Two beautiful girls on a bright summer day. And suddenly, one beautiful girl running for her life.
Film Synopsis
And Soon the Darkness (1970) centers on two young English women cycling through rural France whose holiday takes a disturbing turn when an argument separates them. After one disappears, the other searches the unfamiliar countryside while a succession of strangers leaves her uncertain whom she can trust. This British psychological thriller creates suspense in broad daylight, using open roads, isolated landscapes, and barriers of language to turn a seemingly peaceful setting into a source of vulnerability.
Critical Perspective
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A film that swims in an atmosphere of growing unease and stands apart from its British horror contemporaries by virtue of its restraint and reliance on fears of the unfamiliar and rustic…
Neil Pike, The Shrieking Sixties: British Horror Films 1960-1969 (Midnight Marquee Press, 2010) -
A thoroughly sinister minimalist gem, And Soon the Darkness cleverly takes all of the expected dramatic notions of a sub-genre that would come to dominate the horror world—stalk and slash—shakes them up in a bag, and then conspires to reassemble them in a most inventive and unexpected way.
Keith Topping, A Vault of Horror (Telos Publishing, 2004) -
And Soon the Darkness has yet to find its audience, and is often unfairly dismissed by critics who clearly find the lack of spectacle hard to cope with. Yet there is much in this movie to admire, and more open minded viewers will find this a worthwhile investment of their time.
David Flint, Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the 1970s (FAB Press, 2001)
And Soon the Darkness 4K UHD, Blu-ray & DVD editions
See which disc extras are included across selected editions.
| Disc Extras | Kino BD-ALL 4K/US 2024 | Kino BD-A/US 2019 | Studio Canal BD-B/UK 2019 | Anchor Bay DVD-1/US/OOP 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth | ||||
| Audio Commentary by Director Robert Fuest and Co-Writer/Producer Brian Clemens, Moderated by Jonathan Sothcott | ||||
| Interview with Kim Newman | ||||
| Biography: Co-Writer/Producer Brian Clemens - Written by Jonathan Sothcott | ||||
| Biography: Director Robert Fuest - Written by Jonathan Sothcott | ||||
| Theatrical Trailer | ||||
| Radio Spots |
Edition and Packaging Notes
- Kino’s “Peril & Distress” 4K UHD also includes Sudden Terror (1970).
- Kino’s Blu-ray includes trailers for The Mind Benders (1963), The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), Sudden Terror (1970) and The Black Windmill (1974).
- Anchor Bay’s DVD includes a poster art card.
~ Found an error or know of another edition? Submit a correction or release update. ~
Collector’s guide
Compare presentation quality and explore notable disc extras across selected editions.
| Editions | |
|---|---|
| Extras | Audio Commentary by Troy Howarth Kino 4K |
| Audio Commentary by Director Robert Fuest and Co-Writer/Producer Brian Clemens, Moderated by Jonathan Sothcott Kino 4K | |
| Interview with Kim Newman Studio Canal BD | |
| Biography: Co-Writer/Producer Brian Clemens - Written by Jonathan Sothcott Anchor Bay DVD | |
| Biography: Director Robert Fuest - Written by Jonathan Sothcott Anchor Bay DVD | |
| Theatrical Trailer Kino 4K | |
| Radio Spots Kino 4K |