(1970)
Dir - Alan Gibson
Overall: MEH
Screenwriter/occasional director Jimmy Sangster rewrote Alfred Shaughnessy's script for Crescendo, which was originally aimed to star Joan Crawford until that idea was eventually given up upon as the film never garnished the budget to afford her. As far as Hammer's lesser know thrillers go, this one understandably is such a thing. The script is a little disorganized and the twist offers up far more questions than answers, though not in any good, thought-provoking way. James Olson, (who is American even though his mother here is English and the setting is in France so, yeah), is a bit ineffective in the lead as he occasionally appears both wooden and even a little late on some of his lines. Alan Gibson, (who would go on to direct two later era Hammer Dracula installments), tries his best to make the rather subpar story more engaging than it is, actually keeping the confusing specifics of the final reveal rather well hidden. Yet the whole of Crescendo feels stretched since there is not enough meat in the plot to really keep one properly invested. Perhaps a bit more of Hammer's star power, (though to be fair, there is no place for Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee here), or more nasty kill scenes could have helped, but even then, it would still probably be as mediocre as it is.
(1972)
Dir - Peter Sykes
Overall: MEH
One of the last Gothic horror outings from Hammer Studios, Demons of the Mind is pretty unremarkable. Christopher Wicking wrote many other mediocre to good screenplays in the horror field such as The Oblong Box, Scream and Scream Again, and To the Devil A Daughter, and his work here based off a story by producer Frank Godwin only really picks up some steam in the last five minutes. Even then, the brutal, hysteria-fueled murder by, (of course), an angry mob is rather wasted as it would have been far better suited for one of Hammer's five-hundred odd vampire films instead. Everything else before the final showdown in here is both dull and messy. The main story involving a crazy Barron and an eccentric doctor, (A Clockwork Orange's Patrick Magee), trying to save/in-turn make worse his crazy children is straight-forward enough, but everything that goes on in the woods and village outside of their castle is muddled at best, distracting at worse. Also, hardly anything diabolical happens for large periods of time, making it very easy to tune out and get even more confused as well as even less interested along the way. Sadly, it seemed like Hammer was running out of steam to make these all-too-similar excursions work, making it no wonder that they wrapped it up by decade's end.
(1972)
Dir - Peter Collinson
Overall: GOOD
This contemporary-set, Hammer thriller remains quite under the radar, much overshadowed by the studio's more renowned and popular Gothic horror films and even many of their adventure-laced ones. Yet Straight On till Morning deserves a further look. At first, Peter Collinson's bizarre direction seems positively annoying as it cannot linger on a single scene long enough not to bounce endlessly around to other characters and flashbacks. By the second act though, this odd editing choice settles down and the movie really begins to get interesting. By the last effectively unnerving moments, all the back-and-forth dancing around from the editing chair actually begins to enhance the strange, disturbing experience. In the two leads, the very homely Rita Tushingham, (Dr. Zhivago), and very handsomely pretty Shane Briant, (the previously reviewed Demons of the Mind), are perfect as quite different, yet very curious individuals who very unhealthily become clinged to each other. This is also one of those movies where the character's peculiar behavior appears realistic on its own terms as it is very successfully conveyed how unusual they truly are. It is ultimately a film that appears too jarring at first but very much pays off, with a certifiably distressing ending that is often a rarity in and of itself.
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