To me, this movie is perfection.

Pretty Good

Highly Overrated But Still Good

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I found a copy of this movie in a thrift store, and since it only cost fifty cents, I figured what the heck? Probably I should mention that I'm not a die hard fan of British horror films, though I've seen a few that I've liked. I found this one unusual in several aspects. There's the casting of Lana Turner, of course, and she manages to be appropriately (and convincingly) hateful. But two other things struck me most about the movie, the first being was how effectively bleak the movie's atmosphere was; every scene felt grim and dark. Another thing was that the core story could have fit nicely in one of those notorious EC horror comic books. Note that I said, "the core" - as it is, the story in this movie is much too drawn out. While it never gets to be boring, it won't take viewers long to start asking the movie to simply get on with it, which it never does. This story may have worked as one of the stories in a horror anthology movie, but as it is, viewers will lose patience long before the movie reaches the end.

Halloween is upon us so the TV companies dust off a few horror films for late night showing . Last night saw the BBC broadcast THE WOLFMAN while tonight ITV transmitted a clichéd horror movie called LONG TIME DEAD with BBC 1 showing PERSECUTION As a horror film / psychological thriller totally fails because it uses something ridiculous as the focus of fear . The bringers of terror areCATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!That's right . Cats . You know these fluffy cute mammals that sit in your lap making purring noises when you tickle their chin ? Well that's what the creatures of horror are in this movie . I'm not making this up and I also wish to point out that they're not ten foot tall mutant demon possessed killer cats , they're the type of moggy you see sitting out on window ledges in the summer . I know some people have an instinctive fear of felines , it's to do with the way they look at you , almost like the cats are planning something when you're back is turned . I don't know how anyone can believe this because I find cats the most affectionate type of pet and no matter how hard the director tries he just can't make moggies appear menacing in any wayI feel rather sorry for the late Ralph Bates since he also appeared in an awful horror movie shown on BBC 1 a few nights ago called I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN and looking at the actor's resume he has appeared in a lot of crap early 70s Brit horror movies . To give you a taste of how bad PERSECUTION is check out this sample of dialogue " You killed your mothers cat " " Yes I drowned it . In milk " " Oh darling " Believe it or not the above lines weren't meant to induce a laugh , though inevitably they did

Well, it has a couple of interesting camera angles and a sexy performance by the actress who plays the woman paid to seduce the hero, but the slow pacing causes it to drag too often, the editing is astonishingly bad at times, and the "plot secrets", when revealed, turn out to be totally insignificant. But it's in the last 15 minutes that the movie really jumps off the rails, and comes up with a silly and far-fetched conclusion. (*1/2)

Let's get one thing straight. I'm a huge Lana Turner fan. So even if I didn't particularly like this movie, chances are I would probably defend it anyway. Don't get me wrong, PERSECUTION(AKA: THE TERROR OF SHEBA and THE GRAVEYARD) is by no means a good movie, but as far as low-budget horror movies go, I've seen much worse. Turner stars as a ruthless woman who, with the aid of her beloved cat, makes life miserable for her spineless son(Ralph Bates) and his bewildered bride(Suzan Farmer), until her son finally decides he's had enough and gives his mom and her precious kitty their comeuppance. The suspense lags in places, and the plot is not terribly interesting, but any horror film that unites two pros like Lana Turner and Trevor Howard has to have something going for it. Admittedly, Turner isn't perfectly suited to her role. This is the kind of grotesque, no holds-barred histronics that would appeal to an easily carried away actress like Bette Davis or perhaps Joan Crawford. But, at least Turner has some fun with it. It's all so juvenile that it would be kind of hard to not enjoy it a little. One thing is for certain: Turner's presence gives this somewhat plodding film a much needed touch of class and classic Hollywood glamour.