; this was one of the first films to feature these themes together. The film can be described as the film that 'When a Stranger Calls' should have been, as it takes the theme of a babysitter being stalked by a lunatic, except everything is fit into one night; and so doesn't suffer from the sprawling middle section of the aforementioned film. Amanda is a young babysitter who arrives at the residence of the Lloyds to look after their three year old son while they go out to a party. What she doesn't realise is that the father's biological father has broken out of a mental home, and has decided to go and see his won...

By keeping the focus on just one situation over one period of time, director Peter Collinson (Straight on Till Morning, The Italian Job) creates a tense atmosphere, which benefits from the dark and gloomy feeling that the night setting gives to the story. The film isn't all that gory, but this doesn't really matter as the focus is always on the atmosphere, and this is enough to pull it through. The film benefits from two great performances. First and most importantly, we have Susan George, who lights up the screen throughout with her stunning good looks. Also appearing is Pussy Galore herself Honor Blackman, who is good in the time that she appears. The plot moves well throughout, and the fact that the film doesn't really have a great deal of story is excellently masked by the tense atmosphere, which is enough to keep things moving. There's only one real twist in the story, and that concerns the meeting of the lunatic father. His appearance isn't all that shocking since the hints that he will turn up come thick and fast early on. This is where Fright falls down, but even so; this is a nice little exercise in suspense, and is well worth seeing.

4 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

A good ride most of the way.

Hey_Sweden27 June 2021

Ever-sexy and ever-delightful Susan George plays Amanda, a young babysitter who goes to watch over the son of older couple Helen (Honor Blackman) and Jim (George Cole). Unfortunately, Amanda doesn't know their whole sordid story, leading to a scenario wherein Amanda and the kid (played by the adorable son of the films' director) are repeatedly terrorized by an unhinged man (Ian Bannen).

Director Peter Collinson ("The Italian Job", "Straight On till Morning") does a commendable job of building up the suspense for the first act. The script (by Tudor Gates) includes such classic elements as the "old dark house" and characters with a secret (that gets a reveal sooner than you'd think). The casting of young George works because she has an inherent vulnerability about her, yet is responsible enough to always be concerned about the childs' welfare. However, Gates and Collinson would have done better to keep the truth about the maniac hidden a while longer, despite the excellent (and not entirely unsympathetic) portrayal by Bannen. Soon, the scenario has led into a typical stand-off between the maniac and the authorities, and the couple, who have arrived home to a melodrama full of histrionics.

The film is effectively violent, managing to get gory without going over the top in this department. And it also showcases Georges' assets to memorable effect (for one thing, she has a make-out scene with Dennis Waterman, who plays her goofy boyfriend Chris). The whole cast is superb; also co-starring are John Gregson as a helpful doctor, and Maurice Kaufmann as an officious police inspector.

Overall, "Fright" has good touches (this viewer too liked the way that the creep at times can't distinguish between Amanda and Helen), and solid sequences, but emerges as a largely routine thriller, complete with an unbelievable and silly resolution.

Seven out of 10.

1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

3/10

A real disappointment despite a capable cast

kevinolzak20 December 2020

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."

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Susan!

RavenGlamDVDCollector1 June 2014

The Susan George fan club president is here again (just kidding!) and my review of FRIGHT focuses more on whether or not this is a picture worthy of this lovely young starlet who unfortunately did not choose her parts well, and ended up in less conventional movies. And got dubbed (a) a sexpot (b) "poor Susan, always getting raped".

FRIGHT, by today's standards, and by the kind of slasher flicks to follow in the wake of HALLOWEEN, is hardly a frightening movie. So if that's what you're looking for, you'd be well advised to stay clear. I wanted a good movie with suspense showing off Susan George to full advantage, and that is what I got, she is absolutely darling in this 1971 movie. At her best. Though I'd always have a special fondness for LOLA, better known as TWINKY. And DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY shall forever remain THE Susan George movie. But lookswise Susan's at the top of her game here. Did I say darling?

The It girl of the late Sixties and early Seventies, Susan George was the best the silver screen had to offer at that time. Even today she'd hold her own looking the way she does in FRIGHT compared against the best of contemporary Hollywood. So just imagine her effect on the hearts and minds of men and women alike back in 1971! A blonde bombshell, and a very, very likable one too. Always cheeky in a very cute way, especially in FRIGHT, DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE and LOLA, Susan represents this reviewer's ideal dream girl, and it is saddening that alas! fate ruined her career with health obstacles. But for a time back there, she was the ultimate screen goddess, and her youthful exuberance will forever shine in my heart and mind forever. If you'd observe closely, she wasn't really Playboy pretty, more girl next door with just a fantastic figure and a really great hairstyle. Some people have a lot owed to choosing a great hairstyle, Farrah Fawcett- Majors, Jennifer Aniston... Include Susan George here. I did say darling, did I not?

