Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Helloturia
I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
jjnxn-1
Dame Diana is extraordinary as a seemingly chic sophisticated woman who beneath the veneer is a psychotic maniac of staggering malice. The production is fine and all the supporting actors are more than capable but this is Diana Rigg's show all the way, she grabs it by the throat and never lets go. So skillful is her performance that you almost, only almost, feel sympathy for this deranged lunatic. Watching her ever so slowly unravel is a compelling experience. At one time plans had been in place to remake this as a theatrical feature with Glenn Close in the lead and while surely she would have been extraordinary in her interpretation it is impossible to imagine anyone besting Dame Rigg's work, perhaps the film makers realized this and that is why the project never went forward. This is an excellent entertainment, don't miss it!
deliane
I am not a fan of horror movies, usually- and definitely do not like gratuitous "gore." But this British production got me. And it is Diana Rigg's performance that won me- and that "makes" the series work. It is a dazzling virtuoso performance. Diana Rigg embodies the character of H Vesey so masterfully- she had me feeling "zero at the bone" (Emily Dickinson, pardon me..). It was one of the most deliciously terrifying movie entertainments I've ever had the pleasure of shivering through. Like an intellectual roller-coaster: Rigg keeps upping the ante, her behavior ever more outrageous and demonic, a preposterous crescendo of horror. But the huge bonus.. is that, somehow, Ms Rigg also manges to be bleakly? black-ly? hilarious. So you are both holding your breath in abject fear and laughing despite yourself. How she does this is beyond me- because her character is truly monstrous. But there it is. Bravissimo Diana!
Robert Champ
I don't understand why this first-rate television movie isn't widely available on DVD. Are the producers holding it back to drive up the market price? One would think that the demand is already as high as it is ever likely to get.Anyway, this movie will give you a look at Diana Rigg that you won't soon forget. I saw it only once (back in '89), and was greatly impressed by Rigg's ability to communicate the sly, murderous, sick mind of her character. The story is well structured, the script well written, the parts well played. It is far better than most of the stuff you find in the PBS catalogs--but as I say...I had known for a long time that Rigg was a classically trained actresses, but having seen her in nothing but _The Avengers_ before this film, I was unaware of the extent of her gifts.Bob Champ
chuffnobbler
Diana Rigg will scare you under the carpet in this story of "treachery, disloyalty" and family ties. A simple lie, Helena's son keeping in touch with his father but not telling his mother, spins wildly out of control, while Helena gradually suspects that her family are keeping information from her. The cleverly-constructed back story, showing that Helena was capable of terrible things as a child, cranks up the tension and gives a sense of terrible foreboding. Helena's paranoia and loneliness take over, creating a horrible revenge.Almost camp in some scenes, (calling everyone "darling", giving her family nicknames and shopping at Fortnums), Diana Rigg gives an intense performance full of pain at the upsets of her past life and full of hatred at her ex-husband. She definitely deserved her Bafta award.
