In this obscure independent thriller, a young lady is stalked by an imposing stranger while searching for her missing fiancée. It is latterly revealed that an older female acquaintance of the couple has devised a sinister plot to sabotage their relationship, motivated by her secret obsession with the young groom-to-be.
WEEKEND OF FEAR spent decades on the roster of missing/lost horror films...movies known to have been made and publicly screened which inexplicably vanished without a trace. The only info I was ever able to glean on this title was that it featured Jill Banner(SPIDER BABY, 1966), as well as a then-popular Playboy model. This detail lead me to believe that WOF was one of the many sexploitation/horror hybrids released during the 60s. I found this assumption to be entirely incorrect, however, when the film emerged out of the blue, pristine and presumably complete, on Youtube.
So...why did WEEKEND OF FEAR spend five long decades in the twilight-world of lost media? Well, I'm not entirely certain, but limited marketability due to its experimental stagecrafting could be one factor. To boot, it's not especially good, though there are far worse pictures which have managed to find distributors, if only for home video release. Whatever the case, I suspect there's an interesting backstory to this one which has yet to be told.
The presentation of WOF is rather avant-garde...variably similar in composition to DEMENTIA(aka DAUGHTER OF HORROR, 1955) and THE SAVAGE EYE(1960), it more-less evades orthodox exposition, being predominantly expounded through audible thoughts within the mind of the central female character(attractive Mikki Malone). As conceptually alluring as this experimental narrative style may sound, it ultimately fails for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the process of thought is extremely complex, abstract, and indistinct. For instance, A man standing in front of a mirror might consider how he'd look with a moustache...he does not, however, compose in his head a communicative first-person sentence such as "I wonder how I'd look with a moustache?". It's this type of straightforward precision which quashes any realistic stream of consciouness verisimilitude...the result is a dialog-free movie with routine narration. Additionally, there's a noticeable lack of urgency in our imperiled heroin's intonation during suspenseful moments. This contradistinction deflates the film's intensity...an unfortunate thing, as the story at hand carried potential for a clenching motion picture. I did find her voice pleasant-sounding, however...very sweet, with raspy notes of Merlot and Viceroy. Just as the plot begins to somewhat thicken, the film comes to an abrupt and non-resolute halt. Similar cases of "premature eventuation" have been telling indicators that a film was never completed as planned(e.g. ANGEL'S FLIGHT, 1965)...if such is true of WOF, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
Long story short, this is a project which deserves commendation for at least attempting something out-of-the-ordinary, and it's passably appointed in most technical departments. It misses the mark, but it could still interest folks who appreciate the free spirit of artistic exploration.
4.5/10
WEEKEND OF FEAR spent decades on the roster of missing/lost horror films...movies known to have been made and publicly screened which inexplicably vanished without a trace. The only info I was ever able to glean on this title was that it featured Jill Banner(SPIDER BABY, 1966), as well as a then-popular Playboy model. This detail lead me to believe that WOF was one of the many sexploitation/horror hybrids released during the 60s. I found this assumption to be entirely incorrect, however, when the film emerged out of the blue, pristine and presumably complete, on Youtube.
So...why did WEEKEND OF FEAR spend five long decades in the twilight-world of lost media? Well, I'm not entirely certain, but limited marketability due to its experimental stagecrafting could be one factor. To boot, it's not especially good, though there are far worse pictures which have managed to find distributors, if only for home video release. Whatever the case, I suspect there's an interesting backstory to this one which has yet to be told.
The presentation of WOF is rather avant-garde...variably similar in composition to DEMENTIA(aka DAUGHTER OF HORROR, 1955) and THE SAVAGE EYE(1960), it more-less evades orthodox exposition, being predominantly expounded through audible thoughts within the mind of the central female character(attractive Mikki Malone). As conceptually alluring as this experimental narrative style may sound, it ultimately fails for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the process of thought is extremely complex, abstract, and indistinct. For instance, A man standing in front of a mirror might consider how he'd look with a moustache...he does not, however, compose in his head a communicative first-person sentence such as "I wonder how I'd look with a moustache?". It's this type of straightforward precision which quashes any realistic stream of consciouness verisimilitude...the result is a dialog-free movie with routine narration. Additionally, there's a noticeable lack of urgency in our imperiled heroin's intonation during suspenseful moments. This contradistinction deflates the film's intensity...an unfortunate thing, as the story at hand carried potential for a clenching motion picture. I did find her voice pleasant-sounding, however...very sweet, with raspy notes of Merlot and Viceroy. Just as the plot begins to somewhat thicken, the film comes to an abrupt and non-resolute halt. Similar cases of "premature eventuation" have been telling indicators that a film was never completed as planned(e.g. ANGEL'S FLIGHT, 1965)...if such is true of WOF, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
Long story short, this is a project which deserves commendation for at least attempting something out-of-the-ordinary, and it's passably appointed in most technical departments. It misses the mark, but it could still interest folks who appreciate the free spirit of artistic exploration.
4.5/10
