Rent And Soon the Darkness (1970)

Cult Thriller (spoiler). - And Soon the Darkness review by Steve

Taut woman-in-peril thriller made by the people who created sixties tv classic, The Avengers. It was shot around the Loire Valley, France and it's unusually bright and sunny for a suspense film which uses a lot of horror technique. But this allows Sandor Elès as the mystery man you are not really sure about, to hide impassively behind his cool shades.

The film is memorable for its casting of the two teenage English nurses on a cycling holiday. Blonde Michele Dotrice is the sexy/flirty girl who suddenly vanishes. Pamela Franklin is the sensible, practical friend who tries to find her. She's even called Jane. And she's on her own and doesn't speak the language or know who to trust.

It feels a bit unworldly now that this alien and unknowable foreign land of suspicious locals is the country just over the Channel. But it doesn't really matter. The film creates a lot of tension from not much at all. Just a stretch of road in rural France. It's stylishly directed, with lots of focus pulls which gives it a 60s/70s look.

This has the feel of an urban myth about the dangers of wandering off alone in a strange place. Principally, it's the two stars that stay in the memory. Franklin is, as usual, a reliable lead. But Dotrice, the victim, is more affecting. While her terrible fate is just a plot devise, there's  sadness to her loss, which isn't usual in this sort of film..

Disappointing for such a highly rated film - And Soon the Darkness review by CD

I came across this film in a BFI list for best British rural horror (although the film is set in France). The film is very 1970s ( which I generally like!) but the warning bells started ringing early on with the very brash music and the rather caricatured French characters. The atmosphere becomes more menacing and the film improves as it goes along, but the pace is slow and although not overlong the action drags and the tension is lost.  The actors do their best but the script is very limited partly because the English nurses cannot speak French!  One for the film buffs really but may not appeal to those who want a good yarn and action.