TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

BA_Harrison Ferris wheel obsessed engineer Vance Pierson (Barry Sullivan) moves with his wife and daughter to Spain to work on a hydroelectric dam. While house-hunting, Vance meets sexy blonde Laura Blanco (Martha Hyer) as she is about to torch her run-down property for the insurance money. Instead, Vance buys the place, and subsequently starts a steamy affair with the woman. When Vance's conscience eventually kicks in and he decides to end his relationship with Laura, she flips out and sets fire to Vance's home—with his wife and child still inside. Vance rushes to their rescue, but he is too late to save them, and suffers severe burns in the process. When Laura pays him a visit in hospital, the disfigured engineer swears to hunt down Laura and her daughter, no matter where they run to.Part Fatal Attraction style thriller, part twisted revenge horror, Pyro… The Thing Without a Face is nowhere near as cheesy as the title suggests. In fact, it is a surprisingly dark tale, dealing as it does with infidelity, betrayal, madness, murder, and even a hint of incest for good measure (Laura's comment that her daughter's father was her own father is quite the shocker). Vance, covered from head to foot in bandages, telling Laura to 'take her family and hide' is effectively chilling, as is watching him as he makes good on his word. I only wish that the ending had been as bold: rather than sparing Laura's daughter, I'd love to have seen Vance throw himself off the ferris wheel with the little girl in his arms. That would have made for an unforgettable and more fitting downbeat finale.

Richard Chatten Made in Spain just before 'Blood and Black Lace' but remarkably little known today considering the amount of attention perennially lavished upon Italian gialli. I've been keen to see this film for over forty years, but ironically just found it on YouTube at the very moment when the London papers are full of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in North Kensington last month and a revolting spate of gratuitous acid attacks by thieves in East London less than ten days ago.Like Takashi Miike's 'Audition' (1999) this film is - if you'll pardon the description - a slow burner that has almost hit the halfway mark before the key plot development that most viewers will already have known about in advance finally kicks in; especially when the film has a title like 'Pyro'.Aided by a literate script and good performances, the early scenes are actually working extremely well purely as an engrossing marital drama in its own right. (It also casually throws in occasional bombshells such as the paternity of Hyer's young daughter which make you wonder what else was in the original script or didn't make the final cut.) But anticipating what is coming inevitably makes it feel like watching an episode of 'Casualty', steeling yourself for what in this context you know is coming.Sullivan is excellent both before and after the life-changing injuries he suffers. While later lying low the way Sullivan carries himself, his subtly immobile face and obvious wig disturbingly suggests the wreckage concealed beneath his disguise; although as usual what we eventually see when he pulls his mask off - although pretty well done - doesn't come close to the horror promised us earlier by the doctor describing his burns. Hyer is excellent too, her handsome blonde-maned good looks - enhanced by leather gear provided by Mitzou of Madrid - seeming in this context almost indecent.

Leofwine_draca PYRO...THE THING WITHOUT A FACE is an obscure American-financed horror flick shot in Spain with a Spanish cast and crew and an American leading actor. Said actor is none other than old timer Barry Sullivan (VIOLENT NAPLES) playing a Ferris wheel repairman of all things, whose seemingly perfect life falls into disarray when he begins an affair with an unstable woman.What follows is a tempestuous story of romance, revenge, tragedy, and retribution, yet it's all done on a very low budget which robs the film of its impact. It's also a derivative work which reminded me of HOUSE OF WAX and HORROR OF THE BLACK MUSEUM in places although it doesn't have much of the impact of either of those two classic horror flicks.Sullivan is an okay actor but he has little to work with in his one-dimensional role here. The supporting cast are quite average although future Euro starlet Soledad Miranda, who would be killed in a car accident at the outset of her burgeoning cult career six years later, has a central role in the latter half of the proceedings. As a film, this just about gets by with a few Gothic moments and a couple of decent fiery set-pieces, but it's obscure for good reason, which is that it's simply not very good.

Kelt Smith Low budget, odd little movie has some chills, and good performances by MARTHA HYER and BARRY SULLIVAN. Laura Blanco (HYER) is a divorcee with a young daughter who has a fling with family man Vince Pierson (SULLIVAN). When his wife finds out, Vince tries to break off from Laura. She, however, has other ideas and believes that if Vince's wife & daughter are out of the way, she'll have him all to herself. Seeing Vince leave his house with wife & daughter still inside upstairs, Laura slips in and splashes gasoline around and sets the house ablaze. She even goes so far as to cut the water off, and attach a container of gasoline to the plumbing. Vince comes back and runs into the burning house to save his family. I can't say anymore without giving away the ending, but the rest is a pretty good thriller. HYER is very good as pure evil Laura. SULLIVAN also does well as Vince. In some ways this movie might remind you of FATAL ATTRACTION 20 years earlier. A stern warning to married men seeking greener pastures. This was one of AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL pictures, low on production dollars, and yet with its creepy plot, still a worthwhile thriller!!!