Filmed in early 1971 at England’s Shepperton Studios, stars Susan George as Amanda, a college student who agrees to babysit Tara (Tara Collinson) three-year-old son of Helen (Honor Blackman) so that she and her fiancé Jim (George Cole) can meet up with friends for dinner at a local inn. Their home is a sprawling mansion on a remote stretch of land. Helen is clearly nervous about something but doesn’t say what. After having a drink, the couple finally leave.
With Tara upstairs asleep, Amanda is startled to hear the doorbell ring. It’s Chris (Dennis Waterman), Amanda’s wannabe boyfriend who says he got Ms. Lloyd’s address from her mum. Amanda would like him to go home, but he insists on making small talk, sitting on the couch. Chris puts her on edge when he begins talking about the family Amanda is babysitting for. A year earlier, an incident happened at the house. It seems Helen’s former husband Brian (Ian Bannen), is in the ‘nut house’ for trying to kill his wife and child. In a panic, she throws Chris out.
Moments later, the doorbell rings again. When she sees a stranger’s face in the window, Amanda lets out a blood curdling scream. She then calls the inn to speak with Ms. Lloyd. The telephone line cuts off just as Helen picks up the phone. Meanwhile, the psychologist in charge of Brian’s care calls the police. His patient has escaped…
Fright has all the trappings of an early slasher, minus the slashing. Instead, there’s the constant threat of danger, often of a sexual nature. Ian Bannen is a menacing presence, playing lunatic Brian like a moody toddler turned up to eleven. Convincing in his performance, nothing about Bannen is sympathetic, playing a man who is clearly overcome by serious mental illness. Even so, Brian’s obvious issues make it just a bit harder to root for his demise. It’s easy to see why later slashers such as John Carpenter’s Halloween presented their villains as little more than a “shape” not allowing viewers to attach any emotions to them.
Susan George’s Amanda spends the entire film in a purple minidress, but it’s made clear that she’s a virgin. So, we’re sure she will make it out of this. Nonetheless, her hip hugging minidress isn’t what you might expect a virginal girl to wear. Interestingly, there’s no male savior. The women are left to save themselves.
Best known for directing The Italian Job, Peter Collinson delivers an effective early psychological horror-thriller that would flourish in the mid-seventies and eighties. Visually interesting, Collinson uses some camera tricks. In one shot, Brian hallucinates Helen face on that of Amanda, the camera beginning on Honor Blackman’s face before panning around to reveal George, all in two shots skillfully cut to resemble one smooth move.
Likely best appreciated by British horror fans, Fright stands as an early example of the-woman-in-peril films that still make the occasional appearance today.
Kino’s newly released 4K UHD disc is described as a” 2018 UHD SDR Master From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative.” The result is an uptick from the previous Blu-ray release. A nice level of grain is apparent throughout. Fine detail is excellent, be it facial features or textures. Colors are both bright and appropriately brown. Blacks are deep and inky. There are no scratches or other anomalies.
The DTS-HD Master 2.0 audio track offers a few good effects. The score by Harry Robertson (who scored many Hammer films) offers an effectively creepy feel. Mixed well, dialogue is clean, clear and concise throughout.
English SDH subtitles are available.
The following extras are included:
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Film Historian Howard S. Berger
- Interview with Author/Film Historian Kim Newman
- Theatrical Trailer
