A Place to Die

Following the sudden death of the local GP in an accident Doctor Bruce Nelson and his new bride Tessa arrive in a village eagerly anticipating their new lives as husband and wife . Dr Nelson is intrigued that the villagers seem to have a uniform limp which he jokingly mentions to his wife who has a sprained ankle . The villagers are friendly and do take a notice that she too limps but does their initial friendliness mask a dark secret

You have to take each episode of THRILER on its own terms and perhaps have to remember the period of when it was made . The early 1970s did see an upsurge of movies featuring Satanists and Satanic rites as a theme . For example Dennis Wheatley was a very popular author and is forgotten now almost as though he never existed . The Hammer Dracula franchise got in on the act but the 1974 Dracula film featuring Satanic rites is considered a nadir of the series and the 1971 Doctor Who story The Deamons featuring a black magic cult led by the Master was considered the zenith of the Pertwee era for many many years until it became available to fans via video and is now merely considered a merely above average tale from the era . In other words Satanism is a victim of fashion and like all victims of fashion it quickly dates . This should be borne in mind when watching this episode

To be fair it is a relatively engaging story and does contain rational basis for its explanations . It also contains a superb soundtrack by Laurie Johnson that shows the composer has given some thought to the on screen action and also for once the American marketed specially made title sequences are very impressive setting up the mood of the episode perfectly . Where the episode is lacking is in the visual format where videotaped studio interiors look like they were filmed inside a studio set which doesn't lend itself to the atmosphere the story needs . This would have worked very well as a cinematic production but suffers from being disposable television on a Saturday night

I started watching these from the first episode and this one is by far the worst one yet. The "acting" of Alexandra Hay is horrible, much like a bad actress in a high school play. I could go on about it but I won't belabor the point; it's too depressing. Just skip over this one. I hope the next one is better.

Most of the THRILLER episodes have a certain something that overcomes the technical limitations of the era in which they were made : the mixing of 16mm exterior locations and VT studio interiors, the lack of blood and gore , the rather unnatural lack of 'language' in the dialogue, all of which are rather charming and evoke the TV you remembered from the early 70s.

However this particular episode has a fundamental flaw which makes the usual suspension of disbelief impossible. It's the ridiculous cliché of "village life". This seems to have been written by someone who hadn't ventured as far as the suburbs let alone a remote English village. The result is a Neverland of 'rural characters' which would have seemed out of date in the earliest Agatha Christie novel from the 1920s, let alone a TV drama written in the early 1970s. It's just nonsense. Here's "the gamekeeper"...with a shotgun under his arm, "the blacksmith" with his leather apron.... "The school mistress" a starchy spinster in a tweed hat... and even inevitable "village idiot"... and here they all are queued up one behind the other in the village shop (which by some quirk of set design looks like a trading post from a spaghetti western rather than a village shop). None of them seems to have any work to do, no one drives a car, in fact the whole village seems to have only one visible car, the newly arrived doctor's Morgan.

Irrespective of the story-line this backdrop is so fake it's laughable. So it's a dud episode I'm afraid. But never mind, if you are watching the box set keep going as the following episodes are so much better!

A Memorable episode that my family & I enjoyed immensely in the 70s and it has always stuck in our memories; especially the local imbecile "Nick" with his g---s foot. :) My family would always turn-off the lights & call out 'Nick' 'Nick' get so 'n' so for eg. It was terrifying. Although looking back on it today, it is hardly frightening at all...Suspenseful however though... I do believe after arriving in the village to take up his new post as the Doctor, the newly married couple (Dr Bruce Tenner and his wife Tessa) should have realised sooner rather than later what was going on; especially after being greeted by the most peculiar looking old people, all with walking sticks & limping left foots? That is as far as I go....😲 One to watch...👌

As I've mentioned in previous reviews, each Thriller episode has thus far been totally unique, no two episodes feel the slightest bit similar. If you thought Someone at the Top of the Stairs was a little different, then this one is off the scale. Broadening the premise of the Thriller series, which have largely been crime thrillers. A Place to die establishes a really creepy village, a set of very odd locals, and totally bizarre behaviour by all when The Doctor and his good lady arrive. It could only have been made in the Seventies, it's so typical of many horrors from that era, Satanic rights etc. A worthy cast including small roles for Harold Bennett (Young Mr Grace) and Arnold Ridley (Godfrey, Dad's Army.) If I'm honest I prefer the more psychological, earthly episodes of Thriller, but this one has many strengths. 7/10