A good weekend option for some weekend thrills on the road. We associate road movies with cars or horses, but cycling across the French countryside is another option that, on the surface, sounds like a slow, idyllic adventure with no great action. That is not the experience of the two heroines of And Soon the Darkness, a low-key thriller that packs quite a punch. Nottingham nurses Jane (Pamela Franklin, who I loved in Hell House and watched this movie as the next movie to check out in her filmography) and Cathy (Michelle Dotrice) ride in their bicycles in rural France and come across a mysterious, handsome man wearing sunglasses (Sandor Éles). Cathy is interested in him, while Jane wants to continue with her trip. The adventurous Cathy remains behind, while the more cautious Jane continues, only to lose track of her friend and come across some strange people who make her feel really uneasy, especially when she finds out that this particular area has a dark history involving young female tourists.
The sense of dread and paranoia will become familiar to any person who has travelled to places that are unknown to them, especially where there is a lot of wooded areas where anything can happen, if one strays far off the road. When one takes into account the number of crimes against travelling women in the world today, then the fears of And Soon the Darkness become even more tangible. Shot in a very classical manner by Robert Fuest, the shocking moments are more jarring because of the contrast with this style, and while one might expect (I certainly did) that the movie will have slow parts, its handling of the minimalist story was effective. And Franklin is so real in every moment of fright and anxiety, holding the screen on her own for a long time, making us feel even more dread for whatever is around the corner. A good choice to watch on late summer/early autumn afternoons.
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