The Appointment (1981)

Lindsey C Vickers' British horror film THE APPOINTMENT is one of those movies that deserves the appellation obscure. Unable to secure a cinema release after it was made, the film found itself relegated to the purgatory of minor VHS labels and occasional late night TV screenings. As such it's gained quite the reputation as an almost 'lost' film, something which has now been put right by the BFI who are releasing it on Blu-ray with plenty of extras. So, for those who haven't seen it in one of its bootleg versions, has THE APPOINTMENT been worth the wait?

A deliciously creeping opening depicts the abduction of a twelve year old girl on her way home from school by supernatural forces, her violin crumpled by something invisible. We then move to three years later and it looks as if Joanne (Samantha Weysom), a pupil at the same school, has replaced the victim as the institution's premier violinist and she's got a concert coming up.

Unfortunately her father, Ian (Edward Woodward) isn't able to go as he has to testify at an industrial tribunal and Joanne isn't happy about it. The night before he's due to leave both Ian and his wife Diana (Jane Merrow) have a dream about Ian being involved in a car accident and once he's on his way it looks as if the dream might be coming true.

THE APPOINTMENT has an excellent opening and an even better ending which alone is worth sitting through the film for. Unfortunately there's not quite enough substance in between to sustain the 89 minute running time, with the result that the film feels like a short padded out (and what a short it would have made). As such, it's easy to see why distributors in the early 1980s turned it down, especially as the explanation for what happens is oblique verging on making no sense at all. However, one cannot deny director Vickers' skill at conjuring atmosphere from sound design and camera angles, and the climactic disaster is a feat of skill both in terms of location shooting and in the editing room. 

The BFI's Blu-ray comes with a commentary track from the director moderated by Vic Pratt. It's excellent, with Pratt asking all the right questions to get the most information out of Mr Vickers, who even admits that the opening of the film doesn't make a lot of sense in relation to what follows.

There are plenty of interviews including Vickers on Vickers which is 41 minutes of the director giving us his life story. Vickers is joined by his wife Jan in Appointments Shared in which Christopher Lee's Dracula wig (which Jan provided) is among the items discussed. 1st AD Gregory Dark reminisces for ten minutes in Remember the Appointment, and in Framing the Appointment Lindsey Vickers goes through a number of still images handed to him by Vic Pratt.

The other major extra on here is THE LAKE, Vickers' 33 minute short film from 1977. It was included in Volume One of the BFI's SHORT SHARP SHOCKS collection but here there's an added Pratt / Vickers commentary which is again excellent and well worth checking out. Julie Peasgood's 18 minute interview about THE LAKE is also included.  The disc also comes with a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Vickers, Pratt and William Fowler.

As always with the BFI's flipside series this is an excellent presentation and package of an obscure British film. The print is in 4:3 and apparently had to be been restored from a video recording as a print of the film was not available. It certainly looks better than previous bootlegs but don't expect a top quality image. Despite it being not entirely perfect, if you're a fan of obscure British Horror, or of obscure weird cinema in general, THE APPOINTMENT is going to be a must-see.

Lindsey C Vickers' THE APPOINTMENT is out on Blu-ray on the BFI Flipside label on Monday 11th July 2022, and also on iTunes and Amazon Prime on Monday 25th July 2022