Customer Reviews

And Soon the Darkness

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"And Soon the Darkness" is one of those odd little films that occasionally surfaces in some of the better reference books on horror and suspense, but remains unknown to the casual fan.

This is unfortunate, because "Darkness" is something almost unique in the suspense genre: a film taking place almost completely in daylight, yet conveying a sense of encroaching doom that rivals some of the best films in the field.

The film is almost plotless. Two nurses go on a biking excursion through the French countryside to see "the real France." But they have a falling out, and after their rift one of them (played by Michelle Dotrice) is murdered by an unseen (off-screen) assailant. The other girl, Pamela Franklin, struggles on, but soon a lone detective, claiming to be from the police, joins her, and they "collaborate" in a search for the missing girl.

It isn't long before "Jane" (Pamela) grows suspicious of the detective, and starts to believe he's the killer. Once this suspicion dawns, we witness her sporadic attempts to get to the bottom of things. Her meetings with the local gendarme, a café owner, a schoolteacher, and a blind war veteran, uncover nothing ---- though their collective "testimony" only adds to her unease. Eventually, of course, we discover the real killer, who, though constantly prowling the daylight, almost succeeds in delivering "darkness" to his second victim in a row.

To repeat ---- the remarkable thing about the film is how the constant scanning of open, sun-drenched fields and barren roads evokes an atmosphere of dread. I'm hard-pressed to name another film which accomplishes its aims by similar means ---- almost all the clichés of cobwebs, shadowy stairways, and rain-soaked streets are missing here. Only toward the end, when Franklin tries to hide from the detective in a ramshackle hut, do we get a recourse to the more conventional methods of "noir" ---- yet, precisely because it comes so late in the day (both literally and figuratively), it's that much more unnerving.

Pamela Franklin shows once again that she is one of the most underrated actresses of her day. Completely unglamourized, dressed simply in a white shirt and tan shorts, she shows little of the beautiful gamin she played in "Sinful Davey" (1968) or the lusciously sexy flapper of "Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies" (1973). This allows her more scope for nuances of expression, while simultaneously bringing her more firmly into the "girl next door" camp.

As a side note, it's interesting to compare the music score to that of the much-later "Silence of the Lambs." Though worlds apart in other respects, the leitmotif of descending notes that runs through "Darkness" clearly anticipates passages in "Lambs." Only the tawdry jazz accompanying the opening and closing credits mars what is otherwise an effectively eerie score.

Anchor Bay's DVD edition serves the film equivocally. While nothing spectacular video-wise, it's a vast improvement over VHS versions, and its audio track is better still, conveying nice clarity in both dialogue and music. The full-length commentary, however, is disappointing. Not only do Robert Fuest (director) and Brian Clemens (screenwriter) say almost nothing about Franklin (calling her at one point "unknowable"), they spend as much time discussing their parts in the "Avengers" TV series as they do the film itself. Worse, their comments are rarely screen-specific --- Fuest and Clemens take the roles of "essayists," talking abstractedly about their past careers and some of the more marginal aspects of film production. A scene-by-scene discussion would have been more effective.

Whatever its flaws, this disc is a fine addition to the suspense genre, and I would highly recommend it to those who want to see what a thriller can accomplish with a minimum of means. It embodies what to my mind is almost a new subgenre, which might tentatively be called "Film Blanc."

Two British girls riding the French countryside on bicycles. A mad killer loose. It seems the formula for a sleazy thriller, but luckily this is not that sort of movie. This is an intelligent, moody, wonderful thriller full of unexpected touches. I love the way movie builds up the tension and keeps you guessing until the very end. I also love how the movie builds suspense upon the British girls (and our own) lack of knowledge of the French language. This makes all characters seem suspicious.

The DVD transfer is excellent and the audio commentary is interesting. All in all, a must buy.

I also saw this movie back in 1972-1973? on tv in New York and was riveted to the screen for the entire movie. Great buildup, acting, scenery and directing. All come together for a terrific ending! Came across it last year by accident and saw it was available on DVD. Have enjoyed watching it many times again.

This film used to get shown on television a lot back in the 1970's. Now you hardly ever see it.

The story is very simple. Two girls are on a cycling holiday in France and one of them disappears. Watching this as a youngster I was very scared and having bought a region 1 copy it holds up well all these years later. The director Robert Feust keeps the tension admirably high without having that 'in your face' quality of some modern thrillers. There is a lot of subtlety in this film that is sadly missing from some modern teen slasher films. Clearly the director was from the Alfred Hitchcock school of what you can't see is scary, rather than showing everything upfront.

There are some nice extras on the disc, including a commentary, trailers and biograpical details.

I have forgotten about this movie.Saw this back in 1973 on chiller theatre.broadcast on channel 11 out of new york.when i was 10 years old.I was glued to the tv the entire time.When i popped the dvd in recently.i immediatly remembered it.This movie is a tense thriller about two british girls biking across france,Very subtle,dont look for the bloody gore in this one.Not to mention how suspensful a movie can be filmed entirely in broad daylight,With a cast of six people,in the middle of nowhere,Oh and keep an eyeout for the Spooky farmer sowing his fields in the distance,no close ups of him but he seems to know whats going on before you do.Get this one While it is still in print and reasonably priced wort every cent

Cathy and Jane (Michele Dotrice and Pamela Franklin) are two pretty British nurses taking a bicycle tour of rural France. The women stop on the side of the road and have an argument; Jane leaves the scene, while Cathy stays behind. Jane returns a few moments later only to discover that her friend has mysteriously vanished. As if that weren't distressing enough, Jane learns that the area Cathy disappeared from is the same site where a lady tourist was found murdered a few years earlier. Engaging suspenser with taut direction by Robert Fuest and good acting from Franklin as the worried heroine. Also, Ian Wilson's striking photography of the French countryside doesn't hurt one bit.

Finally available on dvd fom Anchor Bay.This is a fantastic transfer of one of my favourite thrillers.I first saw this on tv back in about 1974 and it made a huge impression on me then.This is a minimal,low key thriller that's methodically paced throughout while maintaining a high level of tension all the way to the very end.Director Robert Fuest does a marvellous job utilising the French countryside to superbly menacing effect.
Great stuff.

I asked the question the other night "why can't they make a film that doesn't rely on nudity or torture scenes?". The next night a friend brought over this movie and it was refreshing to see a well made movie that had a plot, odd characters, suspense, nice camera work and direction. The acting wasn't Oscar material but it wasn't nearly as bad as I have seen in other movies. And there is no nudity, excessive gore, torture, benging on drugs/alcohol or excessive profanity. Instead the movie relies on a solid plot, nice camera work and direction. It is more of a suspense than a horror.

Two British nurses are biking through the French countryside. They stop for a rest, have an argument then end up splitting up. One goes ahead to the next town. The other stays to lay out in the sun and rest. After a few hours of waiting for her friend to show up she starts questioning a few of the odd locals and soon discovers the road she is traveling on is a "Bad Road"...things get interesting from there. The entire movie takes place in daylight hours. The small towns along the country road are desolate the town folk look poor and tired. What makes the town people "odd" in my opinion is that they rarely talk. They mainly observe what goes on around them and try to stay indoors (the doors are locked alot in the movie). They are not openly friendly nor do they volunteer any information. Later in the movie the viewer finds out why they don't volunteer any information and it comes together rather nicely.

Robert Fuest (Avengers, The Abominable Dr. Phibes) directs a slow-burning masterwork of mood and dread. What struck me in the first few moments, before the story got its hooks into me, was how unadorned the direction of this film is. Surprising, given Mr. Fuest's resume. But not surprising, given the simple set up and spare elements of this story - just two young women cycling through the French countryside on holiday, about to take a figurative detour into trouble. That's all I'll say about the story. This is a film that you should enter into knowing as little as possible, as I did, and allow it to tighten its cords about you unawares as you sit transfixed through scene after scene. For this is a story that unfolds like one of those disorienting real-life episodes that we've all been through at some point - like getting lost somewhere, then working your way through the confusion as you problem-solve your situation. This movie is JUST like that, causing us to identify closely with the lead character and worry for her all the way.

Without giving anything away, the film's power lies in how it masterfully keeps us guessing - guessing about what has happened, who we can trust, and how it holds its secret to the very end, yielding nothing - a feat deserving of study by today's filmmakers, who fill the world with so much "predictablilia". There is nothing predictable about this story because it feels so plotless, so absent of formula, so uncliched. Just a natural unfolding of events, like real experience, and yet dreamlike. This is why it remains remarkable to this day.

The movie stars Pamela Franklin (The Legend of Hellhouse), who is perfectly cast as the more responsible of the two girls, her more frivolous companion played by Michele Dotrice (Hammer Film's The Witches).

This film may be counted among the great paranoid thrillers - it ranks with Polanski's best. And if it has a close cousin, I'd offer that it shares some similarity (though not in a duplicative way) with Richard Matheson's Dying Room Only, starring Cloris Leachman - a little bonus recommendation - add it to your cart with this one before checking out from Amazon. ;)

I was looking through British horror film and saw that a remake of this film had been done . I knew i would not be interested in the new film . I very much wanted to see the original thriller if at all possible . Thanks to high speed streaming i was able to see this excellent PG thriller , that would otherwise (financially) have been out of my reach . I think it's brilliant . By putting two lovely , young , English ladies on rural French soil , where only a couple of folks understand and/or speak english , the filmmakers really get the drop on the viewer . I'll write no more . Film from a time when story and character were paramount . See it if you can .