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Recommended Taste of Fear

Seth Holt, 1961

Star Review

Another minor gem from Hammer, and further proof that that studio's non-horror output is ageing somewhat better than a lot of its Gothic movies.

Not that Taste is short on shocks, of course. A taut and intriguing psychological thriller, it sees a young, disabled woman, Penny (Susan Strasberg), going to live with her rich, estranged father on the French Riviera, ten years after she last saw him. The old man is absent when she arrives; his new, slightly unctuous wife (Ann Todd) explains he is away on business. But before long the already mentally fragile Penny bumps into his corpse in the summer house. Or did she just imagine it?

Tightly scripted by Hammer stalwart Jimmy Sangster and smartly directed by Seth Holt, it’s not going too far to rank Taste of Fear alongside some of the Hitchcock and Georges Clouzot movies that so clearly influenced it. If you suspend your disbelief in the right places, it’s very convincingly handled, and the heroine-in-a-wheelchair idea is a nifty stroke. Good performances all round too.

Julian Upton on 30th September 2009
View all 101 of Julian Upton's reviews

Film Description

Hammer thriller in which, after narrowly surviving a drowning accident, wheelchair bound Penny Appleby goes to live with her widowed stepmother on the French Riviera, where she soon begins to question her sanity after seeing her father's corpse in the grounds.

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DVD Details

£11.99

RRP: £12.99
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Availability

To be released February 10th 2010. Despatched from Guernsey. Delivery times

Ratings for this DVD

Average Rating

4/5

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Film Details

Director

Seth Holt

Year

1961

Countries & Regions

British Film

Cast

Christopher Lee, Ann Todd, Susan Strasberg

Technical Details

Certificate

TBC

Length

82 mins

Publisher

Sony Pictures

Format

DVD B&W

Region

Cat No

CDR17286

Main Language

English

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Films by Seth Holt

 

Films starring
Christopher Lee

 

Films starring
Ann Todd

 

Films starring
Susan Strasberg

 

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