The Appointment

This long-lost chiller from 1981 is a curiosity in many respects, not just because it is the only feature film by its director but because the unusual and somewhat disjointed plot will leave the viewer with more questions than answers toward the end. Indeed, it may well be a case of “the more often you watch it the more confusing it gets”. Starring Edward Woodward and Jane Merrow as the parents of a musically gifted teenage daughter who may possess supernatural powers, THE APPOINTMENT is at long last available on Blu-ray.

After a chilling start (set three years before the main events) in which a male voiceover informs us that it was the early evening of the 14th of May when a schoolgirl entered the footpath near the suburb of Millard Heights we then follow said girl walking along the shortcut surrounded by trees and bushes when the teasing laughter of other children is heard, calling the girl’s name. Are they her classmates up to a prank? Hesitant, the girl stops briefly, then walks on before stopping again when suddenly an unseen force pulls her off the footpath and into the woods…
Now three years later we are in the present and find ourselves in the household of mechanic Ian (Edward Woodward), his wife Dianna (Jane Merrow) and their teenage daughter Joanne (Samantha Weysom) – an exceptionally gifted violinist who worships her daddy. Although soon it becomes evident that Joanne, apart from being a talented musician, is also a spoilt little brat who gets away with pretty much everything simply because she’s ‘daddy’s girl’ and behaves accordingly (a later scene, during which Ian hesitatingly stands in front of his daughter’s bedroom… not sure whether to open the door or not, suggests she could literally be daddy’s girl).

No surprises then when Joanne goes into a full sulk mood after daddy breaks the news to her that due to an emergency his company requires him to stand in for a colleague and he needs to drive several hundred miles to London. Because of this unforeseen development he will need to stay away overnight and will not be able to attend his precious daughter’s violin recital. It might be an important event for Joanne but it’s only a violin recital and surely won’t be the last, nonetheless the way she reacts you’d swear the end of the world has just been announced. Later that evening in the living room her sulking continues… as do her efforts in persuading Dad to dismiss his work obligations in favour of her music recital. When he finally loses his cool and snaps at her she looks at him with a menacing stare, as if to say: “You’re going to regret this, Daddy!” Anyone with even an itsy bitsy knowledge of psychology will realise that Joanne is a few violin strings short of a full set!
Sure enough, that same night Ian is plagued by nightmarish visions involving a pack of Rottweiler dogs, him driving along narrow-winding mountain roads with premonitions of his own death.

From that point onward the tension and creeping foreboding gives way to domestic scenarios, flower petals falling onto a table in the hallway (symbolic for Joanne maturing?) and phone calls between Dianna and her hubby while he is on the road. Endless shots of Dianna preparing tea or doing this or that around the house (although in one unexpected eerie moment a framed photograph briefly comes to life) followed by painfully slow shots of Ian’s movements while traveling down south… everything seems stagnated with shots that should take up no more than five minutes stretched to fifteen minutes. While there clearly was a budget issue it shouldn’t be an excuse for lacklustre domestic scenes, especially Jane Merrow comes across as someone delivering her lines without the slightest bit of conviction or depth. Only towards the film’s truly nail-baiting climax, which begins when Ian is overtaken by a mysterious lorry sporting a gigantic logo of three black dogs, we’re firmly back in the realms of supernatural terror and the final scene does suggest that teenager Joanne holds dark powers not of this world. Just don’t look for an explanation.

Edward Woodward gives his usual best in this highly unbalanced rarity though even he can’t save this film from being a doom-laden chiller that leaves way too many questions unanswered, for example, did daughter Joanne really put a hex on her daddy after he announces he can’t attend her violin recital and if so, why? After all, you don’t put a hex on someone you worship.

Edward Woodward fans will be delighted nonetheless with this BFI Flipside release which also comes with an array of Extras including audio commentary with director Lindsay Vickers; ‘Vickers on Vickers’ (41 min); Jane Merrow, assistant director Gregory Dark and Jan Vickers remember the film; galleries; illustrated booklet (first pressing only); ‘The Lake’ (Lindsey Vickers eerie short film, 1978); ‘Splashing Around’ - Julie Peasgood on the making of ‘The Lake’ etc.