Hired by a mysterious backer, a small British theater troupe head to an old theater on a seaside pier to work out their improv show. They all decide to shack up in the theater and, on the very first night, encounter a killer determined to brutally off them one by one. Of course, when you realize Robin Askwith is one of the group, you might start siding with the killer. I am a sucker for horror films set in empty theaters and this one really does it right. There isn't much mystery here, but director Pete Walker stages some nice stalking scenes (with killer POV before BLACK Christmas) and the cast definitely delivers in the flesh department. One thing I loved is a supposed plot hole where the killer couldn't have possibly attacked one girl. You think it is inept film-making, but Walker has gotten the better of me and it serves for a nice final twist.

This is my third Pete Walker film (FRIGHTMARE and SCHIZO being the other two) and I have to wonder if Walker hated old folks. Alongside FRIGHTMARE, this features an elderly person revealed to be the killer in the end. That's it, I officially declare Walker to be an ageist! Anyway, an enjoyable little British slasher. The cast is good and the film benefits greatly from an amazing location. Totally for abandoned theater film lovers!

Pete Walker brings us a proto-slasher that's now as cornball as can be. Is it worthy of respect in the pantheon of horror? Yes, maybe.

This is a coastal town that they forgot to close down.

A group of actors and actresses have mysteriously been lured to an end of pier theatre to star in a play. Pretty soon they start being bumped off one by one.

So it be! There's plenty of nudity, actors siting around musing on the "biz" and its perils, while the matter of fact attitude to the disappearances is almost as ludicrous as someone opening the door in the middle of the night stark naked...

It's good fun in truth, especially for British film fans like me to see the likes of Robin Askwith and Jenny Hanley in this. The run down theatre setting is a good one, while the play they are rehearsing makes no sense and is quite surreal! 5/10

Pete Walker's first foray into the fright film genre prefigures the slasher cycle by a good five years and manages to wring a good deal of tension and spooky atmosphere from its novel and inspired setting of a decrepit abandoned old stage theater located on a remote pier on the British coast. The story is rather familiar stuff, but still tight and involving: A bunch of eager and good-looking young thespians join a mysterious repertory company and get together to rehearse a play at the old theater. Naturally, there's also a creepy and vicious heavy-breathing maniac loose in the place. Walker and writer Alfred Shoughnessy relate the engrossing story at a steady pace, present a gaggle of well-drawn and likable main characters, and do an able job of creating and maintaining an eerie and enigmatic mood. The attractive and appealing cast rates as another substantial asset, with especially stand-out work by Ray Brooks as fair and easygoing stage director Mike, Jenny Hanley as lovely and ambitious rising starlet Julia Dawson, Luan Peters as the sultry Carol, Robin Askwith as the affable Simon, Tristan Rogers as dashing hunk Tony Weller, and David Howey as impish practical joker John. Veteran actor Patrick Barr has a field day with his juicy supporting part as dotty and charming local eccentric Major Bell. The killer's motive for committing the murders turns out to be unexpectedly poignant and tragic. While this picture skimps on the gore and has a minimal body count, this is more than compensated for by a pleasing plenitude of tasty bare female skin and the clever and surprising conclusion that comes complete with a cool protracted flashback sequence shot in stark black and white. Peter Jessop's bleak cinematography and Cyril Ornadel's ominous score add greatly to the overall macabre entertainment value of this enjoyable little shocker.