A Wee Bit of British Horror
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming! This week is a British double feature in honor of the passing of the Queen. Long may she rot! Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we get into the rotting guts of the season, the living dead, creatures of the night, slashings, stabbings, grabbings, and probably some sinister shower peeping, we’ll usher ourselves into autumn with some quiet psychological horror.
First on the docket is Symptoms by José Ramón Larraz, a movie filled to the brim with fall vibes. The leaves are falling, colors are changing, scarves are out, the kettle is on, and a chill is in the air. Maybe down your spine, too. It’s about a woman who invites her girlfriend to visit her in a remote dark country mansion. Will it be some nice r&r for the ladies, or will one’s descent into madness throw a wrench into the whole affair?
Symptoms was Britain’s official Palm D’Or entry in 1974, but then slipped into obscurity when the original negatives were thought lost for forty years. It’s since been restored. But beware. Symptoms is a slowwww burn. It unravels at its own pace. If that’s not your cup of English Breakfast, then you’re probably gonna wanna tear your hair out. Or get knifed peacefully in your sleep. But if you can get into the rhythm, you might find yourself enjoying a pleasantly creepy flick, perfect for the start of fall.
Next on the bill is The Nanny, a Hammer Films Production directed by Seth Holt (Station Six-Sahara), starring Bette Davis as the nanny for a well to do British family and their unmanageable son, who has just been released from a home for disturbed children. His crime? Having drowned his little sister in the bath. Or so says Nanny. Is he really the original Omen child or does dear old Nanny have it out for Master Joey?
A tenseful, classy picture in beautiful black and white. Davis does serious justice to a creepy old Nanny. Though, nothing can compare to her disturbing performance a few years prior in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Still, it'll surely make you think twice before hiring someone off Craigslist. Because you never know when nanny can get up to no good!
There you have it. Two movies with the theme “there’s something seriously wrong with the lady I’m living with, but I just can’t put my finger on it…” So grab a crumpet, spread on some marmite, get cozy, and start off your fall with these two British flicks that have flown under the radar. Cheerio!
Extras:
Want more batshit crazy Bette Davis? Check out:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) — Robert Aldrich
More Seth Holt/Hammer Production Horror:
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) - Seth Holt/Michael Carreras
As well of lots of José Ramón Larraz B-Horror Flicks on Tubi:
Edge of the Axe (1988)
Deadly Manor (1990)
Vampyres (1974)
Plus a bunch more! Enjoy!
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