‘Keep your eyes on what she cannot see’
See No Evil – aka Blind Terror – is a 1971 British psychological thriller feature film directed by Richard Fleischer (10 Rillington Place; The Boston Strangler; Amityville 3-D) from a screenplay by Brian Clemens (And Soon the Darkness; Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter). It was produced by Martin Ransohoff (Our Mother’s House; Eye of the Devil).
Main cast:
Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby), Paul Nicholas (What Became of Jack and Jill?), Norman Eshley (House of Mortal Sin; The Lost Continent), Michael Elphick (The Elephant Man), Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, and Diane Grayson.
The film also features a strident classical score by Elmer Bernstein whose eclectic genre credits range from Robot Monster to An American Werewolf in London.
Plot:
Having been blinded in a horse-riding accident, Sarah (Mia Farrow) visits her uncle’s home. Out on a date with her boyfriend Steve (Norman Eshley), she escapes the fate of her relatives (Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, and Diane Grayson), who are murdered at their home by a psychotic killer.
Sarah returns from her date and spends the night in the house, unaware that three of her family members’ corpses are strewn about the house.
She eventually discovers the bodies, as well as a bracelet containing the engraved name of the killer. The killer returns, searching for the lost bracelet and discovers Sarah, who manages to flee on horseback. Sarah encounters a family of gypsies and shows them the bracelet with the name “Jacko” inscribed.
One of the gypsies concludes that his brother Jack must be responsible. In an effort to save Jack, the brother pretends to take Sarah to the police but, instead, locks her in a secluded shed…
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Reviews:
‘We’ll gloss over the fact that Ms Farrow’s “blind acting” (if that’s what it’s called) is truly horrendous – she makes eye contact with everyone she’s talking to, and seems to navigate round objects with considerable ease considering the blindness is a relatively new thing … There’s a couple of obvious twists at the end and it’s not for the squeamish, but this ain’t a bad film at all.’ Chris Wood, British Horror Films
“Blind Terror may not make it to the top tier of thrillers, but it holds its own in the next tier down; those solid, very watchable films that succeeded despite the lack of star power, money and advertising that tend to get thrown at the greats. It stands up nearly forty years later as a tense, sure ride… ” Hal C. F. Astell, Apocalypse Later
In the UK, the film was released on a limited edition Blu-ray by Powerhouse Films via their Indicator imprint on 25th September 2017.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk
High Definition remaster
Original mono audio
Alternative UK Blind Terror cut
Interview with actor Norman Eshley (2017)
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Chris Fujiwara, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and historic articles on the film
UK premiere on Blu-ray
Limited Dual Format Edition of 3,000 copies
MOVIES and MANIA rating:
