The Wind
The Wind
| 17 November 1986 (USA)
The Wind Trailers

Mystery writer Sian Anderson leaves her boyfriend John for three weeks of intense writing in the isolated Greek town of Monemvassia. Upon her arrival in the ancient, deserted, walled-in fortress, she is met by Elias Appleby, the round eccentric landlord who guides her through mysterious underground passageways to the house where she will work. He warns her to stay inside at night because of the killer winds that arrive after dark.

Reviews
Protraph

Lack of good storyline.

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Janae Milner

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

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Yash Wade

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

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Zlatica

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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Coventry

I assume Greek people have a thing for wind… The popular Greek singer Demis Roussos dedicated a worldwide hit to the weather phenomenon entitled "My Friend the Wind" and the Greek writer/director Nico Mastorakis even revolved a full-length thriller on plain ordinary wind. Mastorakis is known by avid cult/horror fanatics because he made "Island of Death" in 1977, which is one of the most notorious and universally banned movies ever. Not because it's the bloodiest or most disturbing film, but mainly because it's full of perversion and depraved imaginations, like someone doing very anti-catholic things with a baby goat. In the mid-80's, Mastorakis emigrated to the United States and directed a handful of less controversial and semi-successful thrillers, like "Blind Date", "The Zero Boys" and the utterly bonkers "Nightmare at Noon". "The Wind" is a rapidly in-between made straight-to-video effort in which Mastorakis takes his protagonists back to his beloved home country Greece for a very conventional and unsurprising, but nevertheless entertaining cat-and-mouse thriller. Meg Foster, with eyes so crystal blue they glow in the dark, stars as the pseudo-eccentric mystery writer Sian Anderson who travels to a remote and extremely isolated Greek coastal town to work on a new novel in solitude. The town is practically abandoned due to the season and there's a constant heavy and ominous wind blowing from the sea. Sian witnesses how the mentally unstable handyman Phil murders her landlord Elias Appleby and buries his corpse in the garden. From then onwards, she finds herself stalked and threatened by the crazed psychopath but there's nowhere or no one to run to. As said, "The Wind" is a very prototypic and forgettable thriller, but it contains a few noteworthy suspense sequences and more than adequate performances from an terrific cast. Meg Foster is amiable as the damsel in distress and Wing Hauser gloriously goes over-the-top again as the sneering psychopath. The supportive cast is impressive as well with names such as David McCallum, Steve Railsbeck and even classic actor Robert Morley. Even though Hauser's character commits his murders with a sharp and over-sized sickle, fans of gory horror flicks might be disappointed as there's very little bloodshed. The pacing of the film is very uneven and the climax sequence is incredibly stupid, yet still I can't bring myself to rate "The Wind" negatively as I wasn't bored for a minute.

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lost-in-limbo

One thing I really love about ex-rentals is the movie previews before the main feature, and that's how I came to know of this film. However it's only natural to have the best scenes in the trailer to wet your appetite… and by the way it bestows quite a cool video artwork.Director / writer Nico Mastorakis (who made the very infamous video nasty "Island of Death") was churning out numerously quickly produced low-budget / straight to video enterprises in the mid to late eighties and "The Wind" aka "Edge of Terror" would have to be the pick of the lot for its interesting setting and exemplary lead performances from Meg Foster and Wings Hauser.Mystery writer Sian Anderson travels to the Greek Isles for a couple of weeks to stay at an ancient villa in an isolated ghost town to storm up ideas for her next novel. The landlord warns her not to go out at night due to the killer winds that pass throughout the night, but another threat could be in the shape of the landlord's handyman Phil. Something about this man unnerves Sian, especially when one night she believes she saw him burying a corpse that just happens to be the landlord.The pulpy story holds up rather well, leading us down the path maybe all of this is happening in the imaginative mind of its protagonist, as this when Steve Railsback's sceptical character comes into the equation. Perhaps predictable and systematic, but making headway of the standard material is the scenic local flavour that's arrestingly atmospheric, especially the eerie night sequences when the howling wind kicks in. Mastorakis ideally creates an edgy vibe with his lighting composition of shadows and lighting around the ancient villa on an ocean cliff-top with it being backed up by the shivery, high-strung music score and terse photography. You're really thrown right into it. What starts off slow-boil in genuinely building up the suspenseful situation, soon transforms in to a tautly simple-minded cat and mouse formula knowing too well of the clichés to suitably play them up. Towards the end it begins to meander, as some stupidity occurs and the final shot (while beautifully projected) is quite a laughable chance of fate.Meg Foster makes for a strong, affable heroine who seems to have something constantly witty to say and a bug-eyed Hauser (in a fetching knitted white jumper) is simply made for these wack-job roles and he doesn't disappoint with his impulsively dangerous and rip-snorting villain. His exchanges with Foster early on is effectively engaging - "Death is a whole lot different on paper." Robert Morley and David McCallum also pop up.

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udar55

Director Nico Mastorakis (Island of Death) returns to the horror genre and the Greek Isles with the suspenseful and intense The Wind. A slight mixture of the slasher, cat & mouse and giallo genres, The Wind looks great, thanks mostly to the imposing Greek locale high on the edge of a cliff. Mastorakis wastes no time jumping right into the action with writer Anderson (Meg Foster) encountering fellow American Phil (Hauser) within minutes of her arrival. When Foster explains she is a mystery writer, Hauser creepily quips, "If you need to know anything about death, I'm right next door." As the nights events progress, the viewer is kept wondering if all that has been happening is just figments of a writer's overactive imagination.As with most horror films, the success lies squarely on the shoulders of the villain and, thankfully, Mastorakis has Hauser to fill this role. Hauser gives a whacked out performance on the level of his killer pimp turn in the sleaze classic Vice Squad (1982). Whether it is huffing poppers or making threatening phone calls, Wings is in top form in this film. It is truly a shame that his talents aren't fully recognized by the mainstream. Foster provides a worthy adversary to Hauser's unhinged Phil, but there are a few moments that smack of falsity here (namely a few of her one liners). Railsback pops up about two-thirds of the way through as a sailor who helps the police investigate. It is almost a cameo-sized role, but he is good in it and helps spur the ideas that Foster may be making this up.If the film does have any faults, it is an entirely useless subplot involving a honeymooning American couple. While the point (they almost provide safe haven for Foster) was not lost on this viewer, it seemed a bit contrived and seems like an attempt to pad the film. Regardless, The Wind is still an intense and stylish 90 minutes that is definitely worth a watch.

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WritnGuy-2

I rented this a while ago, and despite being a bit cheesy, it's still a good movie that goes for a different style. It's actually quite entertaining.Sian Anderson (Meg Foster) goes on a trip to Greece (I think, I can't remember) to work on her next book. She shacks up in an isolated castle, which is pretty creepy. Then Phil (Wings Hauser) begins showing up, and becomes more and more ominous. That night, he shows up once again, and Sian realizes he's a killer. The bulk of the movie is the constant cat and mouse game they play in the castle, all leading up to a pretty scary ending.As I said, I rented this a while ago, and I really can't remember much. I don't even know if I liked it. But whenever I think back, it seems like it was a good movie. I don't know...check it out. It's different. And the fact that it's all just one unrelenting fight between the two characters is pretty interesting, and keeps a good pace. And as I said, the ending is pretty creepy, if I can remember. If you can get a hold of this, rent it or buy it.

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