Fright

Honor Blackman - Helen
Susan George - Amanda
Ian Bannen - Brian
John Gregson - Dr. Cordell
George Cole - Jim
Dennis Waterman - Chris
Tara Collinson - Tara
Maurice Kaufmann - Inspector
Roger Lloyd-Pack - Constable
Michael Brennan - Sergeant

Fright (1971) is an undemanding chiller that concerns a homicidal mental patient who returns to his family home to stalk the baby sitter while his wife is out for the evening. Director Peter Collinson piles on the suspense with a none-too-steady hand, but the formulaic direction struggles to sustain the terror at fever pitch and the story runs out of steam in the second half. Susan George produces a fine study in mounting hysteria and is responsible for the films few edgy moments, meanwhile Ian Bannen gives a suitably wild-eyed and energetic performance but his character is sadly underdeveloped.

Attractive young college student Amanda (Susan George) accepts an invitation to babysit Tara, the three-year-old child of newly-arrived village couple Helen and Jim Lloyd (Honor Blackman and George Cole). Amanda arrives early in the evening at the remote cottage and is welcomed by a peculiarly nervy Helen; scolding her husband for allowing the cat near their snoozing child and making a light-hearted quip about ghouls . As the couple drive off into the night for an anniversary evening meal with close friend Dr. Cordell (John Gregson), we discover that Helen's ex-husband is a certified homicidal psychotic held in a secure asylum.

Back at the cottage, a nervy Amanda is angry that her boyfriend, Chris (Dennis Waterman), has been creeping around the house attempting to frighten her – something he strenuously denies. She eventually allows him in, but when Chris becomes too frisky and begins larking about whilst Mrs Lloyd is on the phone, Amanda ejects him from the house. Moments later the doorbell rings and a blood-spattered Chris falls through the front door accompanied by a man claiming to be a neighbour; he is in fact Mrs Lloyd’s ex-husband Brian (Ian Bannen).

Meanwhile, news reaches Dr. Cordell that Brian has escaped from the asylum. Suspecting that the unbalanced mental patient will return to the family home, Dr. Cordell speeds to the police station to raise the alarm whilst Mr and Mrs Lloyd hurry home.

Amanda does her best to protect Tara from the increasingly unstable Brian; who has slipped into a fantasy world of imagining Amanda is his wife and subsequently rapes the sobbing teenage girl. Soon the police arrive and Dr. Cordell attempts to reason with the embittered Brian.