A Reflection of Fear (1972)

A disturbed young girl starts believing that there is something very sinister at work after her estranged father visits her at her mother and grandmother's house with the woman he plans to marry.

Director:

William A. Fraker

Writers:

Edward Hume (screenplay), Lewis John Carlino (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Shaw, Sally Kellerman, Mary Ure

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Shaw	...	Michael
Sally Kellerman	...	Anne
Mary Ure	...	Katherine
Sondra Locke	...	Marguerite
Signe Hasso	...	Julia
Mitchell Ryan	...	Inspector McKenna (as Mitch Ryan)
Gordon De Vol	...	Hector (as Gordon Devol)
Gordon Anderson	...	Aaron (voice)
Victoria Risk	...	Peggy
Leonard Crofoot	...	Aaron (as Leonard John Crofoot)
Michael St. Clair	...	Kevin
Liam Dunn	...	Coroner
Michelle Marvin	...	Nurse
Michele Montau	...	Mme. Caraquet

Storyline

A young disturbed girl lives with her mother and grandmother. One day her estranged father returns home with a female companion he introduces as his fiancee. Soon the girl finds herself in the midst of strange goings-on, which evolve into a web of murder. Throughout all this, her father starts acting less and less fatherly which leads his horrified fiancee to believe that he wants to sleep with his own daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

telephone call | tragic event | murderess | girl | fiancee | 

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Taglines:

A cry in the night... A gasp in the dark...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 1973 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Daughter

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite playing mother and daughter, Mary Ure is only 11 years older than Sondra Locke, who was almost twice her character's age.

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

User Reviews

Vastly underrated, unpromoted, then deliberately buried...

Fraker is a cinematographer, and not just your plain vanilla camera cranker, either. He's been responsible for the look of many of Steven Spielberg's early films, including "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind". He was also instrumental in seeing that some of our most beloved and distinctive TV series made it to the screen, notably the original "Outer Limits". This was his first outing as a director (he's only done a couple more before returning to the job he's known best for). It has a weird, psychotic look. When you enter this world, it's a strange one, where the surreal becomes reality. You watch this and, first of all, you'll think you've got it figured out right from the beginning. You won't. This is also Sondra Locke's first film, and she is frenetic, creepy, spooky. Fraker has created one of those classic 'old dark house' movies, but it's about way more than that. This is about power and manipulation and taking it to extremes; about the ultimate control freaks. It's very dreamlike throughout, and it builds to a feverish climax. You probably won't like the characters, but then, you're not supposed to. Sally Kellerman is very good in this. She had previously worked with Fraker in an amazing black and white episode of "The Outer Limits" called, I believe, "The Bellero Shield", opposite Martin Landau. Robert Shaw is elegant and clueless as the husband, and the wonderful Mary Ure is perfection as his melting, bizarre ex-wife. I saw this when it came out, in an empty theater, on a Saturday afternoon during the summer's heat. It's stuck with me a long time, because I dig unique thrillers. I had never seen anything like this before or since. It's in the same league as that old classic "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", but it's edgier. Watch this as though you've never been to a movie in your life. Forget where you think it's taking you and let it lead you to the peculiar place it's really going. Seek this one out.