Spoilers ahead! FRIGHTMARE (1974) is another grim and gruelling shocker from British director Pete Walker, perhaps his best-known work. It's a stark slow burner which feels like a family drama or soap at times, but with a particularly dark sub-plot that by the end turns it into the British version of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. I feel that the director's slow and mannered approach works well in this one; it's as though the viewer gradually unravels a psychological mystery which begins off extremely subtly and ends up with graphic depictions of horror and cannibalism that bring to mind both DRILLER KILLER and the films of Norman J. Warren. However, the film it's most similar to is THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR, with another kindly elderly couple hiding some very dark secrets in their rural abode. It's extremely well-acted throughout too: inevitably the frightening Sheila Keith is the stand-out here, but Rupert Davies really excels as her protective husband and the younger cast members aren't too shabby either. If you like doses of social drama and realism with your horror, then this one's for you!
Review of Frightmare
