IMDb plot summary: Martin Durnley is a troubled young man who retreats into an alternate personality - that of six-year-old Georgie. It is Georgie who befriends Susan Harper, but friendship soon turns into obsession. When Susan begins to distance herself, something inside Georgie snaps and he embarks on a killing spree, with Susan as the next target.
Directed by Roy Boultin. Starring Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billiw Whitelaw, and Phyllis Calvert.
(Spoilers.)
Well, right off the bat, I need to acknowledge that this movie's understanding of disability, mental illness and neurodiversity does NOT hold up. The film's implications definitely dabble in autism (and possibly Down's Syndrome) as explanations for the main character's psychopathic tendency, which was really uncomfortable to listen to.
Assuming those weird moments weren't there, though, it's a moderately compelling film. I like the amount of agency Hayley Mills gets -- up until the very end, when someone else has to come rescue her because she stupidly went around exploring her house with an almost-certain killer lurking in it. Hywel Bennett was engagingly over-the-top as the villain, bringing in some serious Alex DeLarge vibes (three years earlier). The final act feels contrived and falls apart, which was disappointing. It's got its lurid fun moments but seriously loses its way with its finale and its assessment of what makes someone a murderer.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Twisted Nerve > The Italian Job (2003)
Twisted Nerve < Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Twisted Nerve < Were the World Mine
Twisted Nerve < Kiss the Girls
Twisted Nerve < Father of the Bride Part II
Twisted Nerve < Ben-Hur (1959)
Twisted Nerve > Ender's Game
Twisted Nerve > Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
Twisted Nerve > The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Twisted Nerve > The Firemen's Ball
Twisted Nerve < Mrs. Miniver
Final spot: #1536 out of 3165.
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