In my constant quest for British horror obscurities, I’ve unearthed some very strange material indeed, this mid-80s offering from the director of That’ll Be The Day being a case in point. It’s a little-known title from Tyburn Films (of The Ghoul/Legend Of The Werewolf fame) and might pass for a cosy, Sunday afternoon TV thriller, were it not for its violent slasher movie opening and the demented revelations at the close.
The main body of the film is a sub-Diabolique type plot set in and around a stableyard run by Billie Whitelaw, with imported star MacGraw as the sister scheming against her, and with former Sweeney regular Morgan as the copper investigating the activities of a serial killer stalking the nearby village. Hywel Bennett lurks on the sidelines throughout, in what appears to be an homage to his similar characterisations in Twisted Nerve and Endless Night; James Bernard offers a vintage music score which papers over any cracks in true Bernard fashion; and the chilling final five minutes justify sitting through all the earlier clichés.
It’s a great shame Tyburn seemed to grind to a halt after this one – worth tracking down if you can.
