A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.
Cinematography
Shadow-drenched Academy-ratio frames from Francis, a master.
Direction
Freddie Francis squeezes every drop of paranoia from Janet's breakdown.
Production
Creepy boarding school corridors that breathe on their own.
Director
Freddie Francis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Freddie Francis shot this between his two Oscar-winning cinematography gigs, bringing studio polish to B-material.
The film's structure deliberately mirrors 'Diabolique'—but swaps the lesbian subtext for something more aggressively maternal and claustrophobic.
GB
