Peril & Distress: And Soon the Darkness / Sudden Terror - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

What’s more fun than taking in the perfect double feature? Find two similarly themed films, kick back with some snacks, and let the hours of entertainment unfold before your eyes. If you do it right, you can have two different films that deliver similar vibes to hold your attention. But picking the perfect double feature is a tough job - especially if you’re staring down a massive collection of discs and become paralyzed by choice. It helps when a label like Kino Lorber Studio Classics makes the choice for you. With their two-film Peril & Distress set, we have Robert Fuest’s And Soon the Darkness paired with John Hough’s Sudden Terror. Two very different British thrillers by two very different directors, but both offer high-stakes high-tension entertainment! 

In And Soon the Darkness we find two friends Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) are on a bicycle vacation through the French countryside. Jane is the taskmaster making sure they hit each stop with time to spare. Cathy is more freewheeling and wants to enjoy a rest in the sun. When the pair disagree, Jane goes on while Cathy soaks in some vitamin D. Expecting Cathy to arrive at the next stop, Jane patiently waits… and waits. When Cathy never arrives, Jane embarks on a frantic search for her friend with scared locals warning her off and a shady mystery man who knows more than he seems offering to help. 4.5/5

For Sudden Terror, we have a picture-perfect example of how a thriller can also enjoy a little sense of humor. Little Ziggy (Mark Lester) has quite the imagination and no one believes his little exaggerations. But when he witnesses an attempted assassination and notices it was perpetrated by two men dressed as police officers, Ziggy isn’t exaggerating. As Ziggy, his sister Pippa (Susan George) survive countless attacks by the mysterious assassins, they can count on their veteran grandfather (Lionel Jeffries) to help. 4/5 

I know with double features it’s easy to stick to a single franchise, actor, or director, but I’ve always found it more enjoyable if the films are of the same genre but not the same style. Between And Soon the Darkness and Sudden Terror Suspense Thriller Horror fans get two terrific and wildly entertaining examples of 1970s British cinema. At about 90 minutes apiece, you’re not stranded on your couch for too long. Each film has a different temperament and pace but both offer edge-of-your-seat excitement. 

Of the pair, I have to lean towards And Soon the Darkness as the better offering. Like the best kidnapping/missing person Horror/Thrillers, director Robert Fuest had a deft touch with pacing and steadily building the suspense that will fuel the final act into its shocking conclusion. What I love most about the film are the seemingly innocuous background details. When a scene doesn’t seem like a whole lot is happening, pay attention to the scenery, it’ll tell you a whole lot more than you think! 

While I favor one over the other, Sudden Terror is no slouch when it comes to action-packed thrills. Between little Ziggy and Grandpa, you have a sort of bizarre version of Charlie and Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka - only this grandpa isn’t a useless layabout. When Ziggy needs help, it’s the war hero Grandpa who gets over his agoraphobia issues, locks, loads, and heads back into battle. This viewing was a treat because I discovered I had actually seen this film but couldn’t remember what it was! For ages, I distinctly remembered the film’s shocking climax along the seaside cliffs of Malta but could never remember what film it was from. So the “holy crap, it’s this movie!” revelation was a welcome discovery. 

And Soon the Darkness and Sudden Terror might not be the greatest of 1970s British thrillers ever made, but they make quite the pair for a gritty double feature! Granted I didn’t have the time to watch them in the same sitting, but within quick succession, this proved to be a great movie-watching experience. As there are so many films out there that might not get single-title editions, I hope KLSC or their Kino Cult line have more of this kind of double-billing experience in store for us! 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Lock the doors and turn out the lights, Peril & Distress: And Soon the Darkness / Sudden Terror joins the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray collection from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Both films are pressed together on a single BD100 disc and housed in a standard black case with identical slipcover artwork. The disc loads to a static image main menu with a film navigation bar along the bottom of the screen.

