This excellent wartime thriller is a film that benefits from a low budget for once. The setting for the film is a lighthouse in Germany, and most of the running time takes place within the claustrophobic confines of the building. It's an essential three-hander about a maladjusted old lighthouse keeper who has been spending too many years by himself, and two other characters who join him and both have their own hidden motivations: single-named actress Movita, recently escaped from a concentration camp and desperate to evade the authorities, and undercover spy Michael Rennie.
It's a great setup and thankfully TOWER OF TERROR is a film that doesn't disappoint. The short running time flies past with plenty of different sub-plots, each of which turns out to bear relevance to the main storyline. I love spy and resistance films set in occupied Europe during WW2 because they're inherently tense and suspenseful and this film is no exception. However, it's also a towering portrait of psychological angst and disturbance, similar in ways to the classic Bluebeard story.
The quality acting really enhances the story. Movita makes the most of her role and is far more than your usual damsel in distress. Rennie is young, agile, and likable as the spy you don't want to see get caught. Best of all is Wilfrid Lawson as the lighthouse keeper; initially he's presented as an underdog hero character before his true personality comes to the fore, and it's an excellent reveal. Even George Woodbridge appears, playing an Nazi and looking much more youthful than in his later Hammer roles. TOWER OF TERROR is an excellent little film that thriller fans are sure to love.
It's a great setup and thankfully TOWER OF TERROR is a film that doesn't disappoint. The short running time flies past with plenty of different sub-plots, each of which turns out to bear relevance to the main storyline. I love spy and resistance films set in occupied Europe during WW2 because they're inherently tense and suspenseful and this film is no exception. However, it's also a towering portrait of psychological angst and disturbance, similar in ways to the classic Bluebeard story.
The quality acting really enhances the story. Movita makes the most of her role and is far more than your usual damsel in distress. Rennie is young, agile, and likable as the spy you don't want to see get caught. Best of all is Wilfrid Lawson as the lighthouse keeper; initially he's presented as an underdog hero character before his true personality comes to the fore, and it's an excellent reveal. Even George Woodbridge appears, playing an Nazi and looking much more youthful than in his later Hammer roles. TOWER OF TERROR is an excellent little film that thriller fans are sure to love.