Slow, talky, and even a little dull, but there is something about this film from Azalea pictures and Larry Buchanan that I just really enjoyed. The story was quite interesting and if you just say this isn't going to be a monster film (say in comparison to The Lorely's Grasp), its actually quite an effective psychological thriller and quite grim and depressing movie about an insane man and his beast. The scene where the main villain chases the teacher through the woods in slow motion, has an almost beauty poetry in the way its filmed and comes across on the screen. I know Larry Buchanan wasn't a talent for the ages, but this film was a good little picture. While the massive nearly 20 minute flashback of the teachers capture may grind the movie to a halt, in itself its a very well done act of the breaking down of a human being of their ability to resist. I've also read the story is pilfered from a Richard Matheson, which may account for it being pretty good.
You can find this on a Retro-Media double feature paired with In the Year 2889 or on tons of PD sets.
Larry Buchanan's telefilms are an acquired taste, so it's nice to see someone with taste! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Azalea Seven (I'm excluding the war film Hell Raiders, which is non-genre, and so rare that I haven't seen it in decades and don't know of any DVD release) are quite slow to the point of hypnotic, and provided hours of amazing, dazing middle-of-the-night viewing for us oldsters, during the late 60s and early 70s.
In all honesty, if the house were on fire, I might just grab my DVDs of the Azalea Seven, along with the astounding Rob Craig book on Larry B, and be satisfied that I had saved the most prized items in my collection.