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(1948, Upgraded 11/9/21) Maxwell Reed, Siobhan McKenna, Anne Crawford, Honor Blackman, George Thorpe, Barry Morse. McKenna is brilliant as an insane killer. She plays a servant girl forced to leave her village because of her strange power over local men. She takes up residence with a family in a distant village near the moors. Reed is a carnival boxer who falls under her spell. He ends up with a hideously scarred face from her jagged fingernails. Soon, young men turn up slain. This forgotten film is choked with gothic atmosphere and moments of true terror. McKenna’s face is unique, having the eyes of Agnes Moorehead and the mouth of Barbara Steele. She isn’t pretty, yet she is attractive in a devilish sort of way, with eyes that, at certain moments, reek with seductive power. She lures men to their deaths like a spider. One of the best psychological horror films we have ever seen. An absolute must. From a great 35mm print.
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