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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Seberg was originally cast in the role of Helen Ramsey, but was forced to drop out of the production last-minute due to the fact that she was not a member of the Actors' Equity Association. Françoise Pascal, Candace Glendenning, Mary Maude, Lynne Frederick, Anna Palk, Judy Matheson, Lalla Ward, Olivia Hussey, Helen Mirren, and Mia Farrow were all rumored to be possible replacements for the character before Angela Pleasence was cast.

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

Temporary ripple, no big splash

An odd woman takes her girlfriend to stay at her place in the country, but a former girlfriend has something to say about that ...

Slow and creepy mystery. The atmosphere is set perfectly by photography and music, but especially through the overgrown lakeside estate from the early '70s, when locations were cheap. I'm not sure this is a horror - it does dabble in the ghostly, but really it's all about psychosis - although the gore is effective: films from this era relished their stabbing scenes, and the crunchy-cabbage sound effects in this one got me every time.

The lead actress is excellent, and the performances all round are good, but the big drawback is in the character of the odd-job man: the performance is a little awkward, and the purpose of the character turns out mundane, missing the opportunity to make this a true horror, where things turn inside out and the past becomes cosmic truth. Ahem. In the end it's just a tale of bloody madness temporarily disturbing the surface of normality.

Music sets the tone. Photography is mostly delicious, and the house and lake take on real character.

Overall: Nicely disturbing, but falls short.

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