On the Third Day (1983) User Reviews

fairly engrossing overlooked horror/drama with good performances

[FieCrier · 6/10 · 11 November 2006]

I like to watch rare horror movies partly to contribute missing information about them, but also in the hopes that some of the rare ones are actually unjustly overlooked. This is one that definitely deserves a wider audience, though it is a bit light on the horror and a little more of a drama. Movies with tensions in a house between a strange outsider like Funny Games, or with a mysterious stranger with mysterious motives like Death and the Maiden come to mind.

A headmaster and his wife return home to find one of their doors to have part of a window pane neatly cut. Looking through the house for whatever might be missing, they find a young man sitting in one of their rooms, and the phone isn't working.

The man's behavior is strange, but polite. He says he's arrived from Australia and was friends there with an old friend of the headmaster. He proves to have a lot of personal knowledge about the family, so his story seems to be true. However, he definitely has a dark side, doing over-the-top "practical jokes," producing a gun, engaging in a particularly bloody boxing match. (There are a number of nice touches in the movie, like the acting of the old man handling the timer and bell for the boxing.)

The ending, well, perhaps a bit predictable (avoid reading too much of the box cover, or the synopsis on rotten tomatoes). Still, a pretty good movie overall and one of the rare horror movies to take place around Easter.

Superior psychological horror

[JohnSeal · 6/10 · 25 January 2008]

Richard Morant plays Jeremy Bolt, a mysterious accountant who spends Easter weekend dredging skeletons out of the stuffy Hammond family's closet. After breaking into their house, his plummy accent and good manners convince prep school headmaster Douglas (Paul Williamson) and his wife Clarissa (Catherine Schell) that he knows one of their old friends, and has just popped by for a cup of tea and a chat. But ulterior motives seem to be the real reason for his visit, and after seducing daughter Sarah (Sally Toft), Mr. Bolt begins to reveal his hand. Shot on location in the gorgeous Cornwall countryside, On the 3rd Day is a slow-building psychological horror tale that doesn't deserve consignment to the VHS graveyard in which it currently resides. The long out of print Karl Lorimar videotape is mildly letterboxed at 1.66:1, which seems to accurately reflect the film's original aspect ratio. If you find a copy, buy it!

Sometimes It Doesn't Pay To Come Home After Your Vacation.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of On The Third Day; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.50 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00

I love stories like The Third Day - The mysterious air, the constant doubt, and the threat of violence, especially when it's as palpable as in this movie. If it were a novel, it would be a page-turner. As a movie, it's an attention grabber.

A couple returns home after their holidays to find a stranger waiting for them. He claims to be a friend of the husband's friend, Joe Powell, who now resides in Australia. Even though the intruder is unsympathetic and restrictive in his manner, the couple agrees to shelter him for three days. It will be three days of their lives they will never forget as it will change them all for the rest of their lives...however long that may be. What the Writer and Director, Stanley O'Toole, does superbly well is construct four credible individuals. These men and women play off each other's emotions and feelings brilliantly. He uses Jeremy Bolt, the outsider, to drive in wedges between the Hammond family members. Until the reveal, you're never sure what the slightly sinister and ominous man's plans are. It's a great way to keep you watching - keep your curiosity piqued.

The direction and pacing aren't anything special. In fact, it's pretty pedestrian. But it works superbly well in conjunction with the story, the characters and the talented cast. However, a couple of scenes did scream out for a faster tempo, particularly the section where Bolt disappears with Sarah, the daughter of the Hammonds. It could have been tenser.

The cast is splendid. Richard Morant is outstanding as Jeremy Bolt. His acting is on par with Anthony Hopkins in Psycho. Morant will chill the blood in your veins and freak you the F-Out with his underlying menace. On The Third Day is worth watching for his performance alone. However, his portrayal is a mere component. If the other actors and actresses weren't up to his level, his playing off them wouldn't have worked so grandly. The acting, along with the story, kept my eyes glued to the screen.

I would state that On The Third Day is not a Horror film, it's a thriller with lots of drama and menace. I have put in the changes to IMDb. But don't let that fact stop you from giving the picture a look-see. It is entertaining as well as chilling and well worthy of your time.

Sit, have a cup of tea, and stay for a day or three. While you're here, check out my The Game Is Afoot and Dramatisation Of Life lists to see where I ranked On The Third Day.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Not bad Hitchcockian scheme but not horror.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 17 May 2022]

Not that exciting but not that bad either. It is smooth, a bit flat but not boring though. This topic is not new and had been spoken about hundred of times before thru American, French and British film industries. But I don't know where the "horror" element is here; maybe those who said it was watched the wrong film. It is definitely a psychological thriller, yes, a noir drama, but certainly not horror.