Symptoms (1974)

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.

Director:

José Ramón Larraz (as Joseph Larraz)

Writers:

José Ramón Larraz (screenplay) (as Joseph Larraz), Stanley Miller (screenplay)

Stars:

Angela Pleasence, Peter Vaughan, Lorna Heilbron

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Angela Pleasence	...	Helen
Peter Vaughan	...	Brady
Lorna Heilbron	...	Anne
Nancy Nevinson	...	Hannah
Ronald O'Neil	...	John (as Ronald O'Neill)
Marie-Paule Mailleux	...	Cora
Mike Grady	...	Nick (as Michael Grady)
Raymond Huntley	...	Burke

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

drive in classic | grindhouse film | violence | creepy | suspense | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK Belgium Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blood Virgin

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finiton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to editor Brian Smedley-Aston, Larraz financed the picture himself from his income as a comic book artist and photographer. The credit of "Jean Dupuis" as Producer is an homage to the editor of his comic book series "Paul Foran" Jean Dupuis.

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Connections

Featured in Symptoms: An Interview with Lorna HeilBron (2016)

User Reviews

Angela Pleasence is a blood virgin in this eccentric and mysterious horror tale set in the british countryside.

"Symptoms" or "The Blood virgin" is the favourite movie shot by Joseph Larraz, the catalanian director of such horror movies -Whirpool, Deviation, Scream and die or masterpieces as this "Symptoms" or "Vampyres"- that nobody did with their particular sight and their personal style. "Symptoms" is a very traditional horror tale with vampiric reminiscences and a very special study of a crazy lesbian woman obsessed with their dead mistress. The phantom of Cora, their lover is in the middle of this sensitive story and the reason of their crimes around the movie. The atmosphere and climatic shots are superb and the music score by John Scott are wonderfully executed with gothic images and dark places. "Symptoms" appeared in 1976 in british theaters and received cool opinions, specially in "Monthly Film Bulletin" and other prestigious movie magazines in United Kingdom. Twenty five years after "Symptoms" is a disturbing masterpiece of the horror movies and one of the most romantic studies of crazy love that other prestigious directors in the seventies, for example Truffaut, De Palma, Rivette, Richardson or Losey, did in this past prodigious '70 decade. Joseph Larraz, 70 years old now has a clear head yet and a great sense of humor. He is one of this rare spanish directors that made movies in United Kingdom or Demmark. He has their particular obsessions about sex, horror and movies and he showed us their talent in fashion magazines, in spanish comics or erotic pictures of beautiful women as Marianne Morris, Anulka, Lorna Heilborn, Teresa Gimpera, Helga Line, etc. "Symptoms" is a rarely piece for collectors and fans of darkness dreams and inmoral tales. The film has their soul and force in the face of Angela Pleasence as Helen Ramsey, the predator woman that kills everyone around her and use the people to take to their mortal manor where occurs all the drama. The movie is great in the beginning and in the end and offers to the audiences a clever entertainment that intelligent people will love with passion.