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16 reviews in total

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17 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
More of a character study then a thriller., 8 February 2002

Author: Rich359 (Rich359@netscape.net) from Los Angeles, California

Twisted Nerve is a rather well made film about a psychopathic young man who regresses to an infantile, rage filled personality when stressed or sexually atracted to another person. Released in the United States in 1968 by National General Pictures, the film was controversial for its suggested link between downs syndrome and psychopathology.

The film was a box office disapointment probally because it was marketed as an axe-killer psycho movie, which it is not. Although there are a few shocking scenes, this film is a character study of a person damaged by his herediary and his overly protective, seductive mother.

This film is nearly impossible to see if you didn't catch it in 1968. It was available from Thorn/Emi in Austraila, but I believe its OOP.

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Good psychological thriller with some outdated views... (SPOILERS!), 21 June 2002
Author: (deskman_83@hotmail.com) from Fort Lewis, Washington

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film sparked some controversy upon release in '68 because of some psychobabble during the last third of the film where a doctor suggests that there may be a hereditary link between what was then known as mongolism (Down's Syndrome) and psychotic/criminal behavior. However, outside of this little red herring, a fairly good story and performances can be found underneath.

The story revolves around a troubled rich young man named Martin Durnley (Bennett). Martin has an infantilizing mother and a mentally abusive father. For the duration of his life, Enid (his mum, played by Phyllis Calvert) has checked him for signs that he might not be "normal," like her institutionalized, mentally challenged son, whom she didn't bother giving a name to.

What we soon learn about Martin is that he is autistic (which is suggested later in the film) or that he is schizophrenic. He obviously has a split personality; of that, the viewer can be sure. This personality's name is Georgie Clifford, a soft-spoken six-year-old who befriends Susan Harper (Mills), a student/librarian. He befriends her after she bails him out of having charges pressed against him. You see, "Georgie" stole a rubber duck from a toy store. At the time, he says its for himself, but later, as Martin, he tells his mother that he wants to take it to his brother.

Martin's stepfather comes to the realization that this behavior has gone on far enough, and he offers to send Martin away (all expenses paid) to an around-the-world trip; he can either do that, or be thrown onto the street. Martin plays along with this for awhile, but then winds up at a boardinghouse, run by Susan and her mother, Joan (Billie Whitelaw, who won a British Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress). A couple of nights later, he returns to his old home and murders his stepfather with a pair of scissors. His presence there causes problems, and pretty soon Susan suggests that he should find another place to live. But wouldn't you know it, "Mr. Clifford" (Martin) calls the boardinghouse, saying that he wants to come and take Georgie on holiday.

While Susan travels to London to find out more about this mysterious stranger, her mother tries to seduce Georgie, which causes him to go mad and bury a hatchet in her head. Luckily, her lover, Gerry (Barry Foster) finds her corpse and calls the police, but not before George and Susan have a climactic fight, which culminates in him attempting to rape her, following by his "killing" Martin (he shoots his own reflection in the mirror).

After the police nab him, all that's left is Georgie. As he leaves a very traumatized Susan, we hear him in his cell (apparently at an asylum) singing her name in a singsong voice. The film ends, and Bernard Herrmann's "Psycho-esque" score plays in the background.

"Twisted Nerve" is a very good psychological drama, but because it is not politically correct (none of the characters ever use the term "mentally challenged" or even "Down's Syndrome." They simply opt for words like "mongol" and "mentally backward" to describe these people), it may not be liked by some audiences. Also, it doesn't help that it tries to link mental retardation with psychopathology. However, these obstacles aside, what the viewer has is a fairly good drama, with especially excellent performances by Hywel Bennett and Billie Whitelaw.

The film was doomed upon its release, because, controversy aside, it was marketed as an axe-killer slasher flick. There are only two killings, and one occurs with a hatchet, not an axe. Oh, well, so much for reviving the then-sagging career of ex-Disney starlet Mills...

"Twisted Nerve" is not rated, but contains violence, some sexual overtones, mature thematic elements, and some brief nudity and language.

