The always compelling Meg Foster ("They Live") stars as mystery novelist Sian Anderson, who's rented a beautiful old house in Greece where she intends to work on her next novel. The landlord is Elias Appleby (Robert Morley, "Theater of Blood"), a pompous sort who warns her about two things: the absolutely ferocious winds in the area, and Elias' own sleazy handyman Phil (the great screen heavy Wings Hauser, "Vice Squad"). During her first night there, Sian witnesses Phil burying Elias' body; he'd murdered him earlier in the night. So now Phil spends all his time terrorizing the novelist, who does turn out to be a tougher cookie than he'd anticipated.
Co-written and directed by Greek cult filmmaker Nico Mastorakis (best known for the exploitation classic "Island of Death"), "The Wind" does manage to have some things going for it: solid atmosphere, a picturesque location, a decent pace. The cast of familiar faces also includes David McCallum ('The Man from U. N. C. L. E.') as Sians' boyfriend John, and Steve Railsback ('Helter Skelter') as the would-be hero, a seaman stranded in Greece due to the inclement weather.
The cast remains watchable throughout, even if they're not really at their best. Wings' character is positively goofy, not coming across as scary as Ramrod was in "Vice Squad". The main problem is that the script just isn't very good. Overall, the film tries hard to generate suspense and thrills, but is laughable most of the time. Phil has the typical tenacity of a slasher movie villain, and seems to have nine lives. The dialogue varies: sometimes this viewer liked it, but mostly it's just plain bad. The music, too, is inconsistent. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. (It IS an early credit for the future big-time Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, who is billed alongside Stanley Myers.)
The movie is enough of a hoot to make it mildly entertaining, but it's largely a waste of a great location.
Five out of 10.
Co-written and directed by Greek cult filmmaker Nico Mastorakis (best known for the exploitation classic "Island of Death"), "The Wind" does manage to have some things going for it: solid atmosphere, a picturesque location, a decent pace. The cast of familiar faces also includes David McCallum ('The Man from U. N. C. L. E.') as Sians' boyfriend John, and Steve Railsback ('Helter Skelter') as the would-be hero, a seaman stranded in Greece due to the inclement weather.
The cast remains watchable throughout, even if they're not really at their best. Wings' character is positively goofy, not coming across as scary as Ramrod was in "Vice Squad". The main problem is that the script just isn't very good. Overall, the film tries hard to generate suspense and thrills, but is laughable most of the time. Phil has the typical tenacity of a slasher movie villain, and seems to have nine lives. The dialogue varies: sometimes this viewer liked it, but mostly it's just plain bad. The music, too, is inconsistent. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. (It IS an early credit for the future big-time Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, who is billed alongside Stanley Myers.)
The movie is enough of a hoot to make it mildly entertaining, but it's largely a waste of a great location.
Five out of 10.