Magazine feature on the way

"Thanks for your kind words/support - I shall do my best!"

Thanks! how many pages are you allowed to deliver on this film, for the magazine?



"I am going to be meeting a number of the crew soon to tour the locations in Holland Park, with the hope of being allowed into the house that was used for filming :-)"

fantastic! probably some nice pictures for your article in the magazine!
I don't know if the house is still there, i guess the inside of it was a real location and not a set/stage...this house has a real "presence" in the film thanks to Loncraine's skillful use of widescreen ratio, Peter Hannan's beautiful lightning and Brian Morris's work.

"You are right - neither Sophie Ward or Samantha Gates have actually seen the film."

That's fun because Sophie Ward acted in some fantasy and horror movies in her career, like "the hunger", "book of blood" and "young Sherlock Holmes"!

"Samantha though did say her children have recently spotted the film on youtube!"

Lovely!!
One of the videos available on Youtube isn't good (not the right widescreen framing) but has been seen by many many people (more than 200 000 views)
I don't know what Loncraine thinks of it, he must be a bit sad that his film isn't available in a proper picture/audio quality, at least until now...


"Peter Fetterman actually carried around a picture of Samantha (along with a cassette of music from Towns) as a way of trying to raise funding - we've got the music, we've got the 'evil kid', give us your cash :-) "

Yes, an original way to raise money, isn't it? I've read that both Loncraine and Farrow wanted to make this movie especially BECAUSE of Colin Town's music.

" I'm getting my hands on both the original draft and the finished script in a week or so, which I'm eager to scan to see if any material was cut."

Great! Let us know (or at least in your article!) about the differences with the film's theatrical cut...have you read Peter Straub's book? It is quite different from the movie, the ending, among others, or the past of Magnus's character. The book is pretty creepy but i prefer the changes Loncraine and his screenwriters did for the movie...the film is more mysterious somewhat, like its powerful ambiguous ending.

"Richard Loncraine was sure there was nothing edited out"

hmmm...i own the Films Illustrated Magazine from Summer 1977 (with a Mia Farrow cover) where he said that he cut a "bedroom scene" between Farrow and Conti, he "shortened a death scene" and "clarified another one" (Keir Dullea's character)
I remember reading a french review from the magazine L'Ecran Fantastique after the Cannes screening where the reviewer was writing "we don't know what happens to Keir Dullea's character, he suddenly disappears from the story)

"they couldn't afford to film stuff they didn't use"

yes, i remember Loncraine talking about that in a Podcast a few years ago...it was a low budget it seems, and they didn't have much money for the marketing also.
How did the film work in the UK?
In France where i live the film did a decent but not great box office, more than 260 000 admissions in the whole country...it was helped a bit because it won the Grand Prize at a quite famous horror film festival here which was named "Avoriaz"...William Friedkin was the President of this Jury this year, there were also Sergio Leone and Alain Delon in the Jury.