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15 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
More of a character study than thriller, 10 February 2002

Author: Rich359 (Rich359@netscape.net) from Los Angeles, California

Twisted Nerve is a rather well made film that deals with the psychopathology of a 21 year old man. His illness is "triggered" when he leaves his troubled home (a rich demanding father and infantilizing mother) to live as a border in the home of a college student (Haley Mills) and her mother (Billie Whitelaw).

The film works especially well when his sexuality is aroused by both Haley Mills and Billie Whitelaw, with disastrous results.

The movie takes its time to unfold. Although it does have some shocking scenes, this film isn't your typical slasher/psycho movie, as the advertisements suggest, its much more than that.

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13 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
"The (exploitive) producers wish to express there is no scientific connection between Mongolism and criminal or psychotic behavior", 27 April 2002

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

After a hilarious built-in apologia from the producers (who took heat in Britain for implying that siblings of Mongoloids may be dangerous), this thriller about an English boarding-house beset with a psychopathic young man gets more and more ridiculous. I felt a little sorry for esteemed British actress Billie Whitelaw here (forced to come onto pasty-faced man-child Hywel Bennett as if he were a simpleton stud). Brighter aspects are a good performance by Hayley Mills as the pretty librarian who is befriended by Bennett; a weird, wonderful score by Bernard Herrmann; as well as some fancy camera tricks and editing. The picture is hard to locate, but is it worth the search? For Hayley Mills addicts, yes. All others looking for a good 1960s screamer, perhaps not. It apes Alfred Hitchcock well enough...until the convoluted script falls completely apart in the final stretch. **1/2 from ****

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
quite nasty moments and a splattering of blood, 24 February 2010

Author: christopher-underwood from Greenwich - London

Not at all bad. From an uneasy, start complete with voice-over to try and mitigate the non PC nature of the main thread of the film, this builds very nicely to a very decent climax. Hywell Bennet is most effective as the young man who tries to break from his mother and Hayley Mills surprisingly good playing against type.

If it hadn't been for the controversy surrounding the film regarding 'Mongols', she may have gone on to a much more interesting career. Good pacing and fleshed out secondary characters help to make this an absorbing psycho thriller, with some quite nasty moments and a splattering of blood.

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7 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Twisted ... and Brilliant!, 1 December 2008

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Clearly this production stepped on some sensitive toes around the time of its release, as it opens with two separate statements – one spoken and one written – assuring us there's absolutely no scientifically proved evidence that there might be a link between Mongolism and criminal behavior. It's of course a very provocative and courageous assumption to revolve a psycho-thriller on, especially during the late 60's and even more so with the close-minded and easily offended board of censorship in Britain around that time. No wonder "Twisted Nerve" rapidly grew out to become a controversial and harshly hated gem that only just recently got put back into the spotlights, partly thanks to the fancy DVD-edition and partly because no less than Quentin Tarantino used the catchy and bone-chilling theme whistle song for his own already classic 2004 epic "Kill Bill". "Twisted Nerve" is definitely one of the most unique and original psycho-thrillers ever made; on par with that other legendary British cult-shocker "Peeping Tom" and easily several classes above all the rest in its genre. Martin is a young schizophrenic (or is he?) who obtains whatever he desires by posing (or actually being?) as Georgie; an intellectually underdeveloped but well-mannered and helpful boy. As the arrogant Martin, he's kicked out of the parental house by his dominant stepfather, but as the innocent Georgie he's taken in by the cherubic Susan and her mother who run a boarding house just outside of London. From inside this safe environment, Martin can plot a fiendish revenge against his stepfather and simultaneously become an essential part in the life of the unsuspecting Susan. The extremely intelligent script – courtesy of Leo Marks and director Roy Boulting himself – comes up with what is pretty much the perfect murder (even more waterproof than Alfred Hitchcock could ever come up with) and it's so courageously twisted and blunt that the film is guaranteed to appeal to fans of controversial cinema. Quite late in the film, there's a lecture about the connection between criminal tendencies and an "error" in the hereditary chromosomes' structure that will make you wonder how come an angry crowd of offended Brits didn't burn all existing copies on a big pile. There's more controversial stuff going on as well, like the suggestive sexual tension between a mature woman (Billie Whitelaw is a stupendous role) and the allegedly mentally handicapped boy, a demented showcasing of motherly love and even the dubious sexual preference of Martin's character itself. Martin slash Georgie is a pretty petrifying character, constantly altering his behavior between a dangerous delinquent and a handsome young lad with the intellectual capacities of a 6-year-old. Hywell Bennett's performance ranks amongst the best ones ever and the indescribably ravishing Hayley Mills is equally astonishing as Susan. There's very little graphic violence shown on screen, but in the case of this film it's definitely the uncanny ambiance and the carefully drawn characterizations that will cause the hairs in the back of your neck to rise.

