Fanatic (film)

Hammer Film Productions

Industry	Film production
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Films

Fanatic, known in the United States as Die! Die! My Darling!, is a British horror thriller film from 1965 directed by Silvio Narizzano. The cast includes Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Yootha Joyce, Maurice Kaufmann, and Donald Sutherland. Adapted from Anne Blaisdell's 1961 novel Nightmare and scripted by Richard Matheson, the production was handled by Hammer Film Productions with distribution through Columbia Pictures.

The film premiered in the UK on 21 March 1965. Principal photography occurred during the summer of 1964 at Elstree Studios and on location in Letchmore Heath, Hertfordshire. This project marked the last feature film appearance of Tallulah Bankhead.

Plot

Patricia Carroll, an American, travels to London to wed her fiancé Alan Glentower. Prior to their wedding, she visits Mrs. Trefoile, who is the mother of Patricia’s late former fiancé Stephen, who died years earlier in a car crash. Mrs. Trefoile is an isolated, fanatically religious woman who holds Patricia responsible for Stephen’s demise. Discovering that Patricia never planned to marry Stephen, Mrs. Trefoile commands her servants Harry and Anna to detain Patricia and attempt an exorcism to purge her soul. After multiple escape efforts, including an incident involving a near sexual assault, Patricia is ultimately saved by Alan. The story culminates with Mrs. Trefoile’s death by stabbing using the same knife she had previously tried to use against Patricia.

Critical reception

According to Variety, the movie "should appeal to horror enthusiasts," commending Narizzano’s "inventive" direction and a screenplay featuring dialogue "more vibrant than many films of its genre," while emphasizing Bankhead’s performance ranging from "charming menace to frenzied bloodlust."

The Monthly Film Bulletin characterized the film as "tonally inconsistent" but "reliably entertaining," praising Bankhead’s commanding presence comparable to that of Bette Davis in Baby Jane, providing substantial appeal for fans of horror cinema.

In The New York Times, critic A. H. Weiler remarked that although Bankhead "dominates both cast and narrative," the film adds little significance to her career.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 50% approval rating based on 10 critical reviews.

See also

• Looped, a Broadway play from 2010 depicting events during this film’s production
• Psycho-biddy genre
• "Die, Die My Darling", a 1984 punk single by the band the Misfits, titled after the American release name