To me, this movie is perfection.

Thanks for the memories!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I've seen Seance many times. First, as a side note, having viewed this film as a child, I can attest to how uncomfortable it was to see a child kidnapped, so not real good for little ones. Next, to avoid repetition of better reviews than mine, I'll just confirm that Seance represents a very high caliber of film-making, and actors Stanley and Attenborough, cinematographer Turpin and director Forbes are especially at the top of their craft here. If you haven't seen it, watch it first - it unfolds slowly like an exquisite flower - then read this, if you like, as it is a focus on the ending.Finally, for repeat viewers of Seance I'd like to address the last few scenes, maybe others have more clarity on this. The ending, described by some as "anti-climactic"(!) has Myra in a trance delivering her agonizing monologue which reveals their guilt - to Billy's horror. More than once I have tried to accept at this point that the jig is up and I find I often focus on Billy, the police - anyone to avoid watching poor Myra because Stanley's performance is so powerful, it's nearly too uncomfortable to watch. But as she continues, she reveals information that she couldn't possibly know - information that Billy has kept from her. Has everyone else noticed this? This would transform the entire story (or for me it would). Does she indeed have the "gift" that "Arthur" advised her of or helps her with? It would appear she does. It would seem that her grief, histrionics and loss of ethics (among other things) mask a brilliance. She has devised a hoax to increase her notoriety, so has she failed this gift by not respecting her own unique ability? Does Billy act as if he believes she has a gift or does he quietly acquiesce to this as well, creating a silent climate of non belief? Either circumstance, though different, could drive someone crazy. Has anyone, by chance, read the novel? I probably should . Perhaps it clears this up. Sorry for all the questions. Thoughtful, complex, psychological, atmospheric film.

This is perhaps the best film of its type, a low-key, macabre classic too few have seen.Kim Stanley (who tends to remind me of her pal, Geraldine Page) gives a bravura and highly-textured performance here as a psychic medium, who may or may not have legitimate powers but elects to go about publicly proving them by deceitful methods by having her husband kidnap a little girl from a prominent London family, hold her captive, and then "find" her.This is an acting tour de force as well as a fab mood-piece, with an appropriately eerie score by John Barry, the film and London itself wrapped in an unnerving Cold War chill.

This is one of my favourite films of the 1960s. The black-and-white widescreen format induces nostalgia in those of us who were movie-going at that time. The plot: a woman who believes herself to be a 'psychic' (superb performance by Kim Stanley) talks her downtrodden husband (great performance by Richard Attenborough) into kidnapping a schoolgirl so she can reveal her powers to the world by 'finding' the girl. The atmosphere of the film is creepy and the music by John Barry seems slightly at odds with it at times, but this is a minor quibble; 'Seance' is a fine piece of work. As far as British DVD releases are concerned, the Network 2006 edition has good picture quality but lousy sound (the dialogue is far too quiet and the music and effects are too loud). The Carlton 2004 edition had better sound plus optional subtitles in English for hard of hearing, but the picture is grainier and not as good.

A bit of a lost classic that slipped between the cracks despite the Oscar nomination for lead actress Kim Stanley, this story of kidnapping and madness in the Savage household starts off with a first hour so expertly paced, nuanced and beautifully photographed that you begin to think the 8.4 score it has on IMDb isn't a stretch at all. The way Forbes handles the exposition, withhelding information from the audience long enough to keep them guessing, releasing them in an ambiguous fashion to maintain an aura of mystery, all the while not forgetting those little casual moments that don't advance the plot but allow the material to breathe and the characters to emerge thridimensional and human instead of drab caricatures drawn as plot devices, is a masterclass in storytelling that one would expect from a master of Bergman's calibre. The second half steadily accelerates, building up tension between the kidnappers and between them and the police, with some absolutely riveting pieces of suspense such as the cat and mouse game in the subway or the mother of the kidnapped girl making a sudden appearance at the house her daughter is being held to participate in a seance where the medium foreshadows her daughter's fate while she remains unaware, right down to the brilliant conclusion around a seance table where stage actor Patrick Magee has a cameo (Mr. Alexander from a CLOCKWORK ORANGE), Seance is a terrific piece of film-making that will particularly appeal to horror fans. Kim Stanley deserved that Oscar and so did Richard Attenborough (who would go on to sweep the Oscars with GANDHI), both of whom give electrifying performances as husband and wife.