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8 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Not worth the wait, 30 August 2007

Author: adriangr from United Kingdom

I have to agree with other critics of this film because after finally getting the chance to see it, I have realised it does not deliver on any level. The story opens with a disturbed man named Martin being caught stealing a toy from a department store. Following a later argument with his parents, he leaves home and sets up a clever deception built around an attractive girl named Susan (who he encountered while stealing the toy), conning her into thinking he's retarded and moving into her family's small guest house, while at the same time conning his parents into thinking he has taken a trip to Paris. Martin's behaviour is for the most part indecipherable, but one thing's for sure, it's all going to end in tears.

The reason, I think, behind the film's failing, is it's pivotal explanation for why Martin is behaving abnormally, which is spurious in the extreme. Based around a medical condition, the film goes to great lengths to show learned doctors discussing just such a topic and how it might affect a sufferer. The trouble is that the script writers did not seem to know what "disturbed" traits to actually give the the character of Martin, so he simply acts erratically, inconsistently and ultimately homicidally just to make the plot exciting.

The feeble reasoning behind his behaviour really dates the film, and I can only assume there must have been some research being done at around the time the film was made (1968) that inspired such ideas.

At any rate, the film was not well received at the time because of it, and it only appears worse when viewed today. So too does some really appalling racism directed towards an Indian doctor in the film, which is highly embarrassing to watch. The acting on the whole is pretty good, although Hywel Bennett does not instill the character of Martin with any particular depth, and Hayley Mills looks very pretty as Susan and fulfils the role very well although she isn't given very much to do. Much more interesting is Billie Whitelaw as Susan's mother, who makes a real impact with her appearance.

Sadly the film itself can't claim to grab the attention. Despite a small sprinkling of blood and murder, things never get really tense or gripping. The overall impression is spoiled by the sheer datedness of the thing, but more importantly, it seems as though the whole thing was written around the expectation that the spectacular psychological revelations would carry it, but as they don't work, the film as a whole doesn't work either. As it stands, it's just another film about a disturbed man causing trouble, and it doesn't really do that very well.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
"There is no established scientific connection between Mongolism and psychotic or criminal behavior", 11 August 2010

Author: ackstasis from Australia

In 1960, two respected British directors debuted shocking psychosexual thrillers, to mixed critical and commercial receptions: Alfred Hitchcock with 'Psycho,' and Michael Powell with 'Peeping Tom.' Both films were shocking in their time, and their influence on low-budget 1960s horror can't be overstated. Roy Boulting's 'Twisted Nerve (1968)' is a typical Hitchcock rip-off, but of the serious, stylish Brian De Palma mould, rather than the schlocky comic-horror of William Castle. The film introduces us to Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett), the younger brother of a man suffering from "mongolism," the condition now known as Down Syndrome. Though seemingly healthy a birth, it seems that young Martin has developed some psychopathic, psychosexual tendencies, inextricably linked to a chromosomal mismatch at conception. Martin pretends to be mentally-challenged in order to get into bed with the virginal Susan (Disney favourite Hayley Mills, later the director's much-younger wife), only to instead capture the attentions of Susan's lonely mother (Billie Whitelaw) – did I mention this film was rather twisted?

