Highly Overrated But Still Good

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

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

My wife was somehow convinced during this film that Meg Foster is a post-op transvestite. Not sure why though. Meg's a cheesy novel writer headed off to Greek island to indulge in her muse and perhaps eat kebabs and such like, but when she gets there her eccentric landlord (played by 140 year old Robert Morley) warns her to beware of the wind and also informs her that the housekeeper is a loser. He's right on both counts, because the wind never lets up for the entire film, and his housekeeper is a loser, because he's played by cheeseball actor Wings Hauser!I'm just joking, we all love Wings in our house. He was great in Mutant (a film I like but everyone else in the world hates) and Nightmare at Noon (also known as 'Mutant again under a different name'). Here, he's the evilly named Phil, and turns up at Meg's new house all a-grinning and crazed right from the get go. Inspired, Meg starts writing a story in which she imagines Wings braining Robert Morley with a poker, but then, it turns out, she sees Wings burying a body in a field. So is it all just in her imagination? Is Wings really a crazy goofy killer? Or is the wind something sinister and not something caused by eating too many kebabs?Director Niko Mastorakis takes time out from making Oliver Reed kiss men (Hired to Kill), forcing George Kennedy to shoot crazed citizens (Nightmare at Noon), and filming a guy giving a goat some up it's wrong un (Island of Death), to give a more sedate and moody film where Wings chases Meg Foster around in circles. It's all done Giallo style, and just like a giallo, there's plenty of raised questions and a head scratching ending. Edge of Terror isn't quite as crazy as Mastorakis' other films, but it's no slouch either. Although the film is bloodless and boobless, the Greek island scenery really helps conjure up words like 'isolated', 'atmospheric' and 'Wings-tastic'. Wings is the draw here for me, playing a guy who can't go for a second without going through some sort of mood swing. As Nietchze says: If you look into Wings Hauser long enough, Wings Hauser looks into you.

Starring Meg Foster, Wings Hauser and Steve Railsback, this probably already is enough reason for people to check out "The Wind". It was for me. Writer Sian Anderson (Foster) retreats to an isolated village on a small Greek island to work on her new novel. The island thrives on tourism and it's off-season, meaning all the inhabitants have left to earn a living elsewhere, leaving Sian pretty much in solitude. But there's still Phill (Wings Hauser), helping hand of the landlord and staying on the island to support Sian in her needs. However, Phill turns out to be an utterly demented psychopath, out to stalk & kill Sian. Or, is he, really? Because Sian is a writer with a vivid imagination. And then there's the fierce ocean wind..., which can be both an enemy as well as an ally. The whole film basically is a cat-&-mouse game between Hauser & Foster, first inside the houses and near the end the wonderfully eerie island setting is put to good use. Sadly, the whole notion of 'is it real or just playing inside Sian's head' isn't played out solidly enough. "The Wind" is a bit of a slow mover, but in the end not a bad effort. And Hauser yet again portrays a delicious psychopath. An extra point for director Nico Mastorakis maintaining a consistent tone & atmosphere throughout the whole film (the lighting, dust blowers and architecture worked wonders on some occasions).

One thing I really love about ex-rentals is the movie previews before the main feature, and that's how I came to know of this film. However it's only natural to have the best scenes in the trailer to wet your appetite… and by the way it bestows quite a cool video artwork.Director / writer Nico Mastorakis (who made the very infamous video nasty "Island of Death") was churning out numerously quickly produced low-budget / straight to video enterprises in the mid to late eighties and "The Wind" aka "Edge of Terror" would have to be the pick of the lot for its interesting setting and exemplary lead performances from Meg Foster and Wings Hauser.Mystery writer Sian Anderson travels to the Greek Isles for a couple of weeks to stay at an ancient villa in an isolated ghost town to storm up ideas for her next novel. The landlord warns her not to go out at night due to the killer winds that pass throughout the night, but another threat could be in the shape of the landlord's handyman Phil. Something about this man unnerves Sian, especially when one night she believes she saw him burying a corpse that just happens to be the landlord.The pulpy story holds up rather well, leading us down the path maybe all of this is happening in the imaginative mind of its protagonist, as this when Steve Railsback's sceptical character comes into the equation. Perhaps predictable and systematic, but making headway of the standard material is the scenic local flavour that's arrestingly atmospheric, especially the eerie night sequences when the howling wind kicks in. Mastorakis ideally creates an edgy vibe with his lighting composition of shadows and lighting around the ancient villa on an ocean cliff-top with it being backed up by the shivery, high-strung music score and terse photography. You're really thrown right into it. What starts off slow-boil in genuinely building up the suspenseful situation, soon transforms in to a tautly simple-minded cat and mouse formula knowing too well of the clichés to suitably play them up. Towards the end it begins to meander, as some stupidity occurs and the final shot (while beautifully projected) is quite a laughable chance of fate.Meg Foster makes for a strong, affable heroine who seems to have something constantly witty to say and a bug-eyed Hauser (in a fetching knitted white jumper) is simply made for these wack-job roles and he doesn't disappoint with his impulsively dangerous and rip-snorting villain. His exchanges with Foster early on is effectively engaging - "Death is a whole lot different on paper." Robert Morley and David McCallum also pop up.

I rented this a while ago, and despite being a bit cheesy, it's still a good movie that goes for a different style. It's actually quite entertaining.Sian Anderson (Meg Foster) goes on a trip to Greece (I think, I can't remember) to work on her next book. She shacks up in an isolated castle, which is pretty creepy. Then Phil (Wings Hauser) begins showing up, and becomes more and more ominous. That night, he shows up once again, and Sian realizes he's a killer. The bulk of the movie is the constant cat and mouse game they play in the castle, all leading up to a pretty scary ending.As I said, I rented this a while ago, and I really can't remember much. I don't even know if I liked it. But whenever I think back, it seems like it was a good movie. I don't know...check it out. It's different. And the fact that it's all just one unrelenting fight between the two characters is pretty interesting, and keeps a good pace. And as I said, the ending is pretty creepy, if I can remember. If you can get a hold of this, rent it or buy it.