Scott LeBrun Pop star Jack Jones, the man best known for belting out the 'Love Boat' theme song, does reasonably well here basically because he doesn't have to stretch himself all that much. He plays a pop star named Nick Cooper, who's been out of the limelight for six years and is now launching a comeback. He retires to an isolated country mansion, also occupied by the gregarious Mrs. B (Pete Walker favourite Sheila Keith) and her husband (Bill Owen). Nick begins to be plagued by hideous visions of his dead wife Gail (Holly Palance) and other disconcerting sights and sounds. Could he be losing his mind?Not bad slasher type film from cult favourite Walker certainly has its moments. Fans will be more or less satisfied with the resulting bloodletting every time there's a murder set piece. However, these are few and far between, in a story (concocted by Murray Smith) that is overly plodding, and rather trite. For the most part, this story is just not that engaging. One might get their hopes up early on due to a particular killing, but the balance of the film doesn't measure up. Walker has done better in this genre, with efforts such as "Frightmare" and even "Schizo".The excellent international cast gives it some curiosity value. Jones is kind of bland as a leading man, but isn't unlikable, at least. The lovely Pamela Stephenson ("Superman III", 'Saturday Night Live') is an appealing leading lady, and David Doyle ('Charlie's Angels') is quite fun in his role. June Chadwick ("This is Spinal Tap", "Forbidden World") plays a nurse and Penny Irving ("House of Whipcord", 'Are You Being Served') an aspiring singer. If you're watching this to see Richard Johnson ("The Haunting" '63, "Zombi 2"), be warned that he doesn't show up until the film is three quarters of the way through, and even then it's only for a few minutes. Palance, the daughter of Jack P. who will go down in history as the nanny who hanged herself in "The Omen" '76, is stuck in a very thankless role.Entertaining stuff, but overall not one of the directors' better films.Six out of 10.

Paul Andrews The Comeback is set in London & starts as pop star Nick Cooper (Jack Jones) arrives by plane from the US, after a six year break from the music industry Nick is planning a big comeback album which he intends to write & record while staying in England. Recently divorced from his wife Gail (Holly Palance) she is also in London visiting their old penthouse where she is brutally murdered & left to rot, Nick's agent Webster Jones (David Doyle) thinks it would be a good idea for Nick to work on the album in the peace of the English countryside & rents a large estate house for him to stay in. The owner's are away & only the servants Mr (Bill Owen) & Mrs. B (Sheila Keith) will be there, the first night as Nick tries to sleep he hears the sobbing of a child but cannot locate where it is coming from & each subsequent night he hears crying & sees decomposing corpses although no-one believes his story & he is considered mad. However Gail's body is real & there is a killer on the loose who wants to torment Nick & those around him...Also known under the titles Encore & The Day the Screaming Stopped this British production was produced & directed by Pete Walker who was a minor figure in the anglo horror cycle of the 70's, The Comeback is far from his best film & while it has potential & a few good moments overall there's not much to recommend. The script could have a great little horror mystery but main problem with it is that it's so slow with large stretches where next to nothing happens. At almost 100 minutes long The Comeback just drags & gets a bit boring at times, The Comeback isn't a total disaster though as it has a terrific opening sequence involving a brutal murder & it's a shame the rest of the film doesn't come close to matching this scene. I will say that the script manages to include some really creepy & weird character's to keep us guessing like Mr B who talks to trees, the agent Webster Jones who is shown dressing up in women's clothes for no apparent reason, Nick's right hand man the sleazy Harry who is a real slimy piece of work & likes to discuss women's nipples with them mere moments after meeting them & then there's Linda who sends out all sorts of mixed messages you never know what she wants or where she's coming from. Everyone in the cast just seems to have a screw loose! Walker lays it on a bit thick but the bizarre character's is the only thing The Comeback has going for it. The twist ending is really rather silly & doesn't make much sense if you think about it, why not just kill Linda? The killer's plan required so many coincidences that it's hard to take seriously.Since The Comeback is a film about a pop star it's no surprise that director Walker cast a pop star in the lead, Jack Jones was apparently one of the most popular vocalists of the 60's although to be honest I had never heard of the guy before watching The Comeback. I guess his claim to fame would be that he sang the theme tune to the classic TV series The Love Boat (1977-1986) & Walker can't resist having him sing a few lines here & it's very dated & a bit cringe worthy. Apparently according to Walker he initially offered the lead to Bryan Ferry while he offered the role of Linda to Melanie Griffith, image how different The Comeback would have been if both those casting choices had stuck. Despite the very bloody start The Comeback isn't that gory otherwise, there's one more killing at almost the hour mark & a few shots of decomposing bodies but little else. There isn't even any proper nudity.Shot on a low budget on location here in the UK this has decent production values even if it does look a little dated. The acting is alright, some of the performances are a little heavy handed but that adds to the weirdness. Walker regular Sheila Keith puts in another over the top performance.The Comeback could have been a great little murder mystery horror slasher if it had not been so slow & the script had thrown in a couple more murders to make the first forty fives minutes less tedious. A half decent effort that tries but ultimately I can't really recommend it, average at best.