Though the film treats its absurd, gloriously un-PC narrative with the utmost seriousness, it is nevertheless startlingly effective at capturing the main character's psychoses. Bennett's performance is menacing and pathetic in equal degree, playing a sort of introverted Alex DeLarge, whose wicked intentions are always bubbling beneath an otherwise honest exterior. 'Twisted Nerve' also features a maddeningly catchy musical theme, memorably recycled in Tarantino's 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2004),' composed by Bernard Hermann, who by this time was estranged from Hitchcock on account of his rejected score for 'Torn Curtain (1967).' Nevertheless, it's clear that Alfred Hitchcock himself both saw and enjoyed 'Twisted Nerve,' as he cast both Barry Foster and Billie Whitelaw in his own back-to-basics British shocker 'Frenzy (1972).' Due to controversy surrounding its depiction of Down Syndrome, the film opens with a spoken announcement that attempts to shirk responsibility for its political incorrectness, but without much luck. I probably wouldn't have it any other way.

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Sublimely subtle character study, 1 November 2011
Author: Leofwine_draca from United Kingdom

Now here's a rarity: a '60s-era slasher movie and the one and only horror film from the Boulting Brothers, a director/producer combo better known for making genteel comedies. And what a joy it turns out to be! Best known today as the film featuring the eerily whistled tune that Tarantino borrowed for KILL BILL (thank you, Bernard Herrmann!), Twisted Nerve is an engaging portrait of a psychopath that turns out to be every bit the film that PSYCHO is. How strange, then, that it seems to be virtually forgotten.

Hywel Bennett stars as Martin Durnley, a baby-faced youth suffering from the titular affliction. This, truly, is the performance of a lifetime; a frightening portrayal of a seemingly normal and friendly young man who adopts a separate personality to get close to the object of his obsession, Hayley Mills (and you can't blame him: all grown up from her days as a child actor, Miss Mills is extremely lovely). The ensuing plot is one of those 'cuckoo in the nest' stories used in the likes of everything from THE GODSEND to ORPHAN; Durnley worms his way into the life of an ordinary household before going on to wreak chaos.

The packaging and advertising for this film makes it look like a slasher film in the vein of Friday THE 13TH, but it really isn't. Indeed, this film is so subtle as to be sublime. There are few murders on show, and the violence is mostly kept offscreen. Instead, the scriptwriters emphasise the deranged personality of his villain so that this becomes nothing less than a character study of a psychopath, both believable and chilling. The film is beautifully shot and laced with fine performances from Barry Foster (brash), Billie Whitelaw (seductive) and Frank Finlay (pompous). I've seen most British horror films but this one always slipped me by; now I've finally got around to watching it, it's gone to the top of my list as one of the best of all time.

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5 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Slightly misguided, but still works well as a psycho thriller, 10 February 2008

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Twisted Nerve doesn't seem to have a great reputation, and while the film (like its lead character) certainly does have some problems, I enjoyed this one in spite of them. The main problem people seem to have with this film (so much so that the filmmakers actually had to tack on an apology before the film starts!) stems from the fact that it seems to be professing that siblings of mongoloid children were more likely to become psychopaths. This idea is somewhat silly and I can see why it would bother some people; but seriously, this is just a thriller and while the idea is unlikely and misguided, it didn't bother me too much. It also should be noted that 'nurture' plays a big part in the lead character's mental health problems. The film focuses on Martin Durnley. His mother treats him like a child, his stepfather dislikes him and his mongoloid brother is institutionalised. He meets a young girl named Susan Harper, who takes pity on him (or rather, his alternative personality 'Georgie') after a shoplifting incident. But this soon leads to obsession for the troubled young man...

If you go into this film expecting something deep or brilliant, you will be disappointed. As mentioned, the point that the film tries to make is not well imposed and not much else about the film has any depth. Still, as a thriller it works well. The main influence for the film is clearly Hitchcock's masterpiece 'Psycho' and the two share a lot in common. The central character is interesting for the fact that he's so strange. Hywel Bennett really succeeds in creating a character that is both bizarre and completely sinister. The supporting cast isn't as great in terms of performances, but the two leading ladies are much nicer to look at. Hayley Mills delivers the typical young British female lead, while Billie Whitelaw is the real standout for me as the young girl's mother. Twisted Nerve also features a memorable tune, and possibly takes influence from Fritz Lang's M as the lead character often whistles it. The film flows well throughout and delivers the intrigue from the character actions and the situation rather than through suspense. I can see why this film is not often hailed as a classic; but if you're looking for an interesting watch and don't care about some silly ideas, Twisted Nerve comes recommended.

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