Wow! Probably one of the best Hammer movies, and at least the best that I have seen by Hammer thusfar. I really enjoyed it. It is not the typical monster movie you expect from Hammer (no Vampires, no Dracula, no monster of Frankenstein, no Werewolfs, etc.), still it has a supernatural component with a girl being possessed by a ghost.
She is the perpetrator of the movie, yet you feel pitty for her - not having had an easy life she still seems totally innocent and lovable and you start blaming all the other people around her, that take advantage of her or by using her, by raising her badly or by raping her.
The other lead is the doctor, who is also interesting; in the beginning you suspect him to be the morally steady person, but while the movie progresses you start wondering, and learn that actually he isn't. This is so good, that in the end I wondered if he would stop her, or let it happen, allowing him to get rid of something he is not fond of.
We have - for that time - great actors who manage to protrait deep and interesting characters and that is just the first component. In addition we have a great story, that does not have a black-and-white look on things, and that is interesting from the beginning to the end. Also we have a philosophical-scientific component that is also fun to think about.
At no minute did I feel bored, or was I reminded by the age of the movie, due to modern camera, gerat acting, and a fast-pace movie.
I am really blown away - I did not expect anything this great by Hammer. Up to now I would say, the movies from the studios, that I have seen, all average at around 7/10; this one is clearly far better!
Shout by CaesarBlockedParent2021-09-11T20:34:13Z
Catching up before it's leaving Shudder. The infant daughter of Jack the Ripper is witness to the brutal murder of her mother. Fifteen years later, she is a troubled young woman seemingly possessed by the murderous spirit of her father. It's a very silly possession/slasher film and has a really interesting premise but not really much going on beside it. There are some serious pacing issues, the troubled woman character doesn't have enough complexity, and I find the twist to be a bit repetitive. Having said that, there's still quite a lot to enjoy here. It does have some interesting kills with some nasty gore, also mantains the tension and manages to get some excellent performances from the cast. There is a very beautiful shot from above in the finale that works perfectly and put things together very nicely. The technical aspects that stand out the best are the set and costumes, as they're very decent to look at.