Movie, 1959

Horror in glorious, gaudy colour, in which the plot and any suspense is demystified almost from the off, leaving space for some pretty sadistic, well directed gore, in which there’s a pleasing mix of cruelty, inevitability, melodrama and ghastly deeds which are every bit as unseen as they are visible. In a film of this vintage and manners, there are still a couple of shocking moments. By no means an ‘out there classic’, but certainly a worthy addition to a type of British horror which foregrounds derangement and nihilism against a backdrop of the usual thrills, spills and hokum.