With both films And Soon the Darkness and Sudden Terror pressed on the same disc, I was a little worried about compression issues. Especially when this disc only uses about 75gigs leaving plenty of breathing room for a more favorable encoding of each title. Thankfully both films generally look great. Bitrates are respectively healthy without serious dips or dropoffs. Both transfers have a bit of a crispy quality to them and some slight artifacts, but nothing overly egregious or distracting. Both transfers were supplied by Studio Canal. Prior to this viewing it had been many years since I last saw And Soon the Darkness and as mentioned previously it’d been so long for Sudden Terror that I don’t even remember the last time I saw it, so I don’t have previous experience working in my favor. I didn't pick up KLSC's 2019 discs, but since these masters are reportedly from the same Studio Canal 4K restorations as those discs, I have to assume the nominal differences will draw down to definition and clarity. 

I will say that both of these SDR transfers look generally very good. Details are fine and captured well with a natural cinematic grain structure. Both films have a couple of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it instances of staining or slight scratches, but again nothing serious or distracting. If anything some of the rough edges make the grittiness of the films more visually appealing. For And Soon the Darkness, colors are brighter, and more boldly defined because it’s virtually all outdoors and in broad daylight. Whereas Sudden Terror has more night scenes and creepy locations giving it more shadow play. Both films have healthy strong black levels.  All in all, I’m quite pleased with the results here, but I would have liked to see them on their own BD66 discs with a bit more breathing room instead of squeezing onto a single BD100 disc with room to spare. 

I say that specifically because around when I started digging into this set, I acquired German label Camera Obscura's 4K UHD Mediabook (review here) of And Soon the Darkness that did get its own BD66 disc with a better encoding, a higher average bitrate, and a modest HDR10 grade. So that’s something to consider if you’re a big fan of the film.

Both films ride away with respectable English DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio tracks. It’s rather interesting to watch these two films relatively back-to-back and how differently they use sound to their advantage. And Soon the Darkness plays on silence and the simple seemingly innocuous sounds of the countryside and music cues to ramp up the tension. Sudden Terror is much more action-focused so the chaotic sounds of gunfire, explosions, car crashes, and a more pronounced score work to pull you into the scene. Dialog is clear for both films without issue. No worries of hiss or pop or breaks. 

Each film gets some nice bonus features to enjoy - namely a bunch of very informative audio commentary tracks! For And Soon the Darkness there’s a great track featuring director Robert Fuest and co-writer/producer Brian Clemens moderated by Jonathan Sothcott that gets more granular and into the nitty gritty details of making the film. Troy Howarth flies solo for his track and it’s a very well-informed track with a lot of entertaining info. For Sudden Terror, we’re treated to a nother pair of interesting commentaries. The first is a nother Jonathan Sothcott event this time featuring director John Hough and uncredited writer Bryan Frobes. The second is another great pairing with historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson. This track might be more anecdotal than the first but the pair bring their own knowledge and relevant info about the film for a very fun listen. 

And Soon The Darkness

• Audio Commentary featuring Robert Fuest and Co-Writer/Producer Brian Clemens, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott
• Audio Commentary featuring Troy Howarth
• Radio Spots
• Trailer

Sudden Terror

• Audio Commentary featuring John Hough, Bryan Forbes, moderated by Jonathan Sothcott
• Audio Commentary featuring Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson 
• Sudden Terror Trailer
• Eyewitness Trailer 

It ain’t easy to pull the perfect double feature together, but it helps when a label like KLSC does the work for you with Peril & Distress! Offering two prime examples of British 1970s Horror/Thrillers - And Soon the Darkness and Sudden Terror are very different films in story, plot, and how they keep you on the edge of your seat, but they prove to be quite an effective pairing. Kino Lorber Studio Classics does a solid job bringing these thrillers to 4K. The SDR transfers for both films are strong turns, but I would have liked to see them separated on individual BD66 discs to give them a little more bitrate and compression breathing room. Audio for both is in great shape and each film sports a pair of excellent audio commentaries to prop up the bonus features. If you’re in the mood for a double feature of gritty 1970s British Horror/Thrillers - Peril & Distress is a solid set. Recommended