One of the best remembered episodes in the UK, when Thriller was Saturday night prime time telly. Diana Dors creeped out a generation of school age children who got to stay up past their bed time for the privilege, and many of us still remember her with a shudder, years later.
I thought it stood up pretty well. The supernatural side was largely played with subtlety, with some nice unseen moments in the Jacques Tourneur tradition. Denouements of supernatural episodes were usually anticlimactic in Thriller, and this one is better than most, with a well spoken epilogue.
The supporting cast is solid. All of the female victims of Bessie get their moments, as does the underrated Ed Bishop, and there's a bonus treat for fans of Patrick Troughton, and his repertoire of seedy characters (see The Omen and Inspector Morse).
It's Dors' show though. Her timing is spot on, she is by turns hammy, and understated, and I just know I wouldn't want to be left alone with her - even at the ripe old age of 47. It remains an inspired piece of casting.
There are a couple of plot holes, and this could actually have sustained 90 minutes worth, but otherwise, a pretty strong effort.
I thought it stood up pretty well. The supernatural side was largely played with subtlety, with some nice unseen moments in the Jacques Tourneur tradition. Denouements of supernatural episodes were usually anticlimactic in Thriller, and this one is better than most, with a well spoken epilogue.
The supporting cast is solid. All of the female victims of Bessie get their moments, as does the underrated Ed Bishop, and there's a bonus treat for fans of Patrick Troughton, and his repertoire of seedy characters (see The Omen and Inspector Morse).
It's Dors' show though. Her timing is spot on, she is by turns hammy, and understated, and I just know I wouldn't want to be left alone with her - even at the ripe old age of 47. It remains an inspired piece of casting.
There are a couple of plot holes, and this could actually have sustained 90 minutes worth, but otherwise, a pretty strong effort.