One of my all time favorites.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Atmospheric thriller / drama directed by René Clément, based on the novel "The Children Are Gone" by Arthur Cavanaugh, French produced and set in Paris with two major American stars, Faye Dunaway & Frank Langella plus the Canadian Barbara Parkins, it tells a story of Phillipe & Jill, an American couple with 2 kids, living in "the City of Light" for two years facing a marital crisis due to Phillipe's ultimately strange behavior & Jill's psychological problems. When their 8 years old daughter, Cathy & 4 years old son, Patrick are apparently kidnapped, Jill starts to uncover what's behind the mysteriously disappearance that might be related to her taciturn husband, Phillipe... Slow paced & dreary, but effective on the thrills, "The Deadly Trap" (original title: "La Maison sous les arbres") keeps the viewer guessing, even if the end result was not that exciting and a bit too predictable. Some major editing errors, the low budget & a "made for TV" look to it, prevented the movie to became a cult classic of the genre like the moody & similar paced, "Don't Look Now" directed by Nicolas Roeg that was released about 2 years later, but it had its moments of skillful direction and nice shots of a gloomy Paris during winter time. Faye Dunaway is very good in the lead role, from a devoted spouse & caring mother to a desperate woman fighting against her own psychological problems to remain lucid enough to find her children. Miss Dunaway's committed performance is a stand-out in the movie, elevating the final product to a "released to theaters" quality. A thirty-something Frank Langella, here some years before his iconic role in "Dracula", delivers one of his first experiences handling a quirky, odd, but somewhat darkly charming character, a kind of role he would be typecast for almost his entire career. In short, "The Deadly Trap" isn't for everyone, but for fans of low-key psychological thrillers, the 70's & especially, the actress Faye Dunaway, it worth a watch.

It should be said from the outset that the title Death Scream is not really very appropriate in describing this film. It's a much more low-key thriller than that pulpy title suggests. It was directed by the French film-maker René Clément, who had made a name for himself with Purple Noon (1960). It seems that the success with that film – the first screen version of Patricia Highsmith's character Ripley – led him to be called the French Hitchcock and resulted in him making a series of thrillers from then up until his final film in 1975. It seems the critics weren't very kind about his latter films, an opinion I disagree with. His final film Wanted: Babysitter (1975) is a very under-rated and effective film, while Death Scream is another that can hardly be described as terrible either. In fairness, it's the least successful Clément film I have seen but it still has something to offer.It's an English language French movie starring Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella. They play an American married couple living in Paris. They are in the midst of martial problems; he is highly secretive, while she is going through a nervous breakdown. To complicate matters, Langella is an industrial spy who retires from his job to the annoyance of his paymasters. Meanwhile, Dunaway's fragile psychological temperament leads to various problems, culminating with the couple's children mysteriously disappearing while out with her in the city. All the time in the background, there is talk of an enigmatic group called 'the organisation' who threatens the family.It's not the most dynamic of thrillers in truth and it is a little slow-paced. It could also have ramped up the suspense a bit as well. But Dunaway and Langella are good actors and the Parisian setting does offer an attractive backdrop to events. The story has just enough intrigue to keep the viewer engaged and it ultimately amounts to a good enough film, if a relatively minor one.

It takes a while to get going, but this René Clément thriller ends up being very satisfying. Faye Dunaway & Frank Langella are ex-pats living in Paris (he's a book editor) who find their life together crumbling as they grow more & more estranged. Dunaway appears to be having a nervous breakdown, forgetting everything from buying a dress twice to where her children are. When the children turn up missing, Clément's film takes off. Nothing in the first half prepares you for the second half, but every piece falls into place thanks to the clever script (by Eleanor Perry & Hollywood journeyman Sidney Buchman). Dunaway's neurotic acting style is a perfect fit for her role (she's clearly on the brink) and Langella is fine as her workaholic husband. Barbara Parkins plays the couple's extraordinarily helpful neighbor. A creepy, under-appreciated film.

Playing a woman of slowly deteriorating mental health, Faye Dunaway dominates this movie. She graces it with her beauty and just about manages to keep us watching a story that's flawed and filled with implausibilities (SPOILER: for example, how come an organization as powerful and sinister as the one the movie supposedly presents has left ONLY ONE person - and a foolish one at that - guarding the kidnapped kids?). It's flatly directed, too. (**)