Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Nigel P "It is such fun being night people, isn't it?" Sheila Keith, one of Director Pete Walker's repertory stalwarts, asks at one point. Here, she plays Dorothy Yates, recently released from an asylum after displaying violent cannibalistic preferences, now completely cured. A quick look at the gleam in her eye and it is clear such a prognosis was … optimistic, to say the least.Sheila Keith has been underrated, despite her numerous appearances in Walker's films, and she is never better than here (at least not in the films I have seen her in thus far), and she is given material she can really, if you will, sink her teeth into. Her long-suffering brother, also committed, is played by Rupert Davies in one of his last films. Edmund Yates is guilty only of covering up his sister's actions. Her brand of insanity attracts a certain loyalty. Imagine if she had other relatives? Of course, she does. The wayward Debbie, whose dewy-eyed innocent look belies her murderous nature, and Jackie, who secretly visits Edmund and Dorothy late night.This is my favourite of the films directed by Pete Walker so far (I'm not watching them chronologically). It has a central theme that doesn't meander, features well-written parts for all cast members, and every part is very well played. It has the crisp starkness of a low-budget UK thriller and is directed very much in the style of television series at that time. It's really a showcase for Keith's magnificent, towering performance. Yet she's supported by a fine cast (including cameos from Andrew Sachs, Leo Genn and Gerald Flood), and the proceedings are given a pleasingly open-ended climax.

Foreverisacastironmess I've always greatly appreciated and admired this film for how utterly dark and hopeless it is. When it premiered on the Horror Channel in February of last year it was the first time it'd seen the light of day on British television in sixteen years. Now I personally consider Frightmare to be a rare 'pure' horror flick because the horror involved has absolutely no mercy or happy mediums of any kind. It's as unrelenting, inevitable, and inescapable as any nightmare... What really freaks me out about it is its tone, its incredibly bleak, disturbing tone. And what's far more effective than the action that's on the screen, is the way that it has such a great, gritty stark look and quality about it - particularly at the witch's cottage and the surrounding lonely countryside. Everything's so dank and musty and just plain grim looking, and it's this atmosphere that really helps the film the most. And at the searing climax all the brooding gloom and doom blends perfectly with the story and everything just seems to reach such crescendo of hellish proportions that is black as pitch, and positively devours anything even approaching hope... Needless to say. the whole film is profoundly disturbing! I get an instant knot of dread in my stomach every time the prologue opens with the eerie deserted carnival set in the fifties, and the haunting music begins to play. It's not for everyone, it's a slow-burner and very reflective of the decade in which it was made, but as long as you try not to be put off by some of the more obnoxious '70s scenes and keep a respect in mind for the classic old-fashioned feel of the horror, then you'll hopefully like it for what it is. To me it's all the more unsettling because for all the larger than life macabre elements of it, it skillfully maintains a grim-reality feel about it as the harrowing events unfold and narrow down to their terribly final conclusion. There's no sense of any larger evil leading the characters to their grisly ends, they're all just victims of cruel chance and bad luck, and you can just feel the desperation and ominous dread build as the jaws of death slowly close upon them. Deborah Fairfax was a strong enough lead, although I thought she didn't stand out much and was out-shined a lot even by some of the smaller supporting actors. Kim Butcher was a hoot as the bratty little witch who harboured sinister secrets all her own. Her mod boyfriend was probably the worst actor in the movie, but he did get the nastiest death so I guess some might call that an even trade! I liked Paul Greenwood as the cute do-gooder nerd who wanders a bit too close to the serpent for his own good... The character was nice and all, but I must say he was also a big idiot who didn't really see anything beyond his own good intentions and dull point of view, so convinced that he could help fix a situation he knew hardly anything about that he was seemingly blind to the deceptive evil staring him right in the face the whole time until it's way too late. It's an awful shock moment when Jackie discovers his defiled corpse. Now who did I forget... This is a prime example of a film where pretty much one actor carries the whole show and makes it exceptional, and for me in this it's absolutely the fantastic performance of Sheila Keith because any time she's not on the screen, things begin to unravel and grow somewhat tedious, and the moment she shows up again she ignites the screen with her vile magnetism as a depraved vicious animal of a psychotic killer! She was so revolting..almost like a man. They made her seem so physically imposing, completely non-feminine in any way, and her bark was just terrifying. You can feel why a much younger woman just stands there as if paralysed as she impales her with a fireplace poker in one masterfully suspenseful sequence. She's her most chilling in the film as she stares right into the poor soul's eyes as she spirals off into oblivion... It's astonishing how well she plays this big, villainous wicked grandmother with such authority and believability. How did she do it!? They gave her some great fiendish dialogue, and you can tell the old dear was having fun with it! It's a solid suspense horror but without Keith, I really don't think Id even remember it. It would be rather forgettable without her. The betrayal at the end is so unthinkable it's too terrible for words. It chills me to the bone every time I see it. I may not 'like' the way the picture ends, but it is a very powerful and memorable ending that sets it apart from many others of its kind. It just has such brutal impact... It's not even gory, but is truly horrendous because it's what you don't see, you merely hear the sounds of poor doomed Jackie stuck in a room in the middle of nowhere, with these two soulless monsters closing in on her like a pair of spiders, never to be heard... To me they really captured the hopeless fear that real victims of such 'people' must feel in their final moments. This most certainly does leave a bad taste that stays with you for quite a while, but if you want a horror movie where you can actually feel the horror, this one will not disappoint. See ya!

