The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Some priceless footage of life in rural France from a bygone era, but boy-oh-boy this film is desperately slow: and I've a feeling many watching this will simply give-up on it too early. The inspired idea by the film-makers to refrain from subtitling the spoken French allows the viewer to empathise with the plight (and confusion) of a young girl desperately trying to seek help for her friend; and I suppose the quirky characters they introduce do a decent job of keeping the viewer guessing.Provided they're still awake, of course: as my abiding memory of this film will sadly be its plodding nature, which left me feeling frustrated, rather than in suspense.

Two British girls vacationing in rural France find themselves at the mercy of a sex maniac. This somewhat arty and slow-burning suspenser on THE LADY VANISHES lines was production designer-turned-director Fuest's third directorial effort and his entrée into the genre in which he specialized for the rest of his relatively short but stylish film career. Co-written by Brian Clemens (the creator of TV's THE AVENGERS – on which series Fuest served in both capacities) and Terry Nation (the creator of TV's DOCTOR WHO), the film hardly proves as fanciful as such credentials would suggest; in fact, it is agreeably streamlined and reasonably well sustained by an eerie atmosphere, glossy visuals and Laurie Johnson's evocative score. Although somewhat undercast as befits its low-key setting, the film is peopled by vivid characters: from increasingly distressed star Pamela Franklin to ambiguous helper/stalker Sandor Eles and from stranded British schoolmistress Clare Kelly to wide-eyed gendarme John Nettleton. Disappointingly, when the climactic confrontation eventually comes about towards the very end, the surprising villain is disposed of very quickly with just one blow to the head! The film was unnecessarily and inauspiciously remade in 2010 – which version is available to view in its entirety on "You Tube" – but I have not bothered with it myself.

2 girls go on a cycling holiday to France. When one of them goes missing, it's up to the other one to try to find out what is going on and try to save her friend.The set up of this was pretty slow but it built up the atmosphere and tension really well. It is set in the French countryside and the sunshine is relentless, which was a nice change from horror movies being shot in a lot of darkness. A lot of the time people are speaking French and the protagonist doesn't understand the language, as there are no subtitles the audience doesn't either, which I thought was clever. While the ending was not unexpected, the amount of suspects did keep me guessing for a while and the film kept the tension building the whole way through. Pamela Franklin did a good job carrying the film mostly on her shoulders, and overall I think it was a very good, tense little thriller. It wasn't particularly scary, so don't see it if you're wanting a good fright, but as a thriller it was pretty good.

I've spent some time this summer trying to track down obscure horror movies from the 1970s, and this is one of the best I've encountered. I am just sick to death of modern movies which this time of year fall into one of three categories. Remakes, sequels, and comic book (or excuse me.... "graphic novels"). After scanning some old titles, this one just jumped out at me. And Soon the Darkness sounds evil and foreboding, and the film basically delivers. And of course I see it has been remade! UGGGHHHHH. No doubt that is an inferior film.Anyway, And Soon the Darkness is the story of two young English women who are bicycling through rural France, and run into some trouble. After an argument, one of them leaves the other to sun herself by the side of a county highway while she pedals to the nearest town. The more flirty of the two stays behind, hoping the handsome young man she has been flirting with that day will drive by on his little European scooter and sweep her off her feet. Well, somebody does just that, but the encounter apparently does not go well. The girl who headed for town waits and waits, but her friend never shows up to meet her. Something bad has likely happened to the other girl, but what? And which of the creepy locals had something to do with it? Maybe they all did.This is one of those films that doesn't let its lack of budget be a hindrance. It uses the wide open countryside very effectively, and it really helps the viewer understand just how vulnerable these girls are. They are easy targets that could be seem from miles away. Some of the shots show creepy-looking farmers just watching them pedal by from a distance. Much of the dialog is French, and no subtitles are provided. I couldn't even get them from my DVD player. Unless you speak French you will be just as bewildered as the girl trying to figure out if the locals know what happened to her friend. The movie is extremely well-filmed, but the ghastly soundtrack is horribly dated and seems inappropriate. Almost as bad as the soundtrack from The Legacy. The conclusion is a little too drawn-out, but the ending should be satisfying enough for anyone who can enjoy the build-up. Definitely a diamond in the rough, this film is worth 7 of 10 stars.The Hound.