Review of Wait Until Dark (1967) by Andreas B — 01 Apr 2010

People often remark on how much more terrifying, or better even, old horror films are. Movies that are stated as being the best in horror date back from the twenties and thirties with classics like Nosferatu and King Kong, until around the eighties with movies like The Shining and Poltergeist. One movie that is often overlooked is Wait Until Dark.

Okay, Wait Until Dark may not have any memorable monsters, and it may take ages to get to the scary moments, but that's what makes it scary. The waiting for the story to break.

The movie stars the ever so lovely Audrey Hepburn in what I find to be one of her best roles, if not her best: A blind woman who is only still learning how to live with her handicap as she is going to school for it. The movie also stars Alan Arkin, who proves that whether it is him in the 60's or the new millennium, and whether or not he has hair, he looks the same, but that's beside the point. It also proves that he was just as good an actor back then as he is now. He plays the main antagonist; a criminal on the search for heroin stuffed inside of a doll. It is of obvious importance to him, as he has already killed someone in the process; a conwoman named Lisa.

Suzy (Audrey) is left alone in her house, as this is taken advantage of by three criminals. By pretending to be friends of his husband and cops and other people, the con men get Suzy to believe that Lisa's death was perhaps her husband's doing, which she refuses to believe (although she does get a suspicion that they were having an affair). After questioning why she heard obscure sounds (such as the blinds being opened and closed all the time), she finally realizes that she is being robbed, as she races to find a way to stop it.

Amazing acting, as already mentioned, and a perfect score for the tension, Wait Until Dark is a thriller that is very often overlooked. While the film is very talkative, the final twenty minutes make up for this as it becomes a very intimidating experience. I highly suggest watching this film in the dark to take advantage of its dim lighting and, sometimes, lack of lighting all together. Even if you do not find this film scary or any bit frightening, the whole movie is fantastic and very well thought out, and I wish more horror movies nowadays were like this. In the end, it is most modern horror movies that are blind, not Suzy.

Final Rating: 9.8/10.

Keep An Eye Out For: Alan Arkin. He tends to do many sneaky things throughout the film which aren't always noticed until multiple viewings.