United States

This chilling supernatural shocker, said The New York Times, is 'swept along by the force of its narrative' as Martha Mason and John Beck are plunged into an escalating nightmare of terror when mysterious stranger Anthony Hopkins tells them that their 12-year-old child Audrey Rose is the reincarnation of his daughter who died horribly in a car crash. Frank De Felitta's powerful and scary script is based on his best-seller and director Robert Wise, a two-time Oscar winner who has made such classic spine-chillers as Curse of the Cat People, The Body Snatcher and The Haunting racks up the suspense inexorably until viewers' nerves are stretched to the limit. Variety called Audrey Rose his 'best film in some years'. The four central performances are excellent - 'Marsha Mason is superb', said the Sunday People - and the film gains considerable impact from Wise's clever and effective use of everyday New York locations, first rate special effects, particularly in the stunning climax and from the atmospheric cinematography. Audrey Rose, noted the Daily Express, 'had me enthralled', The Sunday Times thought it a 'well-turned, efficient shocker', 'The film is a brilliant mind-jerker', said the Sunday People and the New Statesman called it 'a very classy piece'.