IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN

Suzy Kendall

IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (aka Assault/1971). Director: Sidney Hayers. 

A girl, Tessa (Lesley-Anne Down), is sexually assaulted in the woods and is so traumatized that she is unable to speak. Then another girl is not only raped but murdered. Dr. Lomax (James Laurenson) tries to get through to the mute girl without success. Detective Velyan (Frank Finlay of Lifeforce) is frustrated by the lack of clues in the case when Julie West (Suzy Kendall of Torso), the arts teacher at the nearby girls' school, gets a glimpse of the killer, but can only describe him as being "like the Devil." Nevertheless she, a reporter (Freddie Jones) and Velyan and his associates cook up a plan to use the brave Julie as a decoy. Meanwhile there are a few suspects, including the headmistress's sleazy husband, Leslie (Tony Beckley of Beware My Brethren), and even Dr. Lomax and some of the police officers. Julie discovers that the killer is much closer than anyone realizes ... 

Frank Finlay and James Laurenson

In the Devi's Garden, originally released under the dull title Assault, is an interesting and suspenseful thriller with some solid performances. The ending is dragged out a bit too much, and the identity of the killer is telegraphed a bit too soon, but there are some intriguing developments nevertheless. Lesley-Anne Down was introduced in this film -- it was actually her fourth movie -- and is unrecognizable at 17. James Cosmo, Dilys Hamlett, Patrick Jordan, and Anthony Ainley also have significant roles. Sidney Hayers also directed Circus of Horrors.

Verdict: Reasonably worthwhile suspense-thriller. **3/4. 

CIRCUS OF HORRORS

Anton Diffring

CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960). Director: Sidney Hayers. 

A plastic surgeon flees England after a job on a woman's face goes wrong -- although he claims she didn't follow his instructions -- and winds up in France, where he re-invents himself as Dr. Schuler (Anton Diffring) and takes over a circus once owned by Vanet (Donald Pleasence). Ten years go by and Schuler has filled the circus with criminals whose faces he has changed and who have somehow developed abilities as performers. The late Vanet's daughter, Nicole (Yvonne Monlaur), thinks of Schuler as her uncle and is grateful that he healed her childhood scars. 

Griffith, Hylton, and Diffring

Schuler may seem like a hero to Nicole, but in reality he becomes very possessive of the women he remodels, and a number of them die in "accidents" while they are performing. The police and a reporter are suspicious, but there's nothing they can pin on Schuler. His latest acquisition is a woman named Melina (Yvonne Romain), who is cast as Helen of Troy and apparently trained as a lion tamer! Schuler's associates Martin (Kenneth Griffith) and his sister, Angela (Jane Hylton), who is in love with Schuler, are starting to get antsy. And we mustn't forget the lady back in England, who still has a horribly scarred face ... 

Donald Pleasence

Anton Diffring gives another winning performance in Circus of Horrors, and there is also good work from Donald Pleasence, Griffith, Hylton, and some of the ladies. The script, written by George Baxt, has to be taken with a grain of salt, as Schuler finds it incredibly easy to turn crooks, whores and so on into skilled circus performers, the deaths of so many women should have brought in the authorities much sooner, and it's especially hard to believe anyone, such as trapeze headliner Elissa (Erika Remberg),  would actually do their dangerous act after trying to blackmail the even more dangerous Schuler. Still, the movie is absorbing and at times delightfully lurid if never distastefully graphic.  Hayers also directed Burn, Witch, Burn. 

Verdict: Zesty British horror film. ***.