Year: 1978
Country: U.S.
Subgenre: Psychological Horror
Runtime: 107 minutes
Director: Richard Attenborough
Sir Richard Attenborough only directed one horror film, in fact he only directed 12 films in all, many of them with BIG names like A Bridge Too Far and Gandhi. True to his form, this is drama with horror, heavy with psychological fear that cuts deep. To call it "slow burn" is an understatement. Nonetheless, it is an exceptionally well made (horror) film. People these days usually stumble on it looking into Sir Anthony Hopkins' pre-Lecter career, and it was not the only psychological horror that Hopkins starred in the late 70's (Audrey Rose being the other) He was not the first choice for the role, still he is excellent as Corky, a comedian with a REALLY creepy ventriloquist dummy called Fats (is there anything as creepy as a dummy??...okay, yeah, well CLOWNS!!). The film co-stars Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter and the wonderful Ann-Margret, all of whom play regular people going about their business. That is until they have encounters with Fats; the question is: is Fats alive or is Corky crazy? Hopkins had worked with Attenborough in A Bridge Too Far; he was brought into the role when the producer vetoed Attenborough and writer William Goldman's first choice in Gene Wilder. I am sure that Wilder would have been great...but I cannot imagine this film with the star of Willy Wonka and Young Frankenstein over Hopkins at this point. If you are inclined to be bored by slow burn horror without gore, skip this one though.
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