This is an unusual foray in the English language for Chabrol (albeit set in Canada, where French is extensively spoken) but a most typical mystery for him (based on a novel by popular American pulp writer Ed McBain) and, in retrospect, an underrated (if unassuming) work.
The director also managed to rope in a good cast, led by Donald Sutherland (a genuine Canadian, playing a character not too far removed from his star-making turn in KLUTE [1971]), as well as David Hemmings and Donald Pleasence (quietly impressive in the role of a paedophile) to act as red herrings. However, the best performances come from the two young female protagonists (who were ostensibly assaulted one night at the film's very start) and especially the sole survivor, whose version of events keeps changing throughout the film, as Sutherland – and the audience – gradually begins to put the pieces together with every new disclosed fact. On the other hand, Chabrol's own wife – Stephane Audran – is saddled with a thankless mother role.
Though the ultimate revelation is hardly overwhelmingly original, the incestuous connotations are provocative enough to make the journey there a fairly powerful one. The copy I acquired (which seems to be slightly trimmed – running 91 minutes against the official 100) was full-frame and excessively soft, but certainly serviceable for such a rare item. Interestingly, the French edition of this title contains an alternate score by Chabrol regular Pierre Jansen to the one provided here by Howard Blake.