Tim Kidner Pete Walker's 'Frightmare' is a gloriously gory mix of psychopathic and cannibalistic killings and pretty English cottages, all topped with all those naff '70's fashions, haircuts and British cars.Walker regular Sheila Keith is the woman sent to an asylum fifteen years ago, along with her abetting husband. He's helpless when her cravings come back and assumed cured, she now reads tarot cards. Their daughter gets romantically involved with a young psychiatrist and when her younger, adopted sister starts going off the rails, the young doctor naturally wants to help.She's actually helping find feeding matter - and their brains - for her step mother. And step mother uses an array of everyday tools and appliances to get to her subjects' juicy bits. Electric drills, pitchforks, you name it. There's plenty of reasonable looking blood at the right times and some great make up effects of everyday folk with half their heads missing.Now, nearly forty years on it's more a chiller than a screamer but very effective nonetheless and certainly one of the better Brit horror flicks I've seen. I saw it on The Horror channel.

Paul Andrews Frightmare is set in England & starts in 1957 as Edmund (Rupert Davies) & Dorothy Yates (Sheila Keith) are tried & convicted of cannibalism, they are sentenced to be locked up in an asylum until they are 'cured' & ready to return to society. Fourteen years later & Edmund & Dorothy are living in a small cottage near London, their daughter Jackie (Deborah Fairfax) know's the truth while her younger sister Debbie (Kim Butcher) is unaware of her parents notoriety & culinary tastes. Jackie has kept the family secret hidden from Debbie & she doesn't even know her parents are alive let alone living nearby, Jackie visits her parents & gives her mother raw animal brains to try & keep her happy but Dorothy has a taste for human flesh & is soon luring people to her house in order to kill them & feast on their flesh. Jackie finds out & Dorothy convinces Edmund that she must be silenced as she know's too much...This British production was produced & directed by Pete Walker & is maybe his best known film, not that Frightmare is particularly well known but it's probably less obscure more widely remembered than his other work. This is the third Pete Walker film I have seen & is about on par with The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) with The House of Whipcord (1973) the better of the three, while Frightmare isn't terrible & has it's moments I can't say I liked it that much. Walker's often used theme of corrupt or ineffectual system, here the rehabilitation & care services are made to look inadequate, look to have been manipulated & their shortcomings are held responsible for the release of a dangerous cannibal as the men in white coats are convinced she is 'cured' & of no further harm to society. It's a fair point, there have been several real life high profile cases of mental patients released from care who went on to carry out senseless murders but what does Pete expect? Maybe we should just lock these people up & throw away the key, maybe we could just execute them for both their's & our own convenience? Sure, Walker highlights the problem but never suggests any answers or thought provoking alternatives. It's because of this that I felt Frightmare was a little empty, sure there's build-up but it goes nowhere & Frightmare never really satisfied me on any level. At just under 90 minutes Frightmare moves along at a fair pace but takes a while to get going & then never really takes off, the horror aspect isn't that impressive neither are the psychological ones involving family, the system, trust & betrayal. There is one weak twist that is never explained, if Jackie didn't tell her just how did Debbie know about her parents?Filmed in real locations in 70's London this has a certain look & feel that I liked but the film itself isn't so good. The gore is actually quite tame, there's a battered head in a car boot, someone is beaten up, someone is killed with a hot poker off screen, someone is stabbed with a pitchfork while a dead man is seen with a bloody face but generally speaking Frightmare isn't that gory. The film Jackie & Graham are supposed to be seeing is Blow-Out (1973) but while in the cinema the soundtrack heard is from Walker's earlier film House of Whipcord.Filmed mainly in Haselmere in Surrey here in England. Probably shot on a low budget Frightmare looks quite good actually, it's fairly bright & the production values are decent. The acting is pretty good, Sheila Keith gives a demented performance while Jackie is suitably vulnerable.Frightmare is one of those films that I didn't love but didn't hate either, it's just there. Sure it will pass 90 odd minutes but there are better ways to spend that 90 minutes. I just feel a bit impartial & unmoved by it, I doubt I will remember much about it in a few days.