Symptoms (1974)

Director:

José Ramón Larraz

Writers:

José Ramón Larraz (screenplay)
Stanley Miller (screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A young woman is invited by her girlfriend, who lives in an English country mansion, to stay there with her. The estate, however, isn't quite what it seems--and neither is the friend who issued the invitation. |

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mike Grady		(as Michael Grady)
Lorna Heilbron
Raymond Huntley
Marie-Paule Mailleux
Nancy Nevinson
Ronald O'Neil
Angela Pleasence	...	Helen
Peter Vaughan

Also Known As:

The Blood Virgin

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK | Belgium

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X | USA:R

Company:

Finition Productions

Trivia:

The final feature film of Raymond Huntley.

Dull and plodding horror from José Ramón Larraz

José Ramón Larraz will always be best remembered for his excellent 1974 lesbian vampire flick Vampyres; and for good reason since its his best film, but it wasn't the only film he made in 1974 - he also made a Spanish film called "Emma, Dark Doors" - which I haven't seen (nor did anyone else it would seem), but it does look interesting. Oh, and he also made this little British film 'Symptoms' and I'm not surprised to find that this one isn't too well seen either as despite some interesting elements; it's all a bit dull and doesn't have a great deal going for it. The film takes place in the English countryside and focuses on a mansion. A young woman gets an invitation to stay there as the mansion is owned by her friend, and accepts. However, her stay at the mansion takes a turn for the strange and the woman soon realises that neither her friend - nor the mansion itself - is quite what it seems.

I can't really say I'm a fan of José Ramón Larraz - mostly due to films like The House That Vanished and Black Candles. The director clearly has a good eye for atmosphere but unfortunately the same cant be said for his plotting and Symptoms' main problem is undoubtedly the lack of intrigue. The film does benefit from the presence of Angela Pleasance; Donald's daughter has a very creepy screen presence and the director was obviously keen to capitalise on that as much as possible. The setting is good and the isolation of it all benefits the film in terms of atmosphere. However, the fact is that the story doesn't really go anywhere for large periods of the film. It's obvious that the director was trying to build up steam for the ending, but I was starting to lose interest long before then. It's a shame actually as well because the ending of the film is actually rather good and would have worked well with a more interesting build up. Many people consider this to be the director's second best film; and actually I agree with that, but that's more because Larraz's other films are so bad rather than because this one is good.