See No Evil

John Chard

Fleischer's criminally underseen and undervalued woman in peril pic. See No Evil (AKA: Blind Terror) is directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Brian Clemens. It stars Mia Farrow, Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, Diane Grayson, Brian Rawlinson, Norman Eshley and Paul Nicholas. Music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Gerry Fisher. Recently blinded in a horse riding accident, Sarah Rexton (Farrow) moves in with her uncle's family out in the English countryside. Adjusting to her new way of life, things quickly move from calm to pure terror as a murderer stalks the family - with Sarah unaware there is a killer in the house with her... It was a flop upon release back in 71 and pretty much disappeared out of sight unto the next millennium. If the public and critics were judging it harshly against the superb and similar Audrey Hepburn movie, "Wait Until Dark", from three years earlier? I'm not sure, for this deserves a re-evaluation. This is a genuine slice of edgy suspense, the kind we rarely see done efficiently these days. It's also boosted by a terrific turn from Farrow, who gives her all for the part as Fleischer puts her well and truly through the mangler. The killer is kept hidden until the edge of the seat last quarter - where we only ever see his cowboy boots throughout, so thus we have a strong mystery element as well. There's no blood letting as such, more glimpses of the aftermath of murders, but once Sarah comes under attack and has to fight for her life from the dark world she is in - the effect is more frightening then any repeated blood death kill we see all the time now. With the great Bernstein scoring the music and Fleischer (multi genre legend) turning is tricks of the trade, it's easy to forgive the improbabilities of it all and enjoy the thrill ride. 7.5/10