The Two Faces of Evil (29 Nov. 1980)

A family on holiday stop to pick up a mysterious hitch-hiker.

Director:

Alan Gibson

Writer:

Ranald Graham (screenplay)

Stars:

Anna Calder-Marshall, Gary Raymond, Paul Hawkins

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Anna Calder-Marshall	...	Janet
Gary Raymond	...	Martin
Paul Hawkins	...	David
Pauline Delaney	...	Sister (as Pauline Delany)
Philip Latham	...	Hargreaves
Jenny Laird	...	Mrs. Roberts
William Moore	...	Mr. Roberts
Jeremy Longhurst	...	Dr. Cummings
Brenda Cowling	...	Nurse Davies
Mike Savage	...	P.C. Jenkins
Malcolm Hayes	...	Attendant

Storyline

A hitch-hiker dressed in yellow oil skins attacks the driver of a car who has stopped to give him a lift. The car crashes and the driver fights with the insane hitch-hiker. It appears like the driver, though badly injured, has prevailed and is taken to hospital. The drivers wife subsequently learns that her husband has damaged his throat in the struggle and is unable to talk, she is also asked to identify the body of the madman. The body looks exactly like her husband and doubts begin to enter her mind as to which of the two is the killer. The only differences appear to be that the killer has rotten teeth and a claw-like finger nail. Who survived the fight her husband or the madman?

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Plot Keywords:

killer | rotten | hospital | teeth | hitchhiker | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1980 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Stayed with me for twenty years

I saw this twenty years ago when it was first broadcast - I was a kid at the time and my babysitter let me stay me up late to see it because she was too scared to watch Hammer House of Horror on her own!

Granted, it's got the usual Hammer failings, but nevertheless I don't think I've ever seen any film on TV which scared me as much. Much of this is due to Anna Calder Marshall's intense performance. I agree with a previous reviewer that no other actress could have conveyed the growing sense of hysteria so convincingly - given the plot, the film could very easily have veered off into the ridiculous. It's testament to her skill as an actress that you instead stay gripped for the entire length of the film.

Amazingly, I saw the film again recently and instead of being disappointed (always a danger with revisited memories) this was still excellent.