So much average

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Blistering performances.

I am a strong supporter of the death penalty in cases of serial/thrill/sex killers, mass murderers, first degree murderers and terrorists. Although this is the the case that brought about the end of Capitol punishment in England, for me it only reinforced my support, for if ever there was a justifiable candidate for it, Christie fits the bill. It does, however, make the case for making damn sure you get it right and have 100% proof beyond a confession. A decade later, England was again rocked by the child murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and there was a huge outcry for the return of death penalty for these two monsters. If one wrong execution could end the practice, these horrific murders should have reinstated it. Don't get me wrong, it was a travesty that the wrong man paid for Christie's crimes. There is a gut wrenching, English movie called Let Him Have It (1991) that portrays the poignant injustice of Derek Bentley's hanging in the 50's for being an accessory to the killing of a police officer. It was one of the best movies I have ever seen but I will never watch it again. I am not a crier, but the tears just wouldn't stop during the final scenes of this excellent, little known film. Getting back to this movie review, Attenborough plays Christie as a soft spoken, prissy, prim and proper gentleman, yet he exudes pure evil and depravity. His performance is brilliantly bland. John Hurt, while not a totally sympathetic character, plays dazed and confused wonderfully. The story is told in an unemotional, chilling, non graphic way that makes it all the more terrifying. The sets evoke a feeling of squalor and despair, yet the cinematography is beautiful. This movie probably deserves a 10 but the feelings of sheer disgust and loathing it left me with are preventing me from going higher than 8.

The first time I saw this movie was at least 30 years ago. Sleepless night. Richard Attenboroughs' portrayal of the nerdy "doctor" who was a real life serial killer terrified. Watched again 10 years later. Same effect. No sleep.Sets are extremely claustrophobic & the soundtrack of endless clattering tea cups & kettles, w/trains rattling by the flat all day & night are a set-up to hiss of gas pipes that creates an ambiance so depressing, eerie, and unbelievably frightening when you realize what's coming to Christie's victims...aagh. This movie is as suspense-filled as any Hitchcock movie.John Hurt ~ electrifying as always ~ plays a man falsely accused ~ got the gallows when he had no idea what happened ~ genius performance ~Horribly horrifyig horror movie This is one of the scariest movies ever. Extremely hard to watch but absolute genius acting

A very eerie thriller where Richard Attenborough gives the most sinister performance ever as a man, at first masquerading as a doctor, and then only claiming to have certain medical skills. No matter what he lures his victims to is office to only gas them and follow it up by strangulation.One very tragic case where illiterate John Hurt moves into the building with wife Judy Geeson. Geeson totally sheds her high school imagine from "To Sir With Love," playing here a desperate wife who wishes to terminate the pregnancy with her second child.In the most horrendous way, Christie, our serial killer, turns the tables on Hurt claiming that he killed his wife and that with their constant arguing, no one would believe him.The film is a chilling indictment of capital punishment and our criminal justice system.

Grossly under-recognised thriller starring the versatile Sir Richard Attenborough as John Christie, meek and mild mannered by day, murderous by night. Claustrophobic (appropriate for the setting) staging lends itself to the ultimate demise of his hapless victims, but for those who know the true story on which this film is based, the more shocking aspect is that involving John Hurt's character, the intellectually delayed lodger who Christie frames for the crimes.Any history book will put paid to the deviousness of John Christie, but a film doesn't evolve to just convey the facts, for that's the role of a documentary. Hence, there are a couple of artistic licences taken with this true-crime story, but the film maintains a vice-like mind grip with its atmosphere of fear, a tactic with which director Fleischer had already successfully dabbled in his earlier serial killer flick, "The Boston Strangler".Judy Geeson plays Hurt's ill-fated young wife, while Pat Heywood is Attenborough's ignorant spouse and the remaining cast includes Isobel Black, Andre Morell, Robert Hardy, Basil Dignam, Rudolph Walker and Reg Lye all in very minor roles. Blink and you'll miss Edward Woodward just before the closing credits.If you've read the Time-Out review of this film, you've been misled - this isn't a melodrama that overcooks the acting nor overlooks the locational ambiance; on the contrary it's an intense urban horror film that conveys the mood of the less optimistic sectors of post-war London, their hardships and the sinister underbelly of fringe dwellers that preys upon that vulnerability. Great movie with a chilling climax.