Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

tlloydesq An uneven but enjoyable movie. Cathy and Jane are 2 English girls on a cycling trip in France. Early on in the piece the girls argue, Cathy stops to lap up the sun, Jane proceeds. Whoops, This is the first half hour which was referenced in another review. A difficult introduction made all the more difficult by the camera work which featured close ups and lingering shots which were meaningless. Or were they? The rest of the film finds Jane turning back and searching for her friend. Drawing the obvious conclusions (we already have a good idea) she meets a number of characters and one of the strengths of the film is the ability to subtly accuse everyone. There is no blatant, ham fisted laying of clues but all characters are given just enough to get you thinking.There is one moment in the film which had me jumping out of my chair and that doesn't happen often. I could have done with some subtitles for the French dialogue but maybe we are expected to hear what Jane would hear. I had very little idea of what the characters are saying (schoolboy French) and therefore may miss out on important details. As may Jane. We have to remember that Jane has not seen what we have seen so she can only assume the worst.The conclusion is a little lame and not unexpected. And a few of the markers laid down by the directors are left hanging which is frustrating and leads to an uneven film. Oh yeah, and the music at the end is completely inappropriate.

Leofwine_draca This minimalist thriller is a one-of-a-kind film with an excellent pedigree; not only is it directed by Robert Fuest, who gave us a minor horror classic in THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES, it is also written by two top television writers of the time, Brian Clemens (THE AVENGERS) and Terry Nation (DR WHO). However unlike the various work of the contributors this isn't an effects-driven exercise in flashiness and action; instead barely anything happens in the movie.The pacing is deliberately slow, and the film as a whole is largely an atmosphere-building exercise with the only action appearing at the very end of the film. The visceral horror aspects are mainly non-existent and instead the film strives hard to create and maintain high levels of suspense and foreboding. The forbidding setting of a rural French landscape is a clever touch and through static camera angles and creepy music we are led to believe that the landscape we see is both alien and dangerous.Beautifully filmed and with a strong script - with little dialogue Clemens and Nation make sure that every word counts - AND SOON THE DARKNESS is an exercise in realism. As there are no special effects involved the film hasn't dated at all and could be taken for the present day if it wasn't for the minor trappings, i.e. the old fashioned vehicles and hairstyles. Again the realism is strengthened through the matter-of-fact storyline, with large periods of inaction adding to the experience.The main emphasis is on the murder mystery aspect of the plot, most of the film acting as a whodunit and asking the viewer to guess firstly what happened and secondly who is responsible. The task isn't easy at first, with loads of red herrings and plot twists being thrown in our way, but gradually light will begin to dawn on those who have prior knowledge of these kinds of movies.The cast is an extremely small one, consisting of only four or five major characters. This adds to the isolated nature of the movie, especially with the language barrier deeply affecting the situation of our leads. Pamela Franklin proves she has grown up a lot since THE INNOCENTS with her mature yet fragile nurse character and her subdued turn is generally spot on. In comparison, Michele Dotrice (SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM) is flirty and attractive as her outgoing companion and also makes a favourable impression. Sandor Eles (COUNTESS Dracula) is given a chance to shine as the shifty Frenchman who gets caught up in the events and becomes a prime suspect.Shots of unkempt farmers staring at Franklin over lonely open landscapes and cars soaring into the distance go a long way in adding to the increasing atmosphere. Despite the lack of violence, murder and bloodshed, horror fans should enjoy this movie through the sheer amount of suspense and atmosphere that it offers. Definitely a thought-provoking and at times gripping movie. A similar offering - but even rarer - followed three years later with DEADLY STRANGERS.

BA_Harrison Two attractive, young English nurses, Jane and Cathy (Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice), ignore common sense and ill-advisedly pop on their tightest pairs of shorts for a cycling holiday through France, taking only the most rural roads available. When the girls quarrel, Cathy preferring to sunbathe than to cycle, Jane goes off alone, leaving her friend to soak up the sun. Eventually, Jane returns to the spot where she left Cathy, but finds that her friend has completely disappeared. Worried for Cathy's safety, she tries to find help, but can she trust any of the people that she meets?The pairing of lovely Michele Dotrice (Betty from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em) and gorgeous Pamela Franklin make this film a treat as it is, but with a superb script from top TV scribes Brian Clemens (The Avengers) and Terry Nation (Dr. Who), and taut direction from Robert Fuest, who employs an effective slow-burn approach to gradually ramp up the tension, And Soon The Darkness proves to be a very stylish, atmospheric and chilling women-in-peril movie.Despite its relaxed pace and lack of exploitative elements (there's no nudity or gore) the film is a thoroughly entertaining experience, gripping and suspenseful throughout: red herrings abound and there are multiple suspects, all of whom act suspiciously. The remote French countryside is used to great effect, cinematographer Ian Wilson capturing a palpable sense of foreboding and menace in the lonely landscape, despite the whole film taking place in bright sunlight. The language barrier adds another level of tension, Jane's inability to fully grasp what is being said to her creating several extremely uncomfortable moments (and with no subtitles, we the viewer are left equally unsure as to precisely what is happening).Fuest does, perhaps, leave it a tad too long before concluding matters, but with a lead as appealing as Franklin, its not too much of a chore to hang on in there till the very end.

Spikeopath Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) are a couple of British nurses taking a bicycle vacation through rural France. When they have an argument, Jane storms off ahead leaving Cathy sunbathing on the grass. Later on Jane returns but can find no trace of Cathy, stuck in a foreign land and unable to speak the language, Jane soon finds herself in grave danger as she searches frantically for her lost friend.The title is about the protagonist trying to resolve a mystery/terror situation before the darkness falls. Film is completely set in daylight time, with a very limited amount of characters, and no extended bouts of dialogue. Looking at it from the outside, you would not be thought of as ignorant for expecting this to not be frightening or thrilling, yet it is both. The isolation of the countryside is a foreboding presence here, which coupled with Jane's isolation as a foreigner, makes for edgy atmospherics.Director Robert Fuest is in no hurry what so ever to start turning the screws, so the first half of pic is very slow, but patience is rewarded once the girls argue and split up. Then Fuest starts introducing peripheral characters, and writers Brian Clemens and Terry Nation dangle bits of dark information into the plot, about the area and its history. The mystery element is amped up high, the perpetrator could quite easily be anyone who Jane meets, and then we lurch into paranoia and peril when all will be revealed in a wave of daylight dreadfulness.Critics were (are) very much divided about the picture, complaints ranging from it being nasty and distasteful, to it being too laborious for its own good. But it has a very good fan base, and it certainly does what it sets out to do by putting those wiling to invest fully in it on to the edge of their seats. Recommended on proviso you are prepared to bare with it for the first 45 minutes. 7/10