The
hypnotic whistle echoing at the beginning of Quentin Tarantino's
Kill Bill Vol. 1 can pique a person's curiosity. When I
looked into it, I discovered that this theme was composed by Bernard
Herrman for a 1968 psychological thriller from England entitled
Twisted Nerve. One would expect, after hearing such a haunting
tune, that this film would be suspenseful and tense -- an impression
only reinforced by the film's rather ghoulish trailer. Twisted
Nerve disappoints these expectations. Roy Boulting's film may
contain some moments of tension, but it more or less fails to spark a
sense of fear and helplessness in its audience. In fact, it is an
adequate thriller at best; most of its horror, or at least what
horror there is to be found here, comes on the psychological level
rather than the visceral one.(read more...)
