LeeVanNero Having recently bought a copy of the 2010 release of this lost gem, finally available fully uncut and beautifully presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 - Odeon Entertainmant ODNF162 - I can't recommend it enough. Taking into consideration the very strict censorship laws and general climate the time of it's production, it's easy to see why it was butchered and suppressed at the time of it's initial release in 1972, the Mary Whitehouse brigade would have soiled themselves collectively at the subject matter alone. And the murder scenes, whilst fairly tame compared to some in todays more enlightened times, were way out there for early 70's Britain.It's not the most polished of films, but the directing is pretty good and the acting pretty solid throughout - with a convincing enough ratio of ham, menace and believability - with the script and storyline excellent. Overall the results, particularly when taking the fairly small budget into consideration, really are very, very good indeed. Which is why I honestly think this film was years ahead of it's time.An essential addition to any Brit Horror collection - it's a proto-slasher of sorts, imo - and also to anyone with an interest in looking at the darker and less positive sides of religion and it's very strong tendencies towards brainwashing, mind control and even abuse. I'd also recommend it to anyone who just loves a good well made and sincere film, however if you're just a cannibals & zombies or shoot 'em ups only freak, don't bother, it's definitely not for you.

HumanoidOfFlesh The main character of Robert Hartford-Davis "The Fiend" is an emotionally disturbed religious nut.He loses grip on his sanity and sets off on a killing spree murdering prostitutes and other sexually active women."The Fiend" is a mildly interesting British serial killer flick with sleazy atmosphere and the background of religious fanaticism.The script is quite warped with religious rituals and misogynistic murders.The gospel songs are fantastic and the killings are nasty.One victim is found skewered on a meathook.I haven't seen Robert Hartford-Davis "Corruption",but I'd like too.If you are a fan of sleazy British horror give "The Fiend" a look.6 gospels out of 10.

MARIO GAUCI This is one of the more notable British horror films from the early 1970s, a stylish and generally accomplished mix of religion, psycho-drama, music and exploitation. The opening cross-cutting between a prayer meeting – accentuated by a powerful gospel song – and a vicious murder is so stunning that the rest of the film actually struggles to live up to it, though the ending – appropriately over-the-top – is worth waiting for. Thematically, the film anticipates Pete Walker's equally good HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN aka THE CONFESSIONAL (1975) – but here we get the added bonus of a typically intense performance from Patrick Magee as the religious group's fanatical leader. Ann Todd (the former Mrs. David Lean) is one of his closest collaborators – in fact, her house is a converted church! – but who has to keep her diabetic condition a secret because the intake of insulin is prohibited by her faith! Her son (Tony Beckley), a security guard and part-time swimming instructor and pamphlet distributor, is repressed and unbalanced – and soon revealed to be the serial killer of nubile girls terrorizing the neighborhood (he even records on tape the victims in the throes of death a' la PEEPING TOM [1960]!). Todd's new nurse happens to have a reporter sister (genre regular Suzanna Leigh) who, alerted to the inhabitants' conspicuous Puritanism, concludes that all is not well with the house and decides to investigate. Given the permissive era in which this was made, violence and gratuitous nudity (along with the standard prerequisites associated with such fare) contend for the running-time – and the audience's attention – with a moderately serious treatment of the subject at hand. The end result may not be surprising or even particularly insightful but nonetheless proves wholly absorbing, thanks also to its undeniable surface polish.

Paul Andrews The Fiend starts at a meeting of a strict religious cult known as the 'Christian Children Evangelical Crusade' whose sermons are performed by a nut-case minister (Patrick Magee) who is as fanatical & crazy as they come. One of the congregation is missing, that of Kenny Wemys (Tony Beckley) who happens to be a serial killer, his strict religious Mother Birdy (Ann Todd) has taught Kenny that sex is evil so Kenny becomes a messed up avenging angel type character as he stalks the streets & alleyways of London in search of morally corrupt girls like prostitutes who he then brutally murders. Kenny also likes to tape record his handiwork & listen to the tapes back home which is used as a base for his Mother's religious sect. District nurse Brigitte Lynch (Madeleine Hinde) pays regular visits to the Wemys house & becomes both concerned & suspicious about Kenny & his Mother so ask's her reporter sister Patricia (Suzannah Leigh) to do some investigating with the possibility of a big story for her, Patricia soon discovers the shocking truth but will she live long enough to tell anyone...This British production was produced & directed by Robert Hartford-Davis & is an OK watch I suppose but I didn't think it was brilliant or anything approaching it. First off I have to mention that a prostitute in The Fiend clearly says that she charges a mere £2 for a 'play-about' in the back of a truck, well all I can say is that you wouldn't get prices like that anymore, bleedin' hell that's as cheap as chips, that's inflation for you I guess. The script by Brian Comport takes itself very seriously & moves along at a fair pace, it has a pleasing amount of exploitation elements with it's fair share of dark alleyways, prostitutes, religious nut-jobs, murders & classic cockney dialogue but the story as a whole didn't quite grip or engage me enough, I never really cared about anything or anyone on screen & for the first hour or so The Fiend is all set-up with a few decent murders but then it's almost as if Comport knew he had to wrap things up quickly & introduced the female reporter to uncover the truth just so they had a convenient way to round the story off. The nut-case minister doesn't really feature until the end either when everything sort of comes together, oh & what happened to the CID inspector (David Lodge)? I mean the film starts off with him as the investigating officer dealing with the murders & then features him again in one more scene about half way through questioning a suspect after which he completely totally & utterly disappears from the rest of the film, as do the police as a whole. I suppose that The Fiend is trying to say something about religious fanatical-ism & the power it has over some people, unfortunately it means little as I think anyone watching The Fiend will be more interested in the murders, violence & nudity rather than any heavy handed moral message, I know I was. The Fiend is a decent exploitation film although I found it a bit dull & I couldn't really get into the somewhat erratic story or character's.Director Hartford-Davis does a good job & The Fiend has a really sleazy atmosphere to it, from the dirty alleyways & backstreet's of London, prostitution, murder, nudity as every victim is naked at some point or other & just the whole look & feel of the film which has to be put down to the grimy, oily, dirty, nasty, depressing, grey London location shooting, I live in the UK & things haven't improved that much... There's a fair amount of nudity but the violence isn't as strong as you may think, there's not much blood in it that's for sure. Some punches, a strangulation, a few dead bodies with one hanging up on a meat hook & that's about it actually.Technically The Fiend is solid British exploitation at it's best, it's well made & has a great sleazy feel to it. However, the gospel style songs that the congregation sing are cringe inducing. The acting isn't up to much, Magee lets his eyebrows & moustache do the acting, Beckley appeared in films such as The Italian Job (1969), Get Carter (1971) & Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) while all the females in the cast are pretty cute.The Fiend is a film that I thought was OK, it kept me watching until the end but it didn't really grab me & as a result I wasn't that interested in it or where it was going. The sleaziness of it is worth checking out since they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Worth a watch but nothing spectacular.