A true embarrassment for Carrie Snodgrass and Ray Milland, this psychological thriller is laughably bad as it deals with a librarian being laid off from her job, dealing with the memory of on alleged lover who disappeared on her and a tyrannical father. Like "Throw Mama From the Train" a few years later this film shows Snodgrass fantasizing about killing her father, Milland, in several different ways, and those are the comical highlights, showing her poisoning him, electrocuting him, even throwing a cake in his face and to top it off, bringing a gorilla into the room to eat him alive. This builds up her hatred of him as he continues to harass him, and even killing a chimpanzee that she buys as a pet.
The performances are laughably bad, ridiculous for Oscar winner Milland and Oscar nominee Snodgrass to even have considered this after perusing the script. Milland was better with Rosie Grier's head on his shoulder or frogs hopping on him, and he makes no attempt to even give a performance. He just bellows his lines, and she continuously pauses as if trying to wonder what she's doing in this. The background music is like nails down a chalkboard and the attic references in the title isn't even utilized until late in the film.
There are a few amusing moments to set up the story with library patrons gossiping about her and a handsome gardener she psychotically mistakes for the man she loved. But there are many embarrassing moments as well, like a scene of Snodgrass pleasuring herself and her flashing back to 20 years before, looking exactly the same. A scene with her coworker and her family (with the mother played by veteran actress Rosemary Murphy) also makes no sense, as does her spending her money to send that friend a plane ticket. Attics maybe for storage, but this is one film that I don't need to store.
The performances are laughably bad, ridiculous for Oscar winner Milland and Oscar nominee Snodgrass to even have considered this after perusing the script. Milland was better with Rosie Grier's head on his shoulder or frogs hopping on him, and he makes no attempt to even give a performance. He just bellows his lines, and she continuously pauses as if trying to wonder what she's doing in this. The background music is like nails down a chalkboard and the attic references in the title isn't even utilized until late in the film.
There are a few amusing moments to set up the story with library patrons gossiping about her and a handsome gardener she psychotically mistakes for the man she loved. But there are many embarrassing moments as well, like a scene of Snodgrass pleasuring herself and her flashing back to 20 years before, looking exactly the same. A scene with her coworker and her family (with the mother played by veteran actress Rosemary Murphy) also makes no sense, as does her spending her money to send that friend a plane ticket. Attics maybe for storage, but this is one film that I don't need to store.