The Comeback (1978)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Good concept, poorly executed.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Pop star Jack Jones, the man best known for belting out the 'Love Boat' theme song, does reasonably well here basically because he doesn't have to stretch himself all that much. He plays a pop star named Nick Cooper, who's been out of the limelight for six years and is now launching a comeback. He retires to an isolated country mansion, also occupied by the gregarious Mrs. B (Pete Walker favourite Sheila Keith) and her husband (Bill Owen). Nick begins to be plagued by hideous visions of his dead wife Gail (Holly Palance) and other disconcerting sights and sounds. Could he be losing his mind?Not bad slasher type film from cult favourite Walker certainly has its moments. Fans will be more or less satisfied with the resulting bloodletting every time there's a murder set piece. However, these are few and far between, in a story (concocted by Murray Smith) that is overly plodding, and rather trite. For the most part, this story is just not that engaging. One might get their hopes up early on due to a particular killing, but the balance of the film doesn't measure up. Walker has done better in this genre, with efforts such as "Frightmare" and even "Schizo".The excellent international cast gives it some curiosity value. Jones is kind of bland as a leading man, but isn't unlikable, at least. The lovely Pamela Stephenson ("Superman III", 'Saturday Night Live') is an appealing leading lady, and David Doyle ('Charlie's Angels') is quite fun in his role. June Chadwick ("This is Spinal Tap", "Forbidden World") plays a nurse and Penny Irving ("House of Whipcord", 'Are You Being Served') an aspiring singer. If you're watching this to see Richard Johnson ("The Haunting" '63, "Zombi 2"), be warned that he doesn't show up until the film is three quarters of the way through, and even then it's only for a few minutes. Palance, the daughter of Jack P. who will go down in history as the nanny who hanged herself in "The Omen" '76, is stuck in a very thankless role.Entertaining stuff, but overall not one of the directors' better films.Six out of 10.

Being famous can have its drawbacks. Famous singer Jack Jones plays Nick Cooper, a well-known pop singer who relocates to a London estate to start recording music again following his divorce from his wife Gail(Holly Palance). Little does he know while he was flying to England, his ex-wife is brutally murdered. While he was trying to reclaim his past fame, the people he is staying with have a secret that is even well- hidden from Nick. The stay at the estate was not very pleasant to him. He would hear moans, sobbing, and crying from within, and the caretakers take his complaints very lightly. Not only that his wife gets killed, his friend Harry (Peter Turner) gets stabbed as well. So when Nick began to start losing his mind, the insanity points out to the people he is staying with. To me, that estate was nothing more than tourist trap. Jack Jones has put a performance on both music and the big screen. David Doyle has been well known as John Bosley on "Charlie's Angels". This movie is quite subtle, and not too violent. Has plenty of suspense though. This one is great for the music buffs. 2 out of 5 stars

The Comeback is set in London & starts as pop star Nick Cooper (Jack Jones) arrives by plane from the US, after a six year break from the music industry Nick is planning a big comeback album which he intends to write & record while staying in England. Recently divorced from his wife Gail (Holly Palance) she is also in London visiting their old penthouse where she is brutally murdered & left to rot, Nick's agent Webster Jones (David Doyle) thinks it would be a good idea for Nick to work on the album in the peace of the English countryside & rents a large estate house for him to stay in. The owner's are away & only the servants Mr (Bill Owen) & Mrs. B (Sheila Keith) will be there, the first night as Nick tries to sleep he hears the sobbing of a child but cannot locate where it is coming from & each subsequent night he hears crying & sees decomposing corpses although no-one believes his story & he is considered mad. However Gail's body is real & there is a killer on the loose who wants to torment Nick & those around him...Also known under the titles Encore & The Day the Screaming Stopped this British production was produced & directed by Pete Walker who was a minor figure in the anglo horror cycle of the 70's, The Comeback is far from his best film & while it has potential & a few good moments overall there's not much to recommend. The script could have a great little horror mystery but main problem with it is that it's so slow with large stretches where next to nothing happens. At almost 100 minutes long The Comeback just drags & gets a bit boring at times, The Comeback isn't a total disaster though as it has a terrific opening sequence involving a brutal murder & it's a shame the rest of the film doesn't come close to matching this scene. I will say that the script manages to include some really creepy & weird character's to keep us guessing like Mr B who talks to trees, the agent Webster Jones who is shown dressing up in women's clothes for no apparent reason, Nick's right hand man the sleazy Harry who is a real slimy piece of work & likes to discuss women's nipples with them mere moments after meeting them & then there's Linda who sends out all sorts of mixed messages you never know what she wants or where she's coming from. Everyone in the cast just seems to have a screw loose! Walker lays it on a bit thick but the bizarre character's is the only thing The Comeback has going for it. The twist ending is really rather silly & doesn't make much sense if you think about it, why not just kill Linda? The killer's plan required so many coincidences that it's hard to take seriously.Since The Comeback is a film about a pop star it's no surprise that director Walker cast a pop star in the lead, Jack Jones was apparently one of the most popular vocalists of the 60's although to be honest I had never heard of the guy before watching The Comeback. I guess his claim to fame would be that he sang the theme tune to the classic TV series The Love Boat (1977-1986) & Walker can't resist having him sing a few lines here & it's very dated & a bit cringe worthy. Apparently according to Walker he initially offered the lead to Bryan Ferry while he offered the role of Linda to Melanie Griffith, image how different The Comeback would have been if both those casting choices had stuck. Despite the very bloody start The Comeback isn't that gory otherwise, there's one more killing at almost the hour mark & a few shots of decomposing bodies but little else. There isn't even any proper nudity.Shot on a low budget on location here in the UK this has decent production values even if it does look a little dated. The acting is alright, some of the performances are a little heavy handed but that adds to the weirdness. Walker regular Sheila Keith puts in another over the top performance.The Comeback could have been a great little murder mystery horror slasher if it had not been so slow & the script had thrown in a couple more murders to make the first forty fives minutes less tedious. A half decent effort that tries but ultimately I can't really recommend it, average at best.

Pete Walker has something of a cult following; and that isn't surprising considering films such as House of Whipcord and House of Mortal Sin, but he's a very hit and miss director; evidenced by misses such as Die Screaming Marianne and House of Long Shadows, and while The Comeback is not as bad as Pete Walker at his worst and certainly has it's moments; it's not the British cult director at his best either, unfortunately. The plot will be fairly familiar to anyone who is a horror fan as its basis has been seen in many films previously, and focuses on a man who is haunted by his dead lover. Nick Cooper is a pop star who has fallen out of public favour. His wife was violently murdered in the couple's penthouse, and Nick has gone to live in a picturesque mansion complete with a pair of odd servants. Trouble starts when Nick stars seeing his dead wife, and despite everyone believing him insane; the visions continue and the troubled pop star begins to suspect that someone is trying to meddle with his life...The main problem with this film is that for large amounts of time; it is really rather boring. Pete Walker takes time to build his characters and the situation; which is all well and good, but with this film he takes too long over it and the plot actually suffers as a result. The lead role is taken by American singer Jack Jones who is actually not too bad in the lead role despite not actually being an actor; although I have to admit that I wasn't surprised to find that he hasn't been in many other films. The rest of the cast isn't particularly memorable, although Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith has a small but pivotal role. The film does contain a few decent set pieces including a fairly graphic murder and a very well worked, although rather silly, final revelation. Walker does manage to create something of a mysterious atmosphere for the film; although it does unfortunately feel just a bit cheap. Overall, The Comeback is not a great horror film; but it's not too bad and Pete Walker certainly has done worse. Walker's fans will find something to like.