Sam Peckinpah's gritty rural thriller is insular, frightening stuff.
The plot:
An American mathematician, David Sumner (Hoffman) moves into a small village in rural England. There, the locals seem to take an interest, particularly in his beautiful wife Amy, played by Susan George.
Working on the Sumner's farm building, the men seem far too keen, and spy on her at every opportunity. Becoming increasingly frustrated, Amy accuses her husband of being a coward for not confronting the men, and tells him they wouldn't be having the trouble at all if he weren't so useless when it comes to matters practical.
One night, when a young girl goes missing from the local pub, the Sumner's inadvertently run over a man who may have been involved in the young girl's disappearance.
So begins a night of fear and tension than will escalate into brutal, cold-blooded murder.
It's an unusual film, that's for sure, starting out as a character piece, with themes of isolation and claustrophobia before a big, all action blow-out for the last fifteen minutes or so.
Dustin Hoffman is a magnetic presence on screen, perfectly capturing the role of neutered male confronted by burly, muscular sorts, not quite knowing how to communicate with them.
Famously banned in the UK due to a rather disturbing rape in which Amy's character initially struggles, but then gradually seems to come around to the idea, this was only released unedited in 2002.
Powerful and effective, if overly long in the build-up, this is certainly one to add to your list, cinephiles.
4 out of 5
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