Sadly Over-hyped

People are voting emotionally.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I must be honest straight away and start my user-comment by admitting that I expected a whole lot more of "Symptoms"… I've always been a great admirer of the Spanish director José Ramon Larraz and pretty much loved all movies of his that I have seen, varying from the publicly acclaimed 70s exploitation highlight "Vampyres" to the widely disdained 80s slasher "Edge of the Axe", as well as everything in between. I had particularly high expectations for "Symptoms" and all the signs were positive. The film got released in 1974, which was the peak year of Larraz' career but also the golden era of the typical "British countryside horror", it stars Donald Pleasance's curiously enchanting daughter Angela in a rare lead role and the two-line plot synopsis promises a dark tale full of mystery and eerie atmosphere. Nearly all reviews that I encountered were very praising, whether from trustful IMDb users (whose peculiar taste in movies I usually always share) or from prominent movie critics (who unhesitatingly compare this flick to Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" and label it as one of the best British horror movies not directed by a Brit). So here I was preparing myself to add another title to my list of all-time favorite horror movies, but I rather quickly got confronted with the realization that "Symptoms" is a superficially attractive but substantially void horror package! Yes, Larraz' talent for gradually building up tension and slowly generating an atmosphere of eerie mystery is unmistakable, but it also rapidly becomes abundantly clear that this is another one of those frustrating movies in which the climax can't possibly meet the expectations of everything that gets builds up towards to… In case you occasionally watch thrillers and/or suspense movies, you must know what I mean. The vague mystery elements keep on piling up and up, the main characters never reveal the slightest detail about their intentions (apart that they are raving mad) and every type of horror or perversion is suggestive but fundamentally nothing happens at all. The climax in "Symptoms" is arguably even worse than disappointing, as it literally just takes less than a minute and the whole "twist" is quite evident from the beginning anyways. But, it has to be said, Larraz' craftsmanship is vastly impressive and he manages to make the thin plot somewhat absorbing. Pleasance stars as an introvert and inconspicuous woman, Helen, who invites her friend Anne (who's more the social and extrovert type) to come stay with her at the secluded family estate. Anne notices that her friend keeps a bunch of secrets, like who's the attractive women in those living room pictures and why isn't she allowed to talk to the odd gardener who lives in the tool shed? That's all there is to share, but again, the depiction of Pleasance's mental dissolution is masterful and the film contains a gazillion of visually mesmerizing shots.

"Symptoms" follows a paper-thin plot line that details a woman who invites a girlfriend to her remote mansion for the weekend, but her true motives come into focus as something far more sinister than imagined. Originally screened at the Cannes Film Festival, "Symptoms" inexplicably became a lost a film in the ensuing years, until being unearthed and re-released on Blu-ray for the twenty-first century.To put it plainly, if you're looking for a film where things "happen," then look elsewhere. This is a film that never quite entirely gets onto its feet, and instead wallows in its own mysteriousness and atmosphere—and the atmosphere is laid on thick. The camera meditates on the foggy England backwoods, the swampy lake that holds dark secrets, and the dilapidated mansion that is quite literally engulfed in trees and foliage. If nothing else, "Symptoms" is a mood piece, and a fantastic one at that.Given its sparse scripting, the film demands top-notch acting from its performers, and the audience gets as much with Angela Pleasence in the lead role of the mysterious, violent hostess. She is vulnerable and simultaneously terrifying, and has a compelling screen presence. Lorna Heilbron matches Pleasence as the seductive and insouciant house guest. Writer-director José Ramón Larraz, who is perhaps best known for his over-the-top lesbian vampire flick "Vampyres," has a consistent style established with this film, and his vision comes across on screen very strongly. Given his notoriety for the aforementioned film, the natural expectation I had for this was along the lines of an exploitation film, but it is far, far from it—it's actually a classy, quiet, and ominous meditation on broken femininity, at times evoking Robert Altman's "Images" or 1971's "Let's Scare Jessica to Death." It is part horror film and part psychological character study, moving along in that order; after the first dramatic scene of violence, the film and its heroine unravel before the audience, and the result is nothing short of compelling.Overall, "Symptoms" is a phenomenal and under-appreciated horror film. Its status as a lost film has no doubt robbed it of the wider contemporary audience it deserves, but hopefully the re-release of it will attract modern genre fans. I was blown away by the nuance and all-around skillfulness of it. It's a quietly spooky and wildly atmospheric film that is well-acted and well-shot. Truly something to behold for fans of understated cinema. 9/10.

This was the third Larraz title I've watched after VAMPYRES (1974) and THE COMING OF SIN (1978) – and will be promptly followed by another, THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED aka SCREAM…AND DIE! (1973); it's his second best-regarded effort after VAMPYRES itself and, in retrospect, a reputation that's fully deserved.Even so, the film is hardly the heady brew of erotica and visceral thrills that was the latter (though it contains similar lesbian undertones and the occasional outburst of shocking violence) but rather a deliberately-paced mood-piece – in fact, it might best be described as REPULSION (1965) in the countryside (with all the inherent eeriness that such a remote setting entails)! In any case, relying as it does on fleeting frissons (the subtle appearance of a 'mysterious' woman roaming the mansion), admirably-sustained tension (the connotations involving Peter Vaughn's character and, of course, the various murder sequences) and a carefully-deployed central puzzle (which keeps us guessing down to the very penultimate shot!), the film is surely a testament to Larraz's versatility within a genre which had all but turned stale by this time (even more so vis-a'-vis the then-crumbling British movie industry).Interestingly, the lead role is played by Angela Pleasence – daughter of horror icon Donald; just because she's his spitting image, the actress' odd looks are perfect for her mentally unbalanced character (though I doubt Larraz intended it to be a serious case history, there is the singular fact of SYMPTOMS being one of the competing entries at that year's Cannes Film Festival to consider!). Equally thoughtful was the selection of the other principal cast members: the aforementioned Peter Vaughan's burly and stern handyman could, at first glimpse, have been played by just any heavy-set person – but there's no denying that the part benefits immensely from his experienced presence; and pretty Lorna Heilbron (from THE CREEPING FLESH [1973]) as Pleasence's housemate, with short-cropped hair suggesting the then-fashionable androgyny. Affable character actor Raymond Huntley, a veteran of many a British comedy, plays the owner of the village drugstore in what proved to be his last film.Incidentally, this was yet another picture – bafflingly M.I.A. on DVD as we speak – which I recently acquired on DVD-R i.e. I've had to make do with a full-frame edition culled from TV with forced Spanish subtitles to boot…but which is appropriate in this case, since the director actually hails from that country!

Being a devoted horror buff, I've seen a great many strange and wonderful horror movies in my time, but I tell you none of them even begins to compare to SYMPTOMS! This rarely seen gem centers on Helen(Angela Pleasance), a rather odd young woman who invites her friend, Ann(Lorna Heilbron) to come stay with her at her decaying old house in the English countryside. Terror unfolds as Helen's sinister handyman(Peter Vaughan) discovers the corpse of her previous house guest, sending the disturbed woman into a violent and uncontrollable rage that culminates in the deaths of several innocent people. Though the plot is relatively simple, Spanish horror director Jose Larraz handles the material in a complex manner and like his British counterpart, Alfred Hitchcock, is able to find terror and menace in the most simple and mundane activity. Larraz also milks the strikingly eerie English landscape for all it is worth. The strongest aspect of SYMPTOMS however is the marvellous performaces by Angela Pleasance and Lorna Heilbron. Pleasance, the daughter of famed British character actor Donald Pleasance, is a supremely gifted actress who seldom ever got a role as good or as intriguing as this. Heilbron, a striking British beauty with genuine talent to match her sultry good looks, is a sadly underused actress who is intense and believable every moment as Pleasance's unsuspecting friend. Unfortunately, this is a frustratingly difficult film to find. It's never been released to video in the US, and the only reason I have seen it is because I had the good fortune of catching it on late night television some years back. They really need to release this one to video and DVD. I'm sure it will get the wide audience it deserves if it is given a reasonable amount of build-up and exposure!