Frightmare (1975)

That was an excellent one.

Such a frustrating disappointment

Don't Believe the Hype

Absolutely Fantastic

You've got to hand it to Pete Walker; he was one of the few British exploitation horror directors to make any impact back in the 70's. The ridiculously stringent censorship climate in the U.K. back in those days most probably put other film-makers off taking a chance in pushing the envelope. But Walker seemed to get his films out anyway, not only this but they do seem to have a bit of quality about them. Both Frightmare and House of Whipcord are good examples of well made exploitation movies with some originality and good acting.In 1957 Edmund and Dorothy Yates are tried and convicted of murder and sent to an asylum. They are released 'cured' several years later but Dorothy soon starts luring unsuspecting folks to her remote farmhouse for tarot readings that end rather grimly.Frightmare really feels like a British variant on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It seems pretty likely that their similarities are something of a coincidence seeing as they were released at the same time but they are both quite specifically about cannibalism and the family. Walker's film may not have as iconic a character as Leatherface but it does have Dorothy Yates. And it does have to be said that she is a seriously inspired creation. Sheila Keith portrays her perfectly in an awesome performance. Keith is one of the truly under-rated horror performers and this must surely be her pinnacle. To be fair though, there are other fine performances, most notably from Rupert Davies as the loyal husband Edmund and Kim Butcher is feisty as their tearaway teenage daughter.There is an impressively bleak atmosphere maintained throughout. This is continued right up to the nihilistic ending. Walker's films seem to share this. They also unusually often share a penchant for elderly villains. In this one they literally eat the younger generation. I have also read Walker also say that he was somewhat conservative when it came to nudity and preferred not to include it – a film like House of Whipcord, for example, would have played up its sexploitation angle much more in other hands. With Frightmare he finally had a chance to not include any sleaze at all, which pleased the director. What he could not avoid though was the mind-blowingly awful British fashion sense of the 70's. In some respects the clothing on display is much more frightening than death by power drill or pitchfork. No, but seriously, this is an excellent movie and one of the best British horror films from the 70's.

"Frightmare" is the atmospheric and creepy story of an elderly couple who spent several years in a mental institution for cannibalistic murders, but are recently released. The couple has two daughters, the oldest knows the whereabouts of her parents and goes to their house several times a week to bring mysterious "packages" to the mother, but the youngest daughter "supposedly" believes that the parents died in a car crash. However, the younger daughter starts to exhibit behavior similar to her mothers... Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith really made this movie. She is perfectly cast as the creepy woman who appears to be up to her cannibalistic old tricks again. She is very intense and a great scary actress. The film also wins because of its bleak and dreary atmosphere, and manages to instill a sense of eeriness and unease throughout. If you happen to run into this film, give it a try!Not Rated: contains Violence and GoreGrade: B-

"Frightmare" is definitely one of the better horror films of the 1970's. I'd say it ranks right up there with "The Exorcist" in terms of how effective it is for the time it came out. It remains effective too, though comes off a little campy in spots.It reminded me in some scenes of a Herschell Gordon Lewis flick, ridiculous and pretty gratuitous gore, people's eyes gouged out, people gored up with pitchforks...yea I liked this one. I was surprised at how much gore there was, I wasn't expecting it. I certainly haven't seen a British horror flick from the 70's with that much gore.The plot is simple: a married couple is released from a mental hospital after serving decades for cannibalism and murder. They have two daughters, but the older is only related to the man. Her stepmother and sister sort of exclude her in the end...it has to be seen to be believed, I thought it was really shocking and the kind of film you see that sits with you for days.Unexpected.8 out of 10, kids.

This is a superbly savage and utterly bleak study of generational insanity and the fatuousness of the medicine that seeks to heal it. The world of this movie is realised with such economy and concision (no pointless repetition or endless discovery process) and the settings are so exactly right, from the funky flat to the farmhouse, yet not located in any particular area.Two characters stand out - Debbie, the younger daughter, and the father. The way in which the performance of the former veered from little girl to pseudo-grown up to almost a woman, primarily through voice and accent alone, was compelling and convincing, as she shifts from tough little vixen to teenage sexpot to needy child. But central to this movie is the father and his enigmatic, ambivalent persona. Evil (or madness) is actually much less interesting than complicity and greyer shades of guilt.So the gore is primitively rendered, the support acting lame and the cars a bit sad. This is ten times as smart and politically informed as Hostel or its ilk. And it lingers long in the memory, not for the blood splatter, but with Why? questions.