MovieChat Forums > And Soon the Darkness (1971) Discussion > The 2 people on bikes at the end

The 2 people on bikes at the end

posted 16 years ago by matthew-brown1
8 replies | jump to latest

Who were the 2 people on the bikes at the end of the film I wasn't sure whether it was Jane and Paul or another couple just as the final credits roll.

[–] adam-donovan2 16 years ago

No- I think that they were supposed to be just another anonymous couple touring. I would say that they and the rain falling in the caravan park are a means of 'wrapping up' at the end of the film. The rain 'cleanses' after the horror and the cyclists 'echo' the two girls at the start. May it not also be a way of saying that life continues regardless of the terrible events that have just occured.

And I dont agree with whoever said the film was lethargic. Anyone who has spent a hot summer's day in the middle of nowhere will know the heavy oppressive feeling of this type of weather- and the pace enhances this.

However the opening music is wrong for this film-something with a more French flavour to it would have been better. Its a shame because the incidental music is excellent- and has a sinister edge to it. Still, because it doesnt seem right it makes you remember it, which seems to add to the film's cult status!

I'd like to know more about the French locations, though.......

[–] matthew-brown1 16 years ago

yes same here a lot of those tree lined roads in France look a like the caravan site was filmed in Hertfordshire England its a great film i remember seeing it about 20 years ago and last year i got it on dvd it reminded me of that Dutch film the vanishing which is set in France

[–] adam-donovan2 16 years ago

I saw it on tv about 20 yrs ago but have never seen 'The Vanishing'. Have you also seen the 'Thriller' series penned by the same guy as 'And Soon...'- Brian Clemens? Many of those stories had girls in the lead roles, and in some sort of trouble! The music accompanying was really good. I couldn't wait for both of these to come out on dvd- and didnt realise that they were by the same guy until recently.

Although Thriller has dated quite a lot, And Soon.... looked more dated in the 80s. Fashions have gone retro and it looks quite hip now after all this time!

[–] bigal_a 9 years ago

Have you also seen the 'Thriller' series penned by the same guy as 'And Soon...'- Brian Clemens?

Pamela Franklin starred (playing an American girl) in my favourite "Thriller" episode, "Screamer".

The restitution of life is no great feat. A variety of deaths may well enter into your punishment

[–] matthew-brown1 16 years ago

i have heard it was filmed in the normandy region near the town of landron it would be interesting to find out about that clearing where jane vanishes whether it is still there

[–] heckallen 16 years ago

I didn't really care for the final shot. It just seems confusing and I think the film would have been better off without it.

[–] HenryCW 14 years ago

The scene at the end with the two people (presumably anonymous tourists) on bicycles was meant to mirror the opening scene where we see Jane and Cathy cycling along the road. The point of the scene was to suggest that danger was lurking everywhere, and those two cyclists might soon be the victims of another psycho in the French countryside.

[–] garp-26 13 years ago

That's more or less along the lines I was thinking HenryCW. I wasn't entirely convinced the ending did wrap things up in the way we might have assumed. No doubt Jane was obviously in a very dangerous situation with the dirty old gendarme, but he was shown mainly as a rapist and not necessarily a killer - there was no flashing knife during his assault for example and we learn that the last victim had been badly mutilated.

There was no obvious reason for Paul to behave so suspiciously and at times he appears to get a thrill out of making Jane nervous of him. His reasons for taking an interest in the previous murder sounded flimsy. And we don't know what immediately happens between Jane and Paul after he bashes the gendarme.

The old English woman showed herself to be a rather bitter, jealous character, muttering darkly about young girls who ask for trouble when holidaying on their own and on the look out for sex. It's unsettling that she almost appears to take a sexual interest in Jane after talking rather coldly about the previous victim. I hoped Jane would not take her up on her invitation to stay the night at her house.

Almost as troubling are the bickering couple running the roadside cafe. She all brooding intensity and talking of a "bad road" whilst the relentlessly furious husband wields his farming implements about like weapons. Jane is confused as to whether their rage is directed at her or something more malevolent, especially when any mention of the gendarme seems to excite them even more.(But then according to the English woman the police had tried to pin the first murder on to the husband so their reactions are not so outlandish).

Add to this the gendarme's war damaged father who gleefully unsheathes his bayonet after putting Cathy's knickers on his head and the cafe owner who bursts out laughing at the word meutre would give rise for hoping that the cycling couple at the end do not go anywhere near this extremely weird bunch.

By the way I may have missed it but does anyone know who owned the caravan?

"I'm staring at the abyss.I don't like the look of the abyss"