Initially released to indifferent reviews, this has now reached the status of something of a classic of its kind. Watching it recently it was hard to credit it had been shot as long ago as the late summer of 1969 - it has the appearance of a much more recent production, albeit one from before the digital age. In particular, the appearance and behaviour of the two young women at the centre would be plausible today, apart from the absence of the now obligatory cell phones of course. The sense of isolation both spatially and from the language barrier is superbly achieved and the first hour or so is excellent. A pity that in the scenes leading to the shocking denouement the tension is somewhat dissipated, and they could have benefitted from more rigorous editing. Certainly a film not easily forgotten.
Review of And Soon the Darkness
