Cover Up (1974)
"Frightmare" (original title)

Edmund and Dorothy Yates are freed after fifteen years in an asylum. Edmund covers up for his wife who is a murderer and a cannibal and Dorothy's daughter Debbie and stepdaughter Jackie, ... See full summary »

Director:

Pete Walker

Writers:

David McGillivray (screenplay), Pete Walker (original story)

Stars:

Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rupert Davies	...	Edmund Yates
Sheila Keith	...	Dorothy Yates
Deborah Fairfax	...	Jackie
Paul Greenwood	...	Graham
Kim Butcher	...	Debbie
Fiona Curzon	...	Merle
Jon Yule	...	Robin
Trisha Mortimer	...	Lillian (as Tricia Mortimer)
Pamela Fairbrother	...	Delia
Edward Kalinski	...	Alec
Victor Winding	...	Detective Inspector
Anthony Hennessey	...	Detective Sergeant
Noel Johnson	...	The Judge
Michael Sharvell-Martin	...	Barman
Tommy Wright	...	Nightclub Manager

Storyline

Edmund and Dorothy Yates are freed after fifteen years in an asylum. Edmund covers up for his wife who is a murderer and a cannibal and Dorothy's daughter Debbie and stepdaughter Jackie, who live apart from them, may or may not have inherited her appetites. Dorothy has started to kill again...

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Plot Keywords:

asylum | perversion | farmer | family relationships | cannibalism | 

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Taglines:

Worse than your most shocking nightmare!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frightmare II

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Walker (Heritage) Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final English-language film of Leo Genn.

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Goofs

When Jackie drives to her father and stepmother's house, she sits on the right-hand side of the car (as is normal in the UK). But when she drives back, the footage is the exact mirror of the drive there, with her sitting on the left.

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Connections

Referenced in Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010)

User Reviews

Quite deranged...rather great!

It's 'granny goes gaga' in this genuinely creepy bone-chiller, surprisingly well directed by Peter Walker and penned down by David McGillivray. The power of this 'Frightmare' simply lies in its primitive goal to shock and to disturb the viewer by showing the disastrous fade of poor, innocent victims. *** small spoilers*** The eerie black and white opening sequences introduce us to an elderly couple on trial for a series of savage murders. Dad is pretty much sane and a devoted husband, but mum suffers from cannibalistic characteristics. 15 years later, they're freed from the asylum and declared properly sane. Even though they now live in a quiet farm outside the town and receive many visits from their oldest daughter Jackie, mommy (Dorothy Yates) resumes her old disgusting habits by enticing lonely people to the farm with the offer or reading their futures in cards. Things get even more complex when Jackie's psychiatrist boyfriend digs up matters from the past and the couple's youngest daughter Debbie seems to have inherited mom's relentless sense of cruelty and taste for blood. *** end spoilers *** There's very few background in the story and not even a proper attempt to analyze the psychological elements the plot handles about. Frightmare wants to shock you, and from that viewpoint, it's a very successful package of eeriness. Multiple scenes are loaded with tension and leave you with a very uncanny aftertaste in your stomach. There's quite a lot of offensive gore in the film and the mind-blowing climax skyrocketed the cult-value of this film, back in the early seventies. If you're not too easily petrified, I certainly recommend checking this film out.