Crippled Susan Strasberg goes to France to visit her father (who she hasn't seen in 9 years) and her new stepmother (Ann Todd). When she gets there she's told her father is away on business. Suddenly, she starts seeing her father's dead body all over the house--but no one else does. Is she going mad or is her stepmother trying to drive her crazy and swindle her out of her inheritance? Handsome chauffeur Ronald Lewis tries to help her find out.
The plot is old and some of the twists have become predictable since 1961, but this is still a very good suspense film. It's well-acted, there are some very scary moments (I jumped three times) and it's imaginatively directed in eerie black and white by Seth Holt. A scene done in a pool is downright horrifying. An early Hammer horror film that's been unfairly neglected. Also, there's an interesting scene with Lewis in a very skimpy bathing suit--surprising for its time and especially for Hammer-- they usually pushed female sexuality, not male.
The plot is old and some of the twists have become predictable since 1961, but this is still a very good suspense film. It's well-acted, there are some very scary moments (I jumped three times) and it's imaginatively directed in eerie black and white by Seth Holt. A scene done in a pool is downright horrifying. An early Hammer horror film that's been unfairly neglected. Also, there's an interesting scene with Lewis in a very skimpy bathing suit--surprising for its time and especially for Hammer-- they usually pushed female sexuality, not male.