In the Devil's Garden

What seems like a good size school of "Red Herrings" swim past the screen of this very British "who done it?" Although obviously marketed as a lurid school girls in trouble film, under such names as "The Creepers", "Satan's Playthings", "Tower of Terror", "Assault", and "In the Devil's Garden", the movie is not a horror, or sex film, but a fairly decent mystery thriller. By the rather stringent British decency standards, I suppose this pushes the envelope, but overall is very tame. This does not detract from the story, which maintains interest throughout. The acting seems good, however American audiences will struggle with the thick accents. One annoyance is the repetitive and blaring suspense music, but overall the film is totally watchable. - MERK

I haven't seen this film in years, but from what I remember of it, it was a pretty good movie. The only thing that I think might be a little politically incorrect is the fact that the a few of the girls are pretty much seen as teases, especially in the scene in which the headmistress' husband fondles one of the girls as she stands on top of a stool. This scene is a little disturbing, especially when you consider the film was made in 1971. No wonder this film was mainly shown very late at night when the kiddies were asleep.

The film is typical of its time, with the lighting, camera work and fashion giving a clear indication of 1969 to 1971 British cinema.

It is not scary, but there is reasonable suspense and enjoyment.

My main reason for commenting is has anyone else noticed the very strong similarities with the brilliant (but sadly never shown) "I start counting"?

There is the same fashion, the similar colour technique which is surprising given this is Eastman and "I start" is De Luxe, an emphasis on short skirts, an unknown serial assailant who is revealed at the end but throughout most of the film the viewers attention is diverted to other suspects. There is also the woods where the events take place; the atmosphere in the woodland scenes is very similar. Finally, there is a young and good looking central character in both, Lesley-Anne Down and Jenny Agutter

Watch the film if you enjoy late 60's, early 70's Britain and a bit of suspense.

Little-seen (these days) British attempt at a giallo horror-thriller, starring Suzy Kendall (star of several Italian gialli), Frank Finlay, Freddie Jones, and introducing Lesley-Anne Down and James Laurenson. A schoolgirl is attacked and raped whilst taking a shortcut through woods after school. Soon after, a second girl is raped, and this time murdered. A police Chief Supt. (Finlay) teams-up with a psychiatric doctor (Laurenson), a local journalist (Jones), and the school's art teacher (Kendall) to find the killer before he can strike again.

The film's achieved a certain notoriety over the years, mainly due to its juxtaposition of sexual assault/murder, and nubile, innocent schoolgirl victims - although by today's standards it's pretty tame in its execution. The performances are good. Aside from those already mentioned, viewers of a certain age will recognise a host of reliable UK TV faces. Tony Beckley is especially noteworthy as the sleazeball husband of the school's headmistress, who isn't adverse to 'feeling up' the girls when opportunities arise. It's produced by Peter Rogers, better known as producer of the Carry On films. Director Sidney Hayers does a sound job - especially with two thrilling foot chases through the woods. The score is terrific, courtesy of Eric Rogers (no relation to Peter, but likewise better known for the Carry On series). The whole thing is well put-together. And whilst the reveal of the killer isn't exactly unexpected, it's an enjoyable ride getting there. 7.5/10.

Although any number of Italian gialli ("Nude Si Muore", "What Have You Done to Solange?", etc.) were set in Britain and/or were UK co-productions, this film is somewhat unique in that it seems to be a completely British giallo. We're definitely in giallo territory here: There's a vicious rapist-murderer on the loose at a girl's school. There are two witnesses to the murder--one who can't quite remember what she saw (a familiar plot-line in the Italian films)and a previous rape victim who is too traumatized to speak. The lead is Suzy Kendall, who two years earlier had starred in Dario Argento's seminal giallo "The Bird with Crystal Plumage." It's definitely a very British film, however. The cinematography is staid and workman-like compared to the more garish and stylistic Italian films. The plot is fairly linear and logical, at least until the end when the murderer-rapist goes to laughably ridiculous lengths to stop a psychiatrist from giving sodium pentathlon to the traumatized victim to help her recover her memory.

It's not surprising given the famed British aversion to violence (in movies that is)that most of the violence here takes place off-screen. Still it is pretty nasty violence, especially considering the rape angle and the age and gender of the victims. (It's interesting that these kinds of movies never take place at a MEN'S college or in an old age home). The sex and nudity is also pretty non-existent, but it doesn't exactly seem wholesome either the way they have cast sexy twenty year olds as fifteen year olds and dressed them in mini-skirts short enough to get any real schoolgirl expelled. The most lurid scene involves the headmistress's lecherous husband and a student librarian on a ladder. I don't know if it makes it more or less perverse that the "student" is played by Janet Lynn, a British sex star of the period (thus the obvious pseudonym)who had been featured the year before in Pete Walker's naked sex romp "Cool It, Carol". The only really recognizable star though, besides Suzy Kendall, is a young Leslie-Anne Down as the traumatized rape victim. (Despite what an earlier reviewer said, Jenny Agutter is NOT in this movie).

Still if you can get around the leering British hypocrisy, the relative lack of sex and violence, and the fairly low-wattage of the star power, this is actually a pretty entertaining little film, and, if nothing else, an interesting one.