Customer Reviews

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very strange and little-seen film that has been unavailable for a very long time, so I applaud the decision to finally release it on DVD. Poorly received at the time of it's release, there were a few TV screenings in the late 1970's before it was all but lost - until this new edition. Susan Hampshire plays Anna, a woman who suffers such profound grief at the death of her lover that she somehow manages to bring him back from the dead. She doesn't do it intentionally though, and is at first thrilled, but then shocked and bewildered by his seemingly miraculous return. Unfortunately, although he can move about he's still dead in every other respect, so things can only go downhill for poor Anna.

I don't know how Redemption are treating the release in the way of extras, but at least they have managed to avoid putting a naked glamour model of the front cover for once. Its obscure status is probably because it's not particularly attention grabbing and moves at a very slow crawl for most of it's running time. Which is a pity because if you allow yourself to go with the very leisurely pace, it's actually an effective little story. It also has a great, mournful theme song that could only have been concocted in the 1970's!

Filmed outdoors in lots of cold and grey coastal locations, the film is really a bleak love story and probably bored a lot of people to death at the time, although it does sustain an effective mood. The chilly outdoor photography perfectly suits the remoteness and distance of the bizarre happenings from normal life, but be aware that the story is very slight and the material is handled in such an understated way that it feels more like a TV drama production than a feature film. However, I like it very much. Competently made and with good performances, it's a lot better than some of the other trash that passes for "cult" fan viewing.

This strange film is based on a book by a former British television newsreader and is a combination of love story and ghost story.

The settings are striking and the music score effective but it's a slow affair and one is baffled as to what market the film-makers were aiming for.

It still remains worth watching however if only for its being such a rare commodity in combining monster movie and love story.

This highly obscure British horror outing caught my attention at the time of its release, when one reviewer described it as "LOVE STORY meets TALES FROM THE CRYPT, with lots of unintentional laughs." Anna (Susan Hampshire), fleeing a stifling marriage meets and falls in love with a moody lighthouse keeper named Hugh (Michael Petrovich). Jetting off to Scotland for a romantic getaway, Hugh inexplicably croaks while capering on the shore. Pronounced dead by the local country doctor, Hugh inexplicably returns to life the next day. Setting up house in Jersey, Anna is so ebullient over Hugh's return that she neglects to notice that he's strangely silent, has no pulse and is rapidly decaying! When Hugh's bible-thumping brother (Frank Finlay) tries to disrupt this most unnatural household, he is dealt with rather severely. Alas, this literal "dead-end" relationship can only end in one way. As its title suggests, this project doesn't know if it wants to be a romance or a horror film. It's too leisurely paced for those out for cheap thrills, and the largely female audiences for love stories will be put off by the final scenes where Hugh begins to resemble day-old pudding. The "Monkey's Paw" variant storyline is likewise beyond threadbare. Filmed for little to no money (cast members were allegedly told to bring three changes of clothing to serve as their wardrobe), the fact that so few people seem to notice the couple's predicament seems dictated by budget more than anything else. The film does work as an unintentional parody of feminine denial and loyalty to "strong, silent" types. Now out on Redemption DVD sans their usual busty models gracing the cover, viewers can now examine this most unusual and heartfelt misfire at their leisure.

...is the perfect phrase to describe this very obscure but absolutely fascinating British movie that predates the original WICKER MAN and Bob Clark's celebrated cult offering DEATHDREAM yet it contains elements that would be featured in both of those better known films. It in turn borrows a thing or two from W. W. Jacobs' THE MONKEY'S PAW and Edgar Allan Poe's story THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR. Throw in a little Elizabeth Barrett Browning ("How do I love thee...") and you have a totally unique film that defies classification which may have had something to do with why it tanked back in 1972.

An unhappily married woman (Susan Hampshire from Disney's THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA) visiting the Channel Island of Jersey, begins an affair with an islander (Michael Petrovich who bears a strong resemblance to Hugh Jackman) that comes to a sudden and unexpected end when he dies of a heart attack while they are vacationing in Scotland. But that is only the beginning of the story. It seems that her love for him is so strong and her grief so extreme that he returns to her. There's just one problem...he's still dead with everything that implies. It's a 20th century take on the 19th century Gothic Romance.

NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND (also known as THE EXORCISM OF HUGH although no such thing occurs) is a minor poetic masterpiece that stays with you long afterwards if you have the patience and the temperament to stick with it. The macabre aspects are tastefully handled and the location shooting on Jersey is very evocative. The film is not without its flaws the most notable being an irritating 1970s muzak score that fortunately crops up only occasionally. Both leads give remarkable performances with a fine turn also from Frank Finlay as the religious brother who tries to intervene. I'm glad I ran across this film which strikes me as a modern day equivalent of an old Fritz Lang silent film called DESTINY.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is a bizarre, paranoid film about Anna, a woman who travels alone to the Isle of Jersey in an attempt to sort out internally her troubled marriage. While out walking she meets Hugh the dreary lighthouse keeper. A romance promptly ignites from which the viewer is voyeuristically engaged until Hugh, engorged to capacity with the thrill of pursuit, keels over on the beach. She mourns the loss sedately for a short time before her lover, a bit gaunt, dedicatedly staggers back into her life.

I picked this up on a whim having no idea what I was getting into. The cover of the movie doesn't indicate its goings-on and the title is vague, yet I considered the brief synopsis and charged ahead with my usual apprehensions. I didn't expect much, but was pleasantly rewarded with what I believe to be a genuinely unique experience in undead cinema.

To start with, I wasn't particularly impressed with the cinematography, but felt that an adequate job was done considering the need to keep the protagonist's activities intimate and sheltered despite the interactions of the scripted outsiders. This is a softly filmed work indicative of the romance genre, but with obvious exceptions. There's a dead guy walking around.

Susan Hampshire carries a class and style in this piece that entranced me; she was both decidedly appealing and tragic. I wasn't as impressed with Michael Petrovitch, (Hugh), however, as he took on the wooden characteristics of the undead before actually becoming so. I think the only difference between his two states was his abilities to sprint and quote poetry ante mortem.

I do recommend grabbing this film if you're considering doing so. The prices I'm seeing are reasonable enough to make this a fun grab and the replay value seems fairly high. I could see myself kicking back once a year to take it in.

Without revealing the plot, this is a moody, unsettling romance dripping of horrific subtleties just strange enough to be worth your time and money.

- t -
14 July, 2010

Story about a love that transcends death.
Beautfully filmed. (The picture quality was fine on my copy).
Saw it on tv once and never forgot it. I found it even better than I remembered.
Basically, the story is: a married woman goes on holiday alone to escape from a loveless marriage and meets and falls in love with an attractive young man, who tragically dies, and she cannot accept it and begs him to come back to her, and his love for her somehow transcends death; which is fine to begin with, but then she decides she wants to be free and probably wishes she hadn't got him back, or at least not in the way it turned out, which is the tragedy of the story.

Should be avoided by all those whose idea of a 'good' movie is constant shouting, noise, car chases and guns blazing!

Susan Hampshire and Michael Petrovitch as the main leads are brilliant in their portrayal of the doomed lovers and appear utterly believable as a couple truly in love.

ps. Doctor Who fans may be interested to note that the movie features Michael Craze, who played companion Ben in the Hartnell/Troughton era.

I saw this movie 35 years ago when I was a teenager, and the story stuck with me all my life - it was so haunting. I was thrilled to find that it finally has been released on DVD. I just watched it for the second time, with a very different reaction as I'm now a middle aged woman. Both times, I appreciated the beautiful scenery, the wonderful little cottages, and the music. When young, I identified strongly with the love story. Today, I appreciated it as a slice of the 70's style, with some rather quirky characters - picking up stuff I'd missed the first time. This second time it appeared much more quaint than before. Part of that is seeing it in the context of movie evolution since it was made.

This is not a story for people with a short attention span. If you appreciate sinking into the mood, and watching the visuals, and letting yourself get emotional in a love story, you may like it very much. This is why I gave it four stars. It gets points for originality - I know undead aren't original, but this story handles it in a very original way.