As for the picture, it really started off on the right track, but gets derailed and loses steam with an unconvincing villain and a script that falls far short as the story progresses. And that scene where she is trying to escape all busty-looking is filmed wrong. Unconvincing. Contrived. Film sexiness as sexiness, don't do it this way, it ruins all credibility and ruined my enjoyment of the movie as I from then on saw through all its mistakes.

Honor Blackman was quite disappointing as well. Really, I can say a lot of good things about this movie: Susan's eyes, Susan's hair, Susan's legs. Without Susan, I'd not have bothered. Put it this way: Anything remotely likable about this movie besides Susan George? No. ZILCH.

But, wow, nice chick. Unforgettable.

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

It's not right, this fright.

hitchcockthelegend7 October 2013

Fright is directed by Peter Collinson and written by Tudor gates. It stars Susan George, Ian Bannen, Honor Blackman, George Cole, Dennis Waterman and John Gregson. Music is by Harry Robinson and cinematography by Ian Wilson.

A young babysitter is terrorised by an escaped mental patient.

It plays as stock fair now, but Fright is undoubtedly influential in the line of "maniac stalks girl alone" movies. But! That is no gauge of quality because in spite of some good initial ground work in the first half, the pic fails to deliver on its promise. Susan George as Amanda, in fetching mini-dress, falls prey to an unhinged Ian Bannen as Brian who literally has come home.

The build up consists of Amanda turning up for her babysitting assignment and finding the lady of the house (Blackman over acting big time) on tender hooks. Once Amanda is alone in the house noises are used as scare tactics, Waterman turns up as a horny boyfriend and soon gets sent packing with a flea in his ear, and then the lights go out and Brian turns up thinking that Amanda is his wife (Blackman who is out doing some awful dancing with Cole).

General hysterics ensue as Amanda becomes a simpering wreck whilst trying to hold it together long enough to keep the baby safe from harm. Bannen goes into over drive convincing us he's mad, which leads to some very unsettling scenes as Amanda is put through a nightmare (1971 really saw George at the mercy of film makers!) until the conclusion which comes with the inevitable outcome.

Horror really wasn't Collinson's forte, and his choices in the genre tended to revolve around a woman in peril, and that's kind of the problem with Fright, it just comes off as unsavoury (do I smell misogyny?). Collinson shows some nice touches, such as a pendulum sequence, while the sense of dread in that first half is well marshalled, but most of the time he's using the picture as an excuse to leer at George's skirt, legs and ripped blouse! Don't get me wrong, as a red blooded male I find George sexy in the extreme, but I don't need it as an excuse to cover up a scripts failings.

It proves to be a most interesting viewing experience now, where armed with the knowledge of the sub-genre offerings that followed, you can't help but acknowledge that it's a film only of its time; yet still important on its basic formula terms. However, and casting aside that we are in a world where George Cole can net Honor Blackman, it really is distinctly average at best. 5/10

2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Grim and tense British thriller

Red-Barracuda15 May 2014

The plot-line of Fright is very similar to the idea used by John Carpenter for his box-office smash Halloween (1978) several years later. After all its story can be boiled down to one sentence - a baby-sitter is terrorised by a psychopath who has escaped from an asylum. Consequently, Fright could be considered alongside the likes of Black Christmas (1974) as a proto-slasher of sorts. It's definitely quite a nasty movie for its era. It starts out as a psychological thriller and turns into a house invasion movie. And like most from the latter sub-genre it gets somewhat disturbing and exploitative in the process. Unfortunately, this transition also marks the point in which the film loses a bit of quality. The first half in which an unknown ominous person is stalking around outside the house is very strong and actually tense and scary. But once the action moves to within the house things do go a bit flat. The unknown quality that elevated the earlier scares is replaced with less interesting shock material. It also bothered me a bit that the babysitter acted a little too stupidly to be entirely believable. Her boyfriend staggers into the house bloodied and half-dead and a mysterious man follows a few seconds later and she never considers that he may be the lunatic responsible! And then later on the film finishes with an abrupt ending that doesn't entirely work unfortunately.

But, criticisms aside, this is still a pretty fine psychological thriller. Its director Peter Collinson would go on to direct another film from that genre the following year, namely Straight on Till Morning. He made that one for the famous British studio Hammer and it was one of the most pleasingly atypical offerings they ever turned out. Both films certainly show Collinson had a handle on generating suspense. Fright benefits additionally from a very good cast. Susan George is ridiculously cute and puts in an impressive performance. Like her work in the same year's Straw Dogs, this is another tough role where she has to go through some pretty nasty scenes. Ian Bannen plays her maniac tormentor and Honor Blackman of The Avengers fame is his ex-wife. We also have Dennis Waterman and George Cole star together for the first time; they would of course go on to be a TV double act in the 80's series Minder.

The film is quite notable too for featuring enacted terror scenes involving a child which would simply never be allowed to be filmed now. Amongst others, at one point Bannen holds him aggressively with a shard of glass against his neck. Okay, it was a prop and not actually glass but nevertheless I'm pretty sure that sort of scene would not be permitted to be filmed nowadays. So like many older genre pictures, this one is a window into another time where different rules applied. I would ultimately recommend this film with some reservations. It has a few problem areas but it more than makes up for those with some genuine chills, the delectable Susan George and a pleasing early 70's vibe.

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

Dressed to Kill

wes-connors23 July 2012

Wearing a mini-skirt with an attached top unbuttoned nearly halfway all-ready, sexy blonde babysitter Susan George (as Amanda) arrives at a creaky mansion for an evening of sherry, TV and a visit from the boyfriend. As luck would have it, homicidal maniac Ian Bannen (as Brian Helston) escapes from a nearby insane asylum. There could be some connection, but not on the telephone; the land line goes dead when worried mother Honor Blackman (as Helen Lloyd) calls to check up on her son and the babysitter. This thriller loses steam before it's even half over, but Susan George is arousing even before her top is half off... don't feel bad, we are encouraged to notice.

***** Fright (11/71) Peter Collinson ~ Susan George, Ian Bannen, Honor Blackman, George Cole

2 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

A genuine horror film, absolutely shattering.

simon-11830 August 1999

There's certainly no time wasted starting the scares in this film. From the opening few seconds the atmosphere is rife with nastiness, and the amazing direction and camerawork are so good you feel like you are being bodily forced into a nightmare, such is the power of the filmmaking. Susan George is simply superb as Amanda, a fine performance that moves from edginess and distress to total hysteria. The house is well chosen, being dull and creaky but not ludicrously so, and the baby is a joy to behold. Ian Bannen contributes a genuinely unhinged turn as the madman and the scenes of sexual and physical violence are unbelieveably strong for the period. Fright may be seen exemplifying the nasty exploitation movie that began to infest British cinema in the early 70s as censorship laws were relaxed. It is true that the film is nasty and throws everything and the kitchen sink into its witches brew to provoke distress in the viewer. However, by the same token it can be seen as one of the rare example of pure, unhindered terror in cinema, where the characters are offered no hope, no salvation, no happy endings. By those standards, as an insight into a waking nightmare, it is one of the finest examples ever made. Peter Collinson is a director who never was appreciated enough in his lifetime; even his most popular movie, The Italian Job really only achieved classic status in the 1990s. In Fright he really proves himself as a director, and as a master of the camera, which he uses to create a gallery of some of the most bizarre and distubing shots to be found in the genre. If you want to be pleasantly frightened, this is maybe not the film to watch, but for genuine evil few films have captured it better.

18 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Impressive British horror thriller.

poolandrews10 September 2012

Warning: Spoilers

Fright is set in England & starts one dark night as a young babysitter named Amanda (Susan George) arrives at the home of Jim (George Cole) & Helen Lloyd (Honor Blackman) who have hired her to babysit their young son Tara (Tara Collinson) for the evening while they go out to celebrate their anniversary, all seems well although Helen seems a little nervous & Amanda foresees no problems. However Jim & Helen are actually celebrating the fact that Helen's divorce from her insane murderer of a husband has been granted & she is now free to live in peace but is still uneasy with good reason as well since her husband Brian (Ian Bannen) is a real psycho. It just so happens that Brian has escaped from the asylum he has been locked up in & decides to call on his ex-wife & son but finds Amanda there instead & terrorises her as she tries to protect herself & Tara with no way of escaping the house or phoning for help...

This English production was directed by Peter Collinson & is a very impressive early psycho slasher horror thriller that surely must be a contender for the very first teen slasher style horror film ever made, while not typical of what the genre has become all the trademarks are present & the likes of Halloween (1978) probably owe a fair debt of inspiration to Fright. Fright is just a great film on various levels, from a fairly tense & suspenseful horror to the climactic hostage showdown between the deranged Brian & the police, there are many elements in Fright that would now be considered clichéd like the sexually repressed babysitter alone in a big house being terrorised, the annoying sexually frustrated boyfriend playing tricks trying to scare her, ordinary sounds taking on a creepy menace, various false scares, phone lines being cut & a deranged killer escaped from a mental hospital but back when Fright was made these ideas were pretty new & almost certainly had never been used in this way before & to be honest I didn't mind as it's so well handled & genuinely gripping & suspenseful that I just went with it & enjoyed it. At just under an hour & a half Fright lasts long enough without ever becoming boring or dull & I particularly liked the atmospheric set-up before the action kicks in towards the end & this is where I think Fright is most successful. The only slight disappointment is the very low body count & because many of it's core elements are so routine now Fright is maybe a little predictable when seen in 2012 after three decades of faceless teen slashers that tread very familiar ground.

One of the reasons why Fright works so well is the direction as it's superb, from the way he introduces character's to the way shots are framed Fright is great to look & hasn't dated that badly at all. The way Amanda walks up to the house at the start & the camera lingers on large spikes on the metal gates to the very claustrophobic & spooky feel of the house with lots of great angles & use of shadow & foreground objects (Dennis Waterman quips 'you could make a horror film in here' in a nice pre Scream (1996) genre self reference) to the way the character's are dressed with Amanda in particular having the perfect balance of beauty & vulnerability in her purple dress & cute boots. There are one or two jumpy moments & the whole film has a suspenseful feel to it, there's not much gore & only one person is killed which is the only real weak point as far as I can see but sometimes the story & visuals are enough to draw me in & keep me gripped. There's a bit of sex as well as Brian decides to have sex with Amanda thinking it's Helen his ex-wife but I guess rape is rape however you dress it up.

Probably shot on a tiny budget Fright deserves to be better known & more widely seen, the production values are good but the clever photography & direction really shine through here. The acting is great from a top British cast, from the sexy Susan George (how short is that dress again?) to familiar faces like Dennis Waterman, George Cole (later to star together in the comedy drama television series Minder) & Honor Blackman probably best remembered for her role in the Bond film Goldfinger (1964).

Fright deserves to be better known & is something of a forgotten classic, I really liked it & thought it was a tense & suspenseful horror thriller that makes the most of what it has, a solid script & superb direction & photography really help as well. One of the best films I have seen in ages, this one's definitely a keeper.

1 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

5/10

Warning: Implied Rape

vnssyndrome899 June 2023

FRIGHT

In this movie, a virgin babysitter, Amanda (played by Susan George) is "attacked" by an escaped nutter from the local lunatic asylum. We know she's a virgin, because she discusses it with her boyfriend, Chris, (played by Dennis Waterman) when he interrupts her babysitting, by trying to get in her pants.

Helen Lloyd, (played by Honor Blackman) is the child's mother. She's worried about going out to dinner, and leaving her child, because her husband Lloyd (played by George Cole) tried to kill them both, before being sent to the nut hut. He's determined to escape, and regain his family, which makes Helen very nervous. Of course, she doesn't tell any of this to the babysitter...

WHAT WORKS: *The other reviews are right, the beginning of this movie is a taught, atmospheric thriller, with real potential. The location, a creepy British manor house, is a disturbing character in it's own right, adding real suspense. But about half way through, things take a turn...

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I know, I know, this is the 70's, but no woman, who's already scared, who's boyfriend has already been beaten, is going to let a total stranger into the house. Her actions, (letting a unknown man in the house, needing a male savior so badly she lets any man who's handy, come on in) suspend all women's disbelief. WE WOULDN'T DO THAT! So, from that point on, most people are thrown out of the story, (even if they don't know why) and enjoy it less. I will say, both women act with more bravery and courage than you are going to see in most TV and films of the period. The babysitter redeems her stupid mistake, but more because she's traumatized than angry.

TO RECOMMEND OR NOT TO RECOMMEND: I would recommend this movie, the first half of it is a creepy, well done atmospheric. The second half is not as good as the first, but ain't half bad either.

Not bad for it's genre, 5 out of 10.

CLOSING NOTES: *I read through most of these reviews, and the one thing I didn't see was any trigger warnings for rape. I don't believe in trigger warnings for most things, I think woke is a virus, and should be stopped. But I do know a lot about PTSD, and I think a warning about sexual assault, even if it's just implied, should be added.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

User Reviews

See also

Opinion

Details

Storyline

Did You Know?

Photo & Video

Related Items

User Lists

Recently Viewed