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The Black Torment
1964
Not so much a horror movie as a gorgeously filmed period piece full of
heaving busoms and beardy types in silly hats, The Black Torment
would these days be a big budget Merchant Ivory affair, starring Ralph
Fiennes and Helena Bonham-Carter.
Of course, being made in 1964, it instead came about through cheapjack
horror supremo Tony Tenser and starred
a bunch of people who were
never heard from again (although Patrick Troughton appears at one point).
Having said that, if watched in the right frame of mind, The Black
Torment does have one or two unsettling moments. It's all about a
Lord of the Manor, Richard Fordyke, who on returning from a silly hat
buying expedition in London with his sugary-sweet wife, is received less
than enthusiastically by his formerly loving tenants.
It appears that Sir Richard has been seen riding through the forest at
night, being pursued by his dead first wife, the understandably distraught
pursuer screaming out "murderer". Of course, he's not happy
about this
and things get worse when he starts seeing a ghostly
presence knocking around the family pile.
Amidst growing resentment amongst his staff and family members, Sir Dick
must find out the truth, although it seems painfully obvious that his
late wife's sister, who still lives there, could have something to do
with it...
If you can get to see it (it's not a regular on the TV schedules, that's
for sure) there's much going on - the ghostly bits are well done, and
the ending's a doozy.
It appears that to get filming back on track after it lagged 10 pages
behind in the schedule, Mr Tenser took the script, ripped out 10 pages
and handed it back to the film crew, telling them "you're back on
track now" - taking much of the character motivation out of the finished
production, but that doesn't seem to matter too much, it still makes sense.
The character of the old Lord as a drooling, paralysed stroke victim,
verges on bad taste, I suppose - especially when he meets a grisly end.
And the description of another unfortunate as an "imbecile"
is hilariously un-PC. But it's a neglected gem that's worth hunting out.
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