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And Soon the Darkness

In which Brian ‘Avengers’ Clemens turns in what amounts to a proto-Thriller episode about two girls (Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice) on a cycling holiday in France, menaced by a sinister moped rider. Robert ‘Avengers’ Fuest directs, Laurie ‘Avengers’ Johnson scores. And so does the discerning punter, as it’s a small-scale mystery gem, abiding by Clemens’ lifelong ‘wrongfoot the audience’ and ‘suggest, don’t show’ maxims. Top photography and loads of Clemens trademarks (reflections in mirrored lenses, camera creeping through undergrowth) add visual classiness to a razor-sharp pared-down story.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Willy

    October 11, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Of course this featured Sandor Elès, later to be seen as Paul Ross, the maître d’ at the Crossroads Motel (if such a thing was possible at the Crossroads Motel). Or was he just head waiter?

  2. Tom Ronson

    March 31, 2022 at 7:01 pm

    Although this was supposedly filmed in France, it doesn’t half look a bit like huge chunks of it were shot in the flatlands of Norfolk.

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