See No Evil. Review/Poster/Trailer.

See No Evil.
Is a highly superior British murder mystery thriller film from 1971, directed by one of the great luminaries of 60's, 70's and 1980's film-making Richard Fleischer. 

Made in England, while the Gothic Horror films from Hammer Studio's had run off with most if not all the takings and the horror cinema crown, this little, set in modern times thriller was one of the first of the many "Home-Intruder" style of fear inducing celluloid features to make it big with audiences around the World partly because of Mia Farrow's incredible performance as the accidentally turned blind through a horse riding accident, lead role but mainly because of Fleischer's tight and astute reigns upon the fear, jeopardy and suspense factor.

A joy to behold 42 years after it's making, it is one of the films I remembered from my 1970's school days and having a liberal minded set of grandparents with regard to "late night staying up to watch the creepy movie if I was good", times.

Mia Farrow in See No Evil.

I think I must have been about 15 when I saw this on UK television, so that would have been about 1975-76, and I never forgot the, scary movie with the "blind-woman" who gets imprisoned and lost in the countryside being chased by a mysterious killer with cowboy boots. Freaked me right out, I thought and talked about it all day long the next day to my mates at school, one of whom had also been "allowed" to watch it by his parents.

Seeing it again recently on the Columbia Tristar DVD release from 2003 which I think is slightly trimmed from a full 89 Min's down to 85, I can honestly say that it's actually worth watching and spending the time sat in front of the TV for, compared to some of the recent modern horror or thrillers that are on offer these days. I had not completely forgotten how good this is but I had forgot who the killer was and some of the regulars from British TV that also appear in the cast, like Robin Bailey, Norman Eshley and Michael Elphick. 

Mia Farrow in See No Evil.

Mia Farrow was fresh from the success of "Rosemary's Baby", which had been and still is a huge, huge movie, her gentleness, vulnerability and innocence was "prime" for exploitation once again, you really do pray and worry for her "blind character" of "Sarah" in "See No Evil" as she is 100% convincing as she has to feel her way around her Uncles country mansion, after her accident, trying to rebuild her life. 

Along with actress Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Farrow has such a slight and fairy like presence whenever she's on screen, "waif-like", who could want to hurt her, as Dario Argento once remarked when asked why only beautiful innocent girls are mainly the victims in his films, "If she was evil, fat and ugly you would not care what happens to them, so they have to be someone you would like to know or who you would want protect, like your family or lover", and so that's the case for Mia Farrow in "See No Evil", as she was only 26 at the time of filming.

Mia Farrow in See No Evil.

In 1967 there had been another film where a blind female had been terrorised by criminal intruders, "Wait Until Dark", starring Audrey Hepburn and directed by Terence Young who had made the first three James Bond films with Sean Connery, which predated "See No Evil" by four years, "Wait Until Dark" is also another superior thriller film but which is set in Montreal, Canada.

In "See No Evil", there is some, but only a little gore, plus some blood yes, but mainly it's about suspense and Sarah's survival that matters, the serial killers identity is kept hidden and secret, masterfully by director Fleischer right until the end and the poor, terrible traumatising ordeal "Sarah" goes through near the end of the film where she escapes from the shed on some muddy, dirty old junk yard in the middle of nowhere, is intense, will she survive and escape back to her boyfriend or will she not? 

Mia Farrow in See No Evil.

It was I believe possibly a template for a couple of shocker movies to come that were just around the corner in thriller, horror movie history, one being Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" in the same year and the other being "Day Of The Woman" or as it's known in the UK "I Spit On Your Grave" later in 1978, all though the savagery in these two films is much more intense and explicit, they are if you have seen them all together, you would, I'm sure agree with me on the similarity of plot, concept and premise.

Written by acclaimed British Fiction and Thriller TV and Film writer Brian Clemens who had been responsible for "The Avengers", "The Persuader's", "The Baron" for UK TV and for two of Hammer's films "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde" and "Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter" and for and as well as animator/producer Ray Harryhausen on "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad".

So go out and get "See No Evil" or "Blind Terror" as it is also known, you shan't be disappointed I guarantee you ... well worth seeing as a lost and nearly forgotten classic from the 1970's, not to gory or explicitly violent, it does have it's moments though as you will see and comes highly recommended from me.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/movie/see-no-evil-1971/id295143627 download.