‘A terrifying experience…’
The Wind – also known internationally as The Edge of Terror – is a 1986 American horror film directed by Nico Mastorakis (Grandmother’s House; Darkroom; Blind Date; Island of Death) from a screenplay co-written with Fred C. Perry.
The Omega Entertainment production stars Meg Foster (Haunted: 333; Shrunken Heads; They Live), Wings Hauser, Robert Morley (Theatre of Blood; A Study in Terror; The Old Dark House), David McCallum (The Haunting of Morella; The Watcher in the Woods; Dogs), and Steve Railsback (Ed Gein; Lifeforce; Turkey Shoot)
The score was composed by Hans Zimmer (who is now a major Hollywood player) and Stanley Myers (The Witches; Schizo; Tam-Lin).
Plot:
Novelist Sian Anderson (Meg Foster) travels from Los Angeles to the solitude of Greek island Monemvasia to write her newest mystery book.
While writing her novel, she witnesses the local handyman Phil (Wings Hauser) murder her landlord Elias Appleby (Robert Morley) and is soon under attack by the crazed psychopath. Meanwhile, a deadly wind continues to blow throughout the night…
Blu-ray release:
Arrow Video is releasing The Wind as Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray on 13th April 2020 (UK – Amazon.co.uk) and 28th April 2020 (USA – Amazon.com)
- New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative, approved by writer-director Nico Mastorakis
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Optional Greek subtitles
- Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and LPCM Stereo 2.0 Audio
- Blowing The Wind – A brand new interview with director Nico Mastorakis
- The Sound of The Wind – The complete soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers
- A collection of trailers for the films of Nico Mastorakis
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
Reviews:
“If it’s one thing Mastorakis delivers this time around, it’s atmosphere. Take the Greek locations and quality cinematography, and enrich it with a Hans Zimmer score, and you mostly have a winner […] for an “Old Dark House” thriller-horror, with Meg Foster home alone and Wings brandishing a scythe (!), The Wind is worth seeing.” Comeuppance Reviews
” …marred by a clunky and sometimes muddled script, a tendency to ham-handedness (both in the dialogue and the way the musical score is used) and a reiteration of many the usual psycho-killer and slasher cliches.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
” …this wasn’t too bad. Hauser made a great baddie, Foster was great as the protagonist, and there was a nice mixture of Hitchcockian and horror elements that made this more than just a bad Lifetime movie type deal.” Direct to Video Connoisseur
“Aside from the fact that Hauser is the first movie villain to be unhinged by experiences in Nicaragua rather than Vietnam, this is a totally conventional stalker, without even the frills of Mastorakis’ Blind Date (1984) or The Zero Boys (1986).” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“The problems with The Wind are many. Director Mastorakis seems to have had problems handling his stellar cast, whose performances here are either turned up to 11 from the beginning (Hauser), never get above mildly lukewarm (Foster and Steve Railsback) or just do not care (Robert Morley who gets to wave his stick around).” House of Mortal Cinema
“The camerawork and editing is good, the setting is skillfully used by the cinematographer and it looks great. Creaky, fluttering shutters and the constant sound of the wind helps to create a nice creepy atmosphere. The soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer, is great.” Independent Flicks
“The film relies more on suspense and sounds rather than gore and shocks. It’s quite a slow picture, but the Greek scenes in daylight are easy to fall in love with. We once again have another sickle killer movie, though not nearly as inventive as Mountaintop Motel Massacre. You see virtually nothing when people die, and the suspense isn’t inviting, but dawdling in place.” Oh, the Horror!
“The climactic showdown feels padded and does not work on any level. The wind effects are good, the gore works for what little of it there is, and Mastorakis’ direction at times reminded me of Soavi or Argento, two European horror masters. Hans Zimmer adds a good musical score.” Tatum Archive
Choice dialogue:
Elias Appleby: “I hope I haven’t been too much of a pain in the derrière, dear girl? And I hope you don’t mind me calling you ‘dear girl’?”
Kessner: “He may be a killer but he’s not stupid.”
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Cast and characters:
Meg Foster … Sian Anderson
Wings Hauser … Phil
David McCallum … John
Robert Morley … Elias Appleby
Steve Railsback … Kesner
Mihalis Giannatos … Policeman
Summer Thomas … Sian’s Friend
John Michaels … Newlywed
Tracy Young … Newlywed
Dina Giannakou … Elias’ Wife
Filming locations:
Los Angeles, California
Monemvasia [spelt incorrectly in the end credits!], Greece
Technical details:
92 minutes
Audio: Dolby Stereo
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
