And Soon the Darkness – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1970
Director: Robert Fuest
Writers: Brian Clemens, Terry Nation
Cast: Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Elès, John Nettleton, Clare Kelly, Hana Maria Pravda, John Franklyn, Claude Bertrand, Jean Carmet

Release Date: October 15th, 2019
Approximate running time: 99 Minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Two young British nurses bicycling through the desolate French countryside. A mysterious stranger on a lonely stretch of road. The women become separated and soon after, one of them disappears. Now the remaining girl, alone and frightened, begins an increasingly desperate search for answers among the strangely uncooperative locals. Where is her friend? Was there a murder? And as the darkness approaches, is the killer now stalking her?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand New 4K Master!".

And Soon the Darkness comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 27.8 GB

Feature: 26.9 GB

The source used for this transfer looks immaculate. Colors and flesh tones look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English subtitles. This track sounds excellent. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include two radio spots (1 minute 33 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with director Robert Fuest and producer Brian Clemens, moderated by Journalist Jonathan Sothcott, and an audio commentary with film historian Troy Howarth.

Other extras are trailers for Sudden Terror, The Mind Benders, The Black Windmill, and The Man Who Haunted Himself.

Summary:

And Soon the Darkness was directed by Robert Fuest, whose other notable films include The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, and The Devil's Rain. The main creative talent behind And Soon the Darkness had ties to The Avengers TV series. And director Robert Fuest also directed seven episodes of The Avengers.

And Soon the Darkness is a Hitchcockian-like suspense film that quickly draws you into its narrative. That said, there are numerous well-placed moments of misdirection that add to the mounting tension and make the finale all the more powerful.

Also, when discussing And Soon the Darkness, one must not understate how effective the rural settings are in the story at hand. Isolation created by the rural settings reinforces a sinister undertone, which drives the narrative.

The performances are excellent from the two leads, Pamela Franklin (The Legend of Hell House) in the role of Jane, a woman on vacation with a friend who disappeared into thin air, and Sandor Elès (Countess Dracula) in the role of a mysterious stranger named Paul Salmon, who always seems to be lurking around the corner.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where And Soon the Darkness does not excel. The premise is perfectly executed, the narrative does an amazing job building tension, and a fantastic finale provides a very satisfying conclusion. That said, it should not come as a surprise that And Soon the Darkness would be remade forty years later. And not to be overlooked when discussing And Soon the Darkness is director Robert Fuest’s ability to create visually arresting moments. Ultimately, And Soon the Darkness is a textbook example of how to create a suspense film.

And Soon the Darkness gets an excellent release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a pair of informative audio commentaries, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer