Opening with a shot of the Battersea power station, a site that the Pink Floyd album cover for "Animals" would make world famous three years later, "Frightmare" (1974) tells the story of quite a strange human animal indeed. She is Dorothy Yates, who, along with her more normal husband Edmund, had been institutionalized in 1957 for crimes that the sentencing judge called "sickening" and "disturbing." Fifteen years later, the Yateses are released, but unfortunately, Dorothy suffers what Edmund can only call "a very serious relapse," one requiring her to go after ever increasing quantities of...let's just call it "brain food." As portrayed by Sheila Keith, Dorothy Yates is surely a candidate for the pantheon of all-time-great cinematic nutjobs, right besides such other wackos as Norman Bates, Hannibal Lecter and Leatherface. Matronly sweet one moment and icily psychotic the next, she surely does make for one mighty creepy and intimidating customer. It is a memorable performance by Ms. Keith, and she is more than ably abetted by Peter Walker's fine direction and by fellow actors Rupert Davies, Deborah Fairfax and (the appropriately named) Kim Butcher, as members of her nuclear family. "Frightmare" features several mildly gory sequences, although most of the violence is either implied or shown as an aftermath. The picture ends on a suitably downbeat note that is completely devoid of sentiment and should manage to shock most viewers. Had this picture been made in America, rather than the U.K., it surely would have resulted in a sequel, and truth to tell, it almost seems a shame that the fascinating story of the Yateses was a one-shot. There have been many films dealing with devoted husbands and man-hungry wives, but never one quite like this! All fans of intelligent horror should, uh, just eat this one up.
Review of Frightmare
