'Cleaver.
Cleaver. Chop. Chop. First the mom and then the pop. Then we'll get the pretty
girl. We'll get her right between the curl...'
"Ladies and
gentlemen, because of the controversy already aroused, the producers of this
film wish to re-emphasise what is already stated in the film, that there is no
established scientific connection between Mongolism and psychotic or criminal
behaviour."
This hastily
added voice-over heralded the start of what would become one of the most talked
about cult films of the 1960’s. Twisted Nerve produced a flurry of protest amidst
disability rights groups, even while the film was in its post production
stages. Hywel Bennett gives a spellbinding, disturbing performance as Georgie/Martin, a disturbed young man from a dysfunctional family. His brother is institutionalized with a mental handicap, his stepfather (Frank Finlay) loathes him and his doting mother (Phyllis Calvert) treats him like a toddler. Martin is a schizophrenic who adopts the charming personality of a six year old when he wants to win favor with those around him. However, he also has a dangerous alter-ego who cannot deal with his unrequited love for Susan Harper (played with considerable charm by Hayley Mills), a young woman whose attempts to assist Martin are misconstrued as a love interest. When he fails to win her over, he enacts a scheme that has devastating consequences. He begins to stalk Susan, then shows up at her mother's home and convinces her to take him in as a lodger. The mother, wonderfully played by Billie Whitelaw, has no idea of the horror her compassion is about to unleash.
Director Roy
Boulting, in his first attempt to break free of the more established Boulting Brothers comedy productions, succeeded admirably with this adult orientated
psycho-drama. With a running time just short of 2 hours, it has been criticised, rather unfairly
in my opinion, as being too long. The film does have a leisurely pace for this type of story but it only helps to enhance characterizations and build suspense. Packed with
marvellous and over the top performances from Barry Foster’s cheeky and
lecherous house tenant Gerry to Timothy West’s dry humoured Superintendent Dakin,
one hardly has time to succumb to boredom whilst contending with such great
character studies. Standing tall at the film’s helm is a monumental performance
from its lead, Hywel Bennett, giving a brave,
chilling portrayal that has largely been overlooked by film historians. Twisted Nerve is politically incorrect, especially by today's standards, though it was criticized even in its day for simplifying the link between mental disorders and homicidal acts. Perhaps for this reason, the movie has received little attention since its initial release in 1968. Even then, it was promoted as a mad slasher, B-level exploitation movie. However, it deserves to be re-evaluated as the cleverly constructed, low-budget British thriller that it is.
Optimum Home
Entertainment’s DVD release is an extremely nice transfer. Colour definition is
natural throughout and never over-saturated. Picture quality is sharp and free
from any major defects, although framing at 4:3 suggests that the image is
slightly cropped, as evidenced by the film's opening credits. Regardless of
this, the picture is generally comfortable in its full frame presentation.
Sound is crisp and clear and presented in 2 channel Dolby digital.
Extras: Inexcusably, this is a bare bones release without any extras -not even a
nostalgic 60's theatrical trailer. How nice it would have been to have Bernard
Herrmann’s superb musical score isolated, considering the fact that the
soundtrack has never been released on CD and only remains as an incredibly hard
to find UK LP. This would have been an ideal opportunity to correct this oversight. Also, with so many of the
cast Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay and Timothy
West still happily very much with us, the stage would have been nicely set for an intelligent and insightful audio commentary. Sadly, a huge missed
opportunity, though we can still recommend that you add this title to your library.- Darren Alllison
(Darren Allison is the music critic for Cinema Retro magazine)
NOTE: AT THE PRESENT TIME, TWISTED NERVE IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON REGION 2 (U.K) DVD
CLICK HERE TO ORDER TWISTED NERVE DISCOUNTED FROM AMAZON.UK