manchester_england2004 THE COMEBACK is a British horror movie directed by Pete Walker.I bought this movie as part of the Pete Walker Collection, a wonderful coffin shaped boxset containing this movie, along with FRIGHTMARE, THE HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, THE HOUSE OF WHIPCORD and DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE. The said boxset is loaded with extras and is a must have for any fan of the director's movies.In this movie Pete Walker continues to demonstrate that he, along with the equally great director, Norman J. Warren, were the natural successors to Hammer, Amicus and Tigon. The three companies in question had dominated the British horror movie industry for over a decade, having made some truly superb productions. All three had ceased to produce horror movies at this point, paving the way for the two mentioned excellent directors to make independent movies now rightly appreciated as minor classics of low-budget cinema.I'm going against the tide here by declaring this to be Pete Walker's second best movie, second only to HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS.As with most of Mr. Walker's efforts, he starts by choosing a topic perhaps more akin to a drama or a thriller. But due to his superb direction, he translates the original idea into an effective and genuinely disturbing horror movie.As with most of Pete Walker's movies, there is an exploitation element at work, although the movie is far more restrained in this respect compared to his previous efforts.The plot sees Nick Cooper returning to England after a recent divorce. He aims to reinvigorate his singing career after being misled by his selfish wife into moving to America. Nick's seemingly normal life is soon disrupted by a series of events, including an affair with an attractive young groupie and the constant ambitious demands of his recording manager. But more disturbing are the sounds of crying and horrifying screams Nick is hearing at night. Could he be losing his mind? Find out in this terrifying well-paced shocker that leads to a truly chilling climax you will absolutely not see coming.As with most of Mr. Walker's movies, his direction is the best element. And Mr. Walker is on top form here with superb attention to detail despite statements to the contrary.First, just about every scene shows evidence of meticulous planning.Second, Walker makes terrific use of settings, including a creepy penthouse accessed via an even creepier gear-operated elevator. Also, the creepy manor house where Nick stays goes beyond the mere Gothic set-piece you might expect to find in a British movie - it comes across as an incredibly foreboding place out of a real nightmare!Third, Walker uses superb imaginative camera angles to create the best "someone's watching you" atmosphere I've seen since PSYCHO. Without revealing spoilers, I advise new viewers to pay close attention to the opening scenes in the penthouse.Fourth, Walker directs some truly vicious uncompromising killing scenes that leave you with an unpleasant physical and psychological feeling. With the lingering on the killer's viciousness, the victim's pain and the bloody corpses, these killing scenes are amongst the most effective and disturbing slasher moments I've seen committed to film.Finally, Walker's best instrument for effective horror here - the lovely orchestral music. As another user correctly points out, the music trickles with an understated chilliness. The actors react perfectly to compliment the technique in building genuine tension. In every instance, the tension builds into a harrowing crescendo with the music guiding it perfectly.Jack Jones delivers an underrated performance as Nick Cooper. He is charismatic without being overconfident. His character is genuinely insecure and very scared despite the charm. And the character is easy to sympathise with as he goes through incredible psychological torment. Don't be put off by those who claim that Jack Jones can't act. He certainly can and he gives the role the best he's got. I agree with the user who stated that Jack Jones would have made a good villain for Columbo.Pamela Stephenson makes an effective groupie girl. She is flirty yet introverted and her character's every reaction was truly interesting to observe on the screen.David Doyle - famous for his role as John Bosley in CHARLIE'S ANGELS - plays the recording manager. At first he did seem like a very odd choice for this role. But he pulls it off perfectly. His character is very slimy, opportunistic and selfish and is my favourite in the whole movie.Bill Owen - famous for playing Compo in LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - plays Mr. B, one of the staff at the manor Nick stays at. Fans of his usual comedy roles will be in for a big surprise when they observe the truly sinister edge provided to his role.Holly Palance has a great time playing Nick's very selfish, manipulative wife - Gail.Pete Turner has an equally great time playing Nick's trusted friend, Harry. He stole every scene he was in and I wish he had been given more. I also wish this actor had been given more roles like these since he had me hooked every second with this one.But the best on the cast list is Sheila Keith, a veteran of Walker's movies. Sheila Keith gives the performance of her career as Mrs B. She is the standout that every viewer of the movie will remember the most vividly. Walker clearly realises Keith is the most valuable asset and he shows it by giving her some truly great one liners, all of which are delivered in a superbly chilling manner.Overall, THE COMEBACK is an unfairly maligned Pete Walker movie that is actually one of his best. It is a must-see for all his fans and fans of British horror movies from the heyday of British cinema in the 1960s and 1970s.

Coventry After having unleashed no less than FOUR genuine cult-shockers upon the British horror market in collaboration with David McGillivray ("House of Whipcord", "Frightmare", "House of Mortal Sin" and "Schizo"), Pete Walker falls back on the writing skills of Murray Smith, with whom he made his very first horror film ("Die Screaming Marianne") as well as a couple of light-headed sex-comedies. Smith's imagination isn't as offensive or twisted as McGillivray's, and thus "The Comeback" is an overall politically correct horror effort. That DOESN'T mean it's bad or unmemorable, mind you! The story's subject matter is fairly original, the character drawings are morbidly eccentric and Walker masterfully alters long scenes of suspense with some of the grossest killings in 70's cinema I've ever seen. Real life singer Jack Jones stars as crooner Nick Cooper, working hard on making a comeback after he divorced his dominating wife Gail. His former record producer still believes in his qualities and even arranged for Nick to live in a large mansion, complete with two loyal – albeit oddly behaving – servants at his disposal. Troubles appear when the rotting corpse of Nick's ex-wife, who has been violently murdered in their former penthouse, begins to haunt him at night along with petrifying sobbing sounds of a small child. It soon begins to look like someone intends to boycott Nick's new career and even hurt him personally. Despite most of the red herrings and sub plots being implausible and far-fetched, the whodunit-element of "The Comeback" keeps you alert and interested up until the satisfying denouement (that I didn't see coming, I may add). The faster the ending approached, I began to fear that Murray Smith would make the same mistake as he did in "Die Screaming Marianne" – loose control and drown in all the deceptive plot twists -, but experienced director Walker neatly fits everything back together during the shlocky finale. He also makes great use of terrifically sinister set pieces, like the creepy penthouse and the totally uncanny rooms in the mansion. The film contains multiple homage references to classic films (although some people tend to call them rip-offs), such as "Psycho" and "Citizen Kane" and I wondrously even loved the corny song called "Traces of a long forgotten tune". The acting is adequate, although Sheila Keith's performance is a cut above the rest as usual. "The Comeback" was one of Pete Walker's last achievements, followed by only two more movies. His work may very well be an acquired taste, but I definitely consider him to be among the most talented horror filmmakers that were active in Europe.