Review of And Soon the Darkness (1970) by Camden N — 11 Mar 2010

This is probably one of the best suspense thrillers ever made. Shame about the score. It's good in its quieter moments, but those godawful scare chords nearly ruin what were already scary enough moments by themselves.

*huge spoilers ahead*.

One thing I didn't like was how the movie attempted to convince you that the detective was the killer. It worked at first, but once you see him discover the victim's bicycle it is way too obvious that he's innocent. This deflated a lot of suspense for me later in the film.

Still, despite all that it's an excellent movie. I love the poetic shot of the rain falling on the window at the end, and I can't help but feel it should've stopped there instead of cutting to the police car on the road (along with the reprise of the annoying main theme). I also liked how the movie never really answered all the questions it presented. In a way it's frustrating, but it helps put the viewer in the same state of confusion that the protagonist is in. It also made great use of silence, which is especially effective during the scene where the killer toys with Cathy (arguably one of the best scenes of its kind). Personally I think this is essential viewing for anyone aspiring to make their